Can one ship houshold goods by rail?

No. What previously was REA (Railway Express Agency) is now UPS, FedeX, etc..

What about Amtrak?  Provided it went from a full service station to full service station?

Dominic Mazoch posted:

What about Amtrak?  Provided it went from a full service station to full service station?

To the best of my knowledge, Amtrak only has "small package" service, i.e. NOT "household goods".

 

Having moved many times during a military career including overseas, I can't think of any reason that you would want to ship your household goods by rail.  Stuff gets broken or lost every time it is handled.  It is best to load a truck at the house you are leaving, lock the trailer's door, and unlock it at your destination whether it is across the country or down the street.  NH Joe

Well, it depends on how much you're moving, I would think. Amtrak's express shipping says it accepts pallets up to 500 pounds - with a 500-pound limit per shipment.

More info at:

https://www.amtrak.com/onboard...xpress-shipping.html

From other websites I've come across, some folks without many household goods have moved, or considered moving, via Amtrak - if the places involved are near Amtrak stations with baggage service.

David

When we moved to the islands we used Matson. They bring a container to your house, you fill it and lock it. In three weeks it's at your door of the new home. You can keep it for unloading for a week. On the mainland there are many companies that do the same with small to large containers. There is a company called "Pods" that will do the same and you can store the "Pods" if your not ready for them at the new place. Don

Thanks for the info .

scale rail posted:

When we moved to the islands we used Matson. They bring a container to your house, you fill it and lock it. In three weeks it's at your door of the new home. You can keep it for unloading for a week. On the mainland there are many companies that do the same with small to large containers. There is a company called "Pods" that will do the same and you can store the "Pods" if your not ready for them at the new place. Don

All well and good,,,,,,,,except those "PODS" are NOT shipped LCL on the railroads!

Other than "bragging rights," what would be the advantage of shipping personal household goods by rail these days?

Rusty

It's a disadvantage HW, Pods go by truck and drop off at your house. Otherwise you would have your goods delivered to the station by truck, ship by rail, picked up by truck and driven to your house. Pods will put the pod right into your garage if you like. Don

The OP asked, “Can one ship houshold goods by rail?” My answer would be, “Yes, but why would you want to do that?”

Railroads are not interested in LCL (Less Than Carload) business any more. The administrative nightmare it would take to do this is beyond description. There are no railroad marketing people interested in booking this kind of load. Even if you could get the load booked, the reliability of the railroads on this kind of shipment is notoriously bad. Your goods might eventually get to where you shipped them, but it could take weeks, or even months, where a truck would do it in a day or two, and probably cheaper.

The bottom line? Don’t do it. It’s the wrong tool for the job.

Public Service Announcement- You can not use rail service to move to or from the islands

There is no possibility of booking such a shipment.  Railroads now offer only carload service.

In theory, you could book a carload if you had a good friend at a warehouse (very few now, maybe a few dozen in all of New England)  that had a railroad siding, you could have him order a car and load the shipment for you.  You would have to arrange for a warehouse at the other end to receive and unload the car. 

Also in theory, you could use a railroad team track, but there are very few remaining public team tracks if any.  You could order a car, but there is no way to be sure when the railroad would place the car, if they had any suitable available empty box cars.  When it was placed you would have to have it loaded and provide a bill of lading to the railroad within 24 or 48 hours (weekdays).  You would have to do the bracing necessary to keep your goods in place if the car was coupled at four miles and hour. 

Then some unknowable number of days alter the car would be placed at the destination and you would have only a day or two to unload it.  I'm sure railroads don't publish a rate for household goods so it would move at a "freight, all kinds" rate, which would be high.