Truck shipped...Want to find status or rail car number...

[schu777]

Anyone have access to see where my truck is???



It's been 7 weeks tomorrow (20th) and right now I have no idea if the truck was shipped, on a railcar or just sitting down in Mexico.



I've gone to the Burlington Northern web site to do tracing, but since 9/11 - they changed it to where someone has to grant you access to the tracing. So now I'm in lala land of knowing where it is. Checked my email after registering with BN and nothing... so I guess someone has to "OK" me to look at it.



The funny thing that strikes me is the gal I talked to on Customer service for Dodge said they are not updated for a week, so to call back on Friday. WHAT??? Go figure, I don't understand why there wouldn't be an up-to-date status of the truck??? I guess they are behind the times of keeping track of something. BUT what was something is she knew it was shipped but didn't have any railcar information yet.



Anyone give me some info on where exactly the truck was built in Mexico and does it actually get trucked to New Orleans then onto a Rail car?



For anyone that does have access to BN web site, my last 8 digits of the truck is 2M275601



Thanks, Michael

 

[Jeff Knight]

Hi Mike, My truck was on Union Pacific RR. There wasn't any problem with getting on there web-site. Then it was transfered to Norfolk Southern RR. I didn't have any problems with them either. My truck went to Laredo TX to be put on a rail car. Dodge had the car number for me to trace it. Hope you find a way to trace it. Good Luck. Jeff

 

[Idaho Native]

Mike,



There's a TDR member that goes by Jakebud here in Omaha... I work with him. He's a RR buff and knows exactly how to find and track your auto hauler. Drop me a PM or an e-mail and I'll put you two in touch. I'll also send this thread to him so he knows that you're looking.



Loren

 

[schu777]

Need help from RR guys...

Well, just got an email from BN about the tracing of my truck. Guess what, since I'm not a customer, the dealer has to do it. So... is there anyone that could do a trace for me to let me know where it is?



Thanks, Michael

 

[Thomas]

Try calling Dodge again. I have received a variety of contradicting information (and spent hours on hold) calling the Dodge 800 number.



Maybe you'll get lucky.

 

[schu777]

I called this morning again... no rail car number... just confirmed it was shipped the 15th. I guess I can keep calling, keep calling and keep calling... just thought maybe someone would have access to this site to get the railcar number if it has even been loaded on one... guess I'm very impatient now. I don't know how in the world anyone that had to wait 3-6 months could stand it...

 

[KatDiesel]

Why they heck are ya looking on the BNSF? All Daimler-Chrysler vehicles west of the Mississippi River are shipped via Union Pacific. Its brought on rail out of Mexico. You need to get Dodge to give you the railcar number... . I can't track it via VIN... only railcar.



And Loren... ... why give him a "buff" when he can get the real deal meal



Get me a railcar number... . and I can tell you where its at.

 

[KatDiesel]

Try this one too



Carload Tracing: 1-800-634-2204

(Automated Voice Response)



No idea what it does.

 

[schu777]

Good Grief Kat... It's just frustrating to know that it's been shipped and not knowing where it's at. I was going off of the Dodgeram.org status page - supposely you can enter a VIN and get the information of the railcar and such, or at least that was the impression I had.



Anyway, I'll try to be more patient till Monday and see if Dodge updates thier computers. I guess that is another frustrating part to me... how in the world can Dodge not have up-to-date records of stuff? At least daily? I hate to believe they only update the system once a week like one guy told me... however I would believe it to be better than that.



Oh well, Kat - you might want to erase those phone numbers just so everyone and thier dog don't call them.



Now I think about it... why the heck would the railroad care about the VIN number anyway?? They would only tell the Plant what Railcar it was loaded on and nothing would get entered into thier system... oh well, I'm just a programmer that thinks of these kind of things and how neat it would be to have tracing of a vehicle from birth to anything that happened in it's life time. Oil changes, traffic stops/accidents, repairs, recalls, selling and all that jazz... of course this would be a database across many different places and just would be expensive, but hey, wouldn't that be cool!!



Thanks so much for your help... I'll post the Rail Car number when I get it... Michael

 

[KatDiesel]

Originally posted by schu777

Oh well, Kat - you might want to erase those phone numbers just so everyone and thier dog don't call them.

I don't really care if people call them I just looked up the numbers... . posted them, then went to bed for a few hours (worked all night last night). I'll erase them... for now.



Did you try any of them? I don't "know" anyone in the automotive group unfortunately.

 

[KatDiesel]

In year 2000 I ordered my truck Jan 15th or so, and I had it by March 30th FYI.

 

[Idaho Native]

And Loren... ... why give him a "buff" when he can get the real deal meal

Well, I wouldn't have put it quite that way, Kat, but I figured you had less time on your hands than Jakebud



Turns out I was wrong:-laf



Loren

 

[schu777]

Well, now that I know of 3 guys that are in the Omaha area... now the question is when will I get my truck? Only God knows at this point.



Anyway, when is the next "gathering" of Omaha TDR members? I'd like to see what other guys have for gauges and such, I want to get some gauges pretty quick... don't know what I can afford right away since I just got myself out of credit card debt and don't want to venture back into that. . plus the house will need some attention on some things too.



Michael

 

[KatDiesel]

Originally posted by Idaho Native





Well, I wouldn't have put it quite that way, Kat, but I figured you had less time on your hands than Jakebud



Turns out I was wrong



Loren

I just happen to be up this morning is all..... Get your injectors in yet? When you outgrow your 35lb gauge lemmie know, I can sell you my 50lb gauge I have to move to the 0 to 60 psi gauge now.

 

[KatDiesel]

Originally posted by schu777

Well, now that I know of 3 guys that are in the Omaha area... now the question is when will I get my truck? Only God knows at this point.



Anyway, when is the next "gathering" of Omaha TDR members? I'd like to see what other guys have for gauges and such, I want to get some gauges pretty quick... don't know what I can afford right away since I just got myself out of credit card debt and don't want to venture back into that. . plus the house will need some attention on some things too.



Michael

Oh theres about 15 of us (Iowa/Nebraska)that sometimes do breakfast or lunch..... just waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer..... we have a habit of standing out in the cold freezin while we look at trucks.



I could take ya for a ride?? Then you can decide if ya want some more power Speaking of that Loren. . I think you need a ride... .

 

[Jakebud]

Schu"s TRUCK

Michael



Did you know that once you find the rail car that your truck is on, you can run a relatively continuous trace on the UP. Site is listed below. When I traced mine last year, I was even able to catch it on the move. If the trace shows it in a town you've never heard of, it might well be moving. I was able to track its progress by backing out of the trace site below, then going back in and reinserting the car number. You'll need the full ID on the car, which the DC folks should give you. Mine was TTGX 964087 as a for instance. I also found the lot over in Council Bluffs where the truck will be ramped. Drop a line if you don't know. Also, don't be shocked if it sits there for a bit. Mine sat a week before heading up to Woodhouse.



Also, mine sat in St Louis about a week after being built, so don't be shocked if yours doesn't hit the road right away so to speak.



UP trace:

http://my.uprr.com/pet/





SPIKE

 

[KatDiesel]

Re: Schu"s TRUCK

Originally posted by Jakebud

Did you know that once you find the rail car that your truck is on, you can run a relatively continuous trace on the UP. Site is listed below. When I traced mine last year, I was even able to catch it on the move. If the trace shows it in a town you've never heard of, it might well be moving. I was able to track its progress by backing out of the trace site below, then going back in and reinserting the car number. You'll need the full ID on the car, which the DC folks should give you. Mine was TTGX 964087 as a for instance.

All the autoracks are TTGX that I know of. And the "Public Trace" sucks I like knowing where it is, when its leaving and when it will be called at such locations



Just need a car number... ... ... . Oo.

 

[schu777]

Jakebug: Well, I think with the estimated of 17 business days turns out this way... 5 days in Mexico waiting for shipment... 5 days sitting somewhere along the way... a grand total of 7 days of actually being shipped.



Kat: I'm sure the public trace is nothing like what you have access to. Most of any type of public tracing is so generic, it isn't updated until later which is almost pointless. Just another thing being a programmer that just bugs me... maybe in 10-20 years stuff will be better... then again... maybe not. I would love to go for a ride in your truck... from all the posts I've read, it appears that you have a very fast and fun truck.



Called today at 10:50am - Finally - a RAIL CAR NUMBER!! TTGX 982477 - somewhere in TX - maybe Kat can do a better tracking than the public one... that one just really sucks the big one!!!



THANKS - Michael

 

[Jakebud]

Schu's Truck

Michael



When mine came in last year, I was able to follow it north on the Falls City Subdivision as it came up out of Kansas City. I sat up a good part of that Saturday night following its progress north. If I hadn't have been so lazy, I would have gotten up to go watch the train with the car hualing my truck go through Bellevue. I'm fairly convinced that with that experience and other uses of their site, namely chasing the locomotives used on the Olympic Torch Train, that it is very accurate and up to date method to chase equipment anywhere on UP's system.



Kat, if you see this, you can dig further in to the designator on a car. The TTGX series are all bi-levels. I think its is EEGX or ETGX that are tri-levels. I have an article in Trains Magazine at home that tells what all the codes mean reference what type of car. The four letters designate the car's type. There is a leasing company that owns the cars, name escapes me. The railroad with its name on the actual auto racks owns just the rack itself. Interesting arrangement.



SPIKE

 

[KatDiesel]

Originally posted by schu777

Kat: I'm sure the public trace is nothing like what you have access to. Most of any type of public tracing is so generic, it isn't updated until later which is almost pointless. Just another thing being a programmer that just bugs me... maybe in 10-20 years stuff will be better... then again... maybe not. I would love to go for a ride in your truck... from all the posts I've read, it appears that you have a very fast and fun truck.



Called today at 10:50am - Finally - a RAIL CAR NUMBER!! TTGX 982477 - somewhere in TX - maybe Kat can do a better tracking than the public one... that one just really sucks the big one!!!

I'll look it up tonight at work. And let ya know where its at. I won't be able to reply until 7am saturday morning tho.