The Alaska Railroad is stepping up its game in containerized freight with the purchase of two articulated well cars, ARR 19301 and ARR 19303, received January 2025. These former Brandon Rail units (4805 and 4819) are 307 feet long and holds five containers. Best guess operations are between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Owner: Brandon Rail

Type: Double Stack Car

AAR Class: FCA: Flat car, articulated multi-unit, specially equipped to carry trailers, containers, chassis, or removable trailer bodies for the transportation of freight in TOFC/COFC service.

AAR Type: S367

Detail Info: Stack Car, Wells: All 48ft, Five Wells, IBC Type Heavy Capacity (125 Ton Trucks), 2-20ft or 2-24ft or 1-40ft or 1-45ft or 1-48ft container(s) in all wells with 1-40ft or 1-45ft or 1-48ft or 1-53ft container stacked on top of all wells.

Plate: H

Max Gross Weight: 801000

Load Limit: 584500

Ext L/W/H: 304' 6" / 10' 8" / 7' 9"

Int L/W/H: 48' 0" / 8' 6" / 0' 0"

From Wikipedia:

A well car, also known as a double-stack car (or also intermodal car/container car), is a type of railroad car specially designed to carry intermodal containers (shipping containers) used in intermodal freight transport. The "well" is a depressed section that sits close to the rails between the wheel trucks of the car, allowing a container to be carried lower than on a traditional flatcar. This makes it possible to carry a stack of two containers per unit on railway lines (double-stack rail transport) wherever the structure gauge assures sufficient clearance.

The top container is secured to the bottom container either by a bulkhead built into the car — possible when bottom and top containers are the same dimensions, or through the use of inter-box connectors (IBC). Four IBCs are needed per well car. In the terminal there are four steps: unlock and lift off the top containers of an inbound train, remove the bottom containers, insert outbound bottom containers, lock assembly after top containers emplaced. Generally this is done car-by-car unless multiple crane apparatus are employed.

Advantages of using well cars include increased stability due to the lower center of gravity of the loads, lower tare weight, and in the case of articulated units, reduced slack action.