On a recent bicycle ride with friends, I was stopped at a railroad crossing waiting for a long freight train. It was an iconic American experience to witness. It allowed me to catch my breath as I counted the 148 railcars, winding their way across the county connecting their freight to the next step on their supply chain journey.
I couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer size of the train powered by two engines. It is no wonder that railroads are the most fuel-efficient way to move freight, able to move a ton of freight nearly 500 miles per gallon of fuel. It would take hundreds of trucks to do the same job.
