In the 1980s, what would have been LCL was the province of freight forwarders and trucks. A lot of the long distance stuff traveled in piggyback trailers to larger terminals. Here, it was broken down and that destined for points short of the next terminal, went by regional truck and in some cases, by bus! The local freight train handled carload freight only. The regional truck could cover a 500 mile "district" in eight to ten hours. The long local could take two days, or more depending on how many customers the railroad had along that stretch of track, and how active they were.
To Kasskaboose I submit: Three lumber yards owned by the same company, are receiving orders of lumber, ordered under the corporate name and shipped on the same flatcar. Town A is 20 miles east of Town B, which is 30 miles from Town C. This car is going to be set out and, picked up at each point. The local only runs once a day, so once the car is spotted, it cannot move until the next day. These moves are hauls, not simple respots due to the distances involved. I'm not into freight rates and all of that green eyeshade business but, that could be an expensive carload of wood! The railroads were glad to get out of the LCL business because the could eliminate freight stations, agents, damage, and pilferage, plus a mountain of paper work and just focus on the big picture. Intermodal and unit trains.
