Looking for something different from the usual container well car? The RoadRailer is a bimodal highway trailer that runs directly on rail bogies, without a flatcar: developed in the early 1980s by Bi-Modal Corporation from Budd-built trailers, the technology eliminates the dead weight of a flatcar and speeds up yard switching thanks to an articulated bogie shared between two trailers (the well-known CouplerMate). Triple Crown Services (TCSZ), Norfolk Southern's intermodal subsidiary founded in 1986, became the largest RoadRailer operator in North America, running a hub-and-spoke network centered on Fort Wayne, Indiana that grew to roughly 7,000 trailers at its peak around 2012. The service ended in 2024 after the last train ran between Detroit and Kansas City, closing out more than 35 years of railroad history.
This DuraPlate trailer originally carried Swift Transportation colors before joining the TCSZ fleet of Triple Crown Services — another example of trucking-operator trailers recycled into the RoadRailer network. The Bowser HO model features pad-printed ends, sides and mud flaps, plus a prototypical silver roof; the CouplerMate (sold separately, only one required per train) reproduces the shared articulated bogie that sets the RoadRailer apart from a conventional flatcar. Six road numbers are available. Preorder: reservation required by October 15, 2026, delivery expected summer 2027.
Features:
- HO scale (1:87)
- DuraPlate (composite-panel) trailer, TCSZ ex-Swift scheme
- Pad-printed ends, sides and mud flaps
- Silver roof
- CouplerMate required for coupling between trailers (sold separately, only one per train)
- Preorder — delivery expected summer 2027
Looking for something different from the usual container well car? The RoadRailer is a bimodal highway trailer that runs directly on rail bogies, without a flatcar: developed in the early 1980s by Bi-Modal Corporation from Budd-built trailers, the technology eliminates the dead weight of a flatcar and speeds up yard switching thanks to an articulated bogie shared between two trailers (the well-known CouplerMate). Triple Crown Services (TCSZ), Norfolk Southern's intermodal subsidiary founded in 1986, became the largest RoadRailer operator in North America, running a hub-and-spoke network centered on Fort Wayne, Indiana that grew to roughly 7,000 trailers at its peak around 2012. The service ended in 2024 after the last train ran between Detroit and Kansas City, closing out more than 35 years of railroad history.
This DuraPlate trailer originally carried Swift Transportation colors before joining the TCSZ fleet of Triple Crown Services — another example of trucking-operator trailers recycled into the RoadRailer network. The Bowser HO model features pad-printed ends, sides and mud flaps, plus a prototypical silver roof; the CouplerMate (sold separately, only one required per train) reproduces the shared articulated bogie that sets the RoadRailer apart from a conventional flatcar. Six road numbers are available. Preorder: reservation required by October 15, 2026, delivery expected summer 2027.
Features:
- HO scale (1:87)
- DuraPlate (composite-panel) trailer, TCSZ ex-Swift scheme
- Pad-printed ends, sides and mud flaps
- Silver roof
- CouplerMate required for coupling between trailers (sold separately, only one per train)
- Preorder — delivery expected summer 2027