SHIPPING TIME FROM BOWLING GREEN TO LOS ANGELES
 

My C7 just hit Code 4200 and was shipped today. Really worried about the new paint in -30 windchills this week. Anybody know the rail route the cars take from Bowling Green to LA and how long it takes? Thanks.

Up until the last few weeks all Corvettes going to California went by way of truck hauler so estimating how long the journey takes is brand new territory.

My guess is to St. Louis then down the El Cajon pass to LA and I am hoping we will get posts indicating the actual route.

Travel time will be less predictable using rail as the rail autorack cars often sit in a switching yard for several days at a time while train dispatchers decide if and when the rail car will move. This is reality and the idea that the autorack is carrying Corvettes will likely make no difference even if the dispatcher is a Corvette fan.

Laborsmith

I've heard you can call your sales guy to have him on onstar so you can track where it's at.

The Family Link locator you are talking about is an add-on to Onstar. Dealers can't just turn this on arbitrarily. And it's only available after the dealer activates Onstar at the time of sale.

The crazy part, IMO, is that the people who have done this are actually 'accepting delivery' of their cars and have fully purchased them without seeing them or being in possession of them. What happens if the car carrier wrecks or if the car arrives damaged? I understand the allure, but the downsides seem a bit tough to stomach.

My car shipped on 12/16 to Washington state and was one of the first ones to go by rail. I picked it up on 1/1.

Stuck in Toledo
 

Used the chat button on the GM tracking site, and it took 20 minutes, but they traced it to a transfer point in Toledo. How it gets to LA via Ohio is a mystery-perhaps it will follow Route 66 from Chicago. Followed the thread instructions for trying to activate Onstar with just the VIN, and got nowhere with the OnStar supervisor. They picked up on what people were trying to do and nixed it.

Good info
 

Thanks for the info; first solid timeline I've heard!

Repeat the thanks to Rdd3.

The Ontario Street rail autorack switchyard is in Toledo but. Not sure where Costa Mesa is but if in the Bay area or northward going thru Toledo makes some sense, I think.

Laborsmith

Tracking rail car number
 

Was in Toledo in Tuesday and headed out on a CSX train. Somebody posted the procedure to track a CSX shipment with the railcar number on the Cadillac website, but still unable to get the number from the vehicle history--probably since the Vette shipments on rail are so new.

:popcorn:

My dealer activated ONSTAR without me purchasing the car. I told them if the car comes in with any damage or its not up to my standards I will walk from the deal. OnStar could be shut off & transferred to a new owner. Its only 199 to 299 per year after 6 months free service. If I walked from the deal I would give them the difference since I am a stand up guy.. but I know they would never ask..

Cadprof, your dealer can get the rail car number by contacting the regional business center.

Laborsmith

Not to worry about wind chill as it is a factor calculated based on human skin. Hope you get your C7 soon.

• Calculates wind speed at an average height of five feet, typical height of an adult human face, based on readings from the national standard height of 33 feet, typical height of an anemometer
• Is based on a human face model
• Incorporates heat transfer theory, heat loss from the body to its surroundings, during cold and breezy/windy days
• Lowers the calm wind threshold to 3 mph
• Uses a consistent standard for skin tissue resistance
• Assumes no impact from the sun (i.e., clear night sky).

Low temp water borne paint
 

Just remembering when I had a collision damaged car painted years ago in the Cleveland winter and taking it out with spider web cracks showing up months later. With water borne paint drying from the outside in, I can imagine microcapsules of water expanding when freezing and cracking the clearcoat. Sure hope I'm wrong! Still don't have a clue where the car is in the rail system.