Rail Car Location Tracking

[Wharthog]

My Bronco is shipped and on it's way to the rail yard in Laurel. Montana. I have been calling the tracking number and from the day it was shipped, the tracking phone number gives me it's most recent location then says "for delivery in Chicago" it's now in Chicago, and for the last few days I have not received any new updates other than "Delivered to Chicago". is this normal? I'm thinking that maybe it switches between train companies in Chicago and that is why updates have either stopped or it takes a while to switch over. It just throws me off that it says "delivered to Chicago" and not "for delivery in Laurel, MT".

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[cr117]

My Bronco is shipped and on it's way to the rail yard in Laurel. Montana. I have been calling the tracking number and from the day it was shipped, the tracking phone number gives me it's most recent location then says "for delivery in Chicago" it's now in Chicago, and for the last few days I have not received any new updates other than "Delivered to Chicago". is this normal? I'm thinking that maybe it switches between train companies in Chicago and that is why updates have either stopped or it takes a while to switch over. It just throws me off that it says "delivered to Chicago" and not "for delivery in Laurel, MT".

I think it's just getting transferred to another rail company (BNSF, see service map), which can take a few days. Mine got stuck at the transfer yard in Garrett, IN for 6 days before continuing on west. That same phone number should continue to work for your rail car until your bronco is unloaded at the final destination.

 

[HolidayDog]

Thought I'd create a new post with what I shared in my week's build thread.


If you're not already aware, for those of you that are able to get a rail car number for their Bronco, you can use CSX's automated phone service to check on its location: (800) 235-2352

I was able to track mine all the way from the Michigan plant to the automotive rail yard in Kent, WA. This hotline continued to work even after it made the transfer from CSX's line to BNSF.

If you're like me, and want to obsessively check in 10+ times per day, I recommend setting up a speed dial on your phone with the car number programmed in so you don't have to say anything or press any numbers.

For my rail car TTGX 982769, the speed dial looked like this:

(800) 235-2352,,1,,81814192,,,982769,,,##

The commas should be spaced out correctly so the timing of the prompts work every time. To create your own speed dial, replace the 81814192 and 982769 numbers with your info. For the first number (81814192), you will need to program each number combo that pertains to the letters of your rail car. In my example, the first T translates to 81 since T is the 1st letter on the "8" key. The second sequence of numbers (982769) is the number portion of the rail car identifier.


Like I said, I've been obsessively tracking the progress of my Bronco since it was shipped. I know it's probably unhealthy, but what else was I supposed to do until it arrived? Here's the data I collected:

Spoiler: My 20 day rail car trip from the factory to the Kent, WA

Date	Time	Location
7/17/23	11:24pm	Wayne, MI
7/19/23	8:37pm	Walbridge, OH
7/21/23	5:45am	Garrett, IN
7/26/23	6:32pm	Gibson, IN
7/27/23	7:49pm	Verona, IL
	8:16pm	Streator, IL
	8:22pm	Ancona, IL
	8:41pm	Toluca, IL
	9:45pm	Edelstein, IL
	10:41pm	Williamsfield, IL
	11:49pm	Galesburg, IL
7/28/23	6:39am	Fenton, IL
	7:28am	Savanna, IL
	8:35am	East Dubuque, IL
	9:25am	Cassville, WI
	11:51am	Crawford, WI
	2:31pm	Cochrane, WI
	3:33pm	Bay City, WI
	5:26pm	St. Croix, MN
7/29/23	12:48am	Coon Rapids, MN
	7:45am	Dilworth, MN
	9:17am	Moorhead, MN
	9:38am	Fargo, ND
	10:17am	Casselton, ND
	11:02am	Luverne, ND
	2:49pm	Karlsruhe, ND
	3:23pm	Minot, ND
	7:59pm	Blaisdell, ND
	8:36pm	Stanley, ND
	10:28pm	Trenton, ND
7/30/23	2:11am	Wolf Point, MT
7/31/23	11:45am	Glasgow, MT
	3:30pm	Hinsdale, MT
	6:34pm	Malta, MT
	8:47pm	Zurich, MT
8/1/23	5:35am	Havre, MT
	6:00am	Kremlin, MT
	8:11am	Dunkirk, MT
	11:36am	Shelby, MT
	12:18pm	Cut Bank, MT
	1:14pm	Blackfoot, MT
	2:38pm	Spotted Robe, MT
	4:24pm	Java, MT
	4:37pm	Essex, MT
	6:12pm	Whitefish, MT
	9:32pm	Rock Creek, MT
	10:01pm	Tamarack Creek, MT
	11:18pm	Libby, MT
8/2/2023	2:30am	Hauser, ID
	5:21am	Spokane, WA
	5:42am	Highland, WA
	7:37am	Lamona, WA
	7:49am	Odessa, WA
	8:38am	Adrian, WA
	8:57am	Naylor, WA
	12:11pm	Quincy, WA
	1:21pm	Columbia River, WA
	1:45pm	Wenatchee, WA
8/5/23	5:51am	Cashmere, WA
	6:46am	Winton, WA
	7:15am	Berne, WA
	8:38am	Skykomish, WA
	9:36am	Monroe, WA
	10:37am	Edmonds, WA
	10:53am	Interbay, WA
	2:45pm	Seattle, WA
	4:24pm	Kent, WA

This is one of the
Top 5 best B6G posts I’ve ever read.! This is some top tier Bronco geekery!

this is what I am going to do tonight. Thank you!

 

[BroncoStang]

Thought I'd create a new post with what I shared in my week's build thread.


If you're not already aware, for those of you that are able to get a rail car number for their Bronco, you can use CSX's automated phone service to check on its location: (800) 235-2352

I was able to track mine all the way from the Michigan plant to the automotive rail yard in Kent, WA. This hotline continued to work even after it made the transfer from CSX's line to BNSF.

If you're like me, and want to obsessively check in 10+ times per day, I recommend setting up a speed dial on your phone with the car number programmed in so you don't have to say anything or press any numbers.

For my rail car TTGX 982769, the speed dial looked like this:

(800) 235-2352,,1,,81814192,,,982769,,,##

The commas should be spaced out correctly so the timing of the prompts work every time. To create your own speed dial, replace the 81814192 and 982769 numbers with your info. For the first number (81814192), you will need to program each number combo that pertains to the letters of your rail car. In my example, the first T translates to 81 since T is the 1st letter on the "8" key. The second sequence of numbers (982769) is the number portion of the rail car identifier.


Like I said, I've been obsessively tracking the progress of my Bronco since it was shipped. I know it's probably unhealthy, but what else was I supposed to do until it arrived? Here's the data I collected:

Spoiler: My 20 day rail car trip from the factory to the Kent, WA

Date	Time	Location
7/17/23	11:24pm	Wayne, MI
7/19/23	8:37pm	Walbridge, OH
7/21/23	5:45am	Garrett, IN
7/26/23	6:32pm	Gibson, IN
7/27/23	7:49pm	Verona, IL
	8:16pm	Streator, IL
	8:22pm	Ancona, IL
	8:41pm	Toluca, IL
	9:45pm	Edelstein, IL
	10:41pm	Williamsfield, IL
	11:49pm	Galesburg, IL
7/28/23	6:39am	Fenton, IL
	7:28am	Savanna, IL
	8:35am	East Dubuque, IL
	9:25am	Cassville, WI
	11:51am	Crawford, WI
	2:31pm	Cochrane, WI
	3:33pm	Bay City, WI
	5:26pm	St. Croix, MN
7/29/23	12:48am	Coon Rapids, MN
	7:45am	Dilworth, MN
	9:17am	Moorhead, MN
	9:38am	Fargo, ND
	10:17am	Casselton, ND
	11:02am	Luverne, ND
	2:49pm	Karlsruhe, ND
	3:23pm	Minot, ND
	7:59pm	Blaisdell, ND
	8:36pm	Stanley, ND
	10:28pm	Trenton, ND
7/30/23	2:11am	Wolf Point, MT
7/31/23	11:45am	Glasgow, MT
	3:30pm	Hinsdale, MT
	6:34pm	Malta, MT
	8:47pm	Zurich, MT
8/1/23	5:35am	Havre, MT
	6:00am	Kremlin, MT
	8:11am	Dunkirk, MT
	11:36am	Shelby, MT
	12:18pm	Cut Bank, MT
	1:14pm	Blackfoot, MT
	2:38pm	Spotted Robe, MT
	4:24pm	Java, MT
	4:37pm	Essex, MT
	6:12pm	Whitefish, MT
	9:32pm	Rock Creek, MT
	10:01pm	Tamarack Creek, MT
	11:18pm	Libby, MT
8/2/2023	2:30am	Hauser, ID
	5:21am	Spokane, WA
	5:42am	Highland, WA
	7:37am	Lamona, WA
	7:49am	Odessa, WA
	8:38am	Adrian, WA
	8:57am	Naylor, WA
	12:11pm	Quincy, WA
	1:21pm	Columbia River, WA
	1:45pm	Wenatchee, WA
8/5/23	5:51am	Cashmere, WA
	6:46am	Winton, WA
	7:15am	Berne, WA
	8:38am	Skykomish, WA
	9:36am	Monroe, WA
	10:37am	Edmonds, WA
	10:53am	Interbay, WA
	2:45pm	Seattle, WA
	4:24pm	Kent, WA

Thank you for this, mine just shipped recently and this makes it so much easier to obsessively track it lol. Now for the longest few weeks of my life.

 

[Poppavein]

Mine arrived in Kent and they said it would take 10 days.
Probably like when they give a pregnant woman a due date, IMO they extend the date so that the woman doesn't get upset when due date comes and they are still pregnant.
(Just seems like many pregnancies happen a couple weeks before due date.)

 

[mattjrutter]

Does the status ever change after the final "arrived at?"

I got my "arrived at Kent, WA" this morning and I'm not sure if I should keep calling for tracking if it's done from here. I'm hoping there's some kind of change for when it's unloaded from the train and/or loaded on the truck. (Heading to Bickford Snohomish)

 

[cr117]

Does the status ever change after the final "arrived at?"

I got my "arrived at Kent, WA" this morning and I'm not sure if I should keep calling for tracking if it's done from here. I'm hoping there's some kind of change for when it's unloaded from the train and/or loaded on the truck. (Heading to Bickford Snohomish)

Nope, at this point the rail car’s destination has been reached so there won’t be any more updates. You’ll have to reach out to your dealer to find out when they’ll have a truck transport it there.

 

[mattjrutter]

Nope, at this point the rail car’s destination has been reached so there won’t be any more updates. You’ll have to reach out to your dealer to find out when they’ll have a truck transport it there.

That's too bad. I'm unsure how much the dealers see as far as their tracking. I'll talk with mine, see what I can find out.

Has anyone verified which yard they go to in WA? I've seen some mention the BNSF one in Renton and the Union Pacific one in Kent. The tracker saying "arrived in Kent" would suggest the UP one, but I'm seeing a lot of Chevys and GMCs there. Maybe the Fords are buried a bit. The tracker saying BNSF has been pulling it this whole time would suggest Renton, and I saw at least a bunch of Jeeps there, but the fence makes it difficult to find Fords.

I'm sure you can see why I'm conflicted so if anyone knows what their yard was, I'd love to know.

 

[cr117]

That's too bad. I'm unsure how much the dealers see as far as their tracking. I'll talk with mine, see what I can find out.

My dealer (Kirkland) didn't disclose any tracking on individual vehicles, but they were able to let me know of their schedule for when they expected a delivery to their dealership of vehicles from the rail yard. As soon as mine shown as arrived in Kent, I asked my dealer and they said they were expecting a truck delivery the next day. Turns out my Bronco wasn't on that truck. A few days later they had another scheduled delivery and mine was in that batch.

 

[mattjrutter]

I did end up receiving a few more statuses:
3/29 4:02am Arrived in Kent, WA (mentioned above)
3/29 10:17am Placed at customer location (Kent)
3/30 9:22pm Emptied, Released by customer (Kent)

I would interpret the last two as: train car placed inside the unloading yard, and then for the last status, the car has been unloaded and it is ready to be picked up by the rail company (Bronco parked in the lot).
I've also heard of "Released to industry" but I don't care about that one.

Yeah, now I'm just trying to get as much info as I can from the dealership. They seem to be treating it as a black box as much as they can, always speaking in generalities. A bit disappointing, but I'm sure eager (future) Bronco owners could be a bit much to deal with.

 

[jsoa]

Yup, I went as far as to map out the train path, I may or may not have too much time...

 

[Poppavein]

I think it took about 6 days for mine to go from Kent to Kirkland.

 

[mattjrutter]

Yup, I went as far as to map out the train path, I may or may not have too much time...

Lol, me too. I was checking the status about every 15 minutes and got a good trace across the country. I used Google Earth browser edition to label the cities (color-coded by day) and then Google Earth desktop edition to better see the rail lines and measure out the paths.

You can see the rail lines way better in Google Earth Pro (desktop edition which is free) and then use the ruler path to measure milage. The lines are shown with "Transportation" selected and on the map you can see it as black lines with gray ticks.

 

[mattjrutter]

You can then use those tracks to see where it should pass through your city and see that it goes right next your work so that you can get a beautiful picture like this one:

If the graffiti is unique enough, you could probably then pick it out in the rail yard.

Lol, maybe I'm a bit intense. Just really excited for sure.

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