 Page Updated: Jan 31, 2002 Rolling Stock: Boxcars Hoppers Cov Hoppers Gondolas Coil Cars Flatcars Autoracks Intermodal: Mercury: Photos Prototype Trailvan Well/Spine Predecessor Operations Maintenance Scenic Gallery Modeling Ref Shelf CRCyc Home What's New Help Out Site Map Contributors About Myself |
In 1989 Conrail began their Mercury intermodal service. Actually, Conrail Mercury was not one of the traditional 'Service Groups,' such as the Core Service Group. Conrail Mercury was a wholly owned subsidiary of Conrail, whose top executives all came from the trucking industry. Its brand-new central dispatch center was based in Plymouth Meeting, PA.Conrail Mercury specialized in door-to-door and customized service. Its mission was to connect East-West intermodal trains with cities in the Southwest and on the West Coast. Eventually, Mercury expanded into the United States Postal Service Contractor business. In 1989 Conrail purchased 48' Strick trailers for the service, painting them in the Mercury scheme. When modeling this prototype, you will need to check individual photos. Some trailers, as the CRMZ 229001 above, do not have the United States Postal Service Contractor decal that other CRMZ trailers have. Conrail also purchased 48' and 53' smooth-side Monon containers for Mercury service and gave them reporting marks of CRMU, as well as container chassis. I believe these containers have been sold or placed into other service, such as EMP, since I haven't seen one in years. Anyone know what happened to them?  Photos for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited. |
