The extra guys in the trailing units are most likely "deadheading" back to their home base in Herington, KS. There might have been a bunch of eastbound traffic they brought in, but nothing close that they could take back west, other than as passengers on this one. It is unusual for so many to be riding along, and they definitely all had their eye on me as I made the photo. Back then, railroaders were a lot friendlier, though, and were often pleased to see someone taking an interest in what they did for a living. The adjacent train is what we refer to as a piggyback, but by the time this photo was made, most if not all US railroads were loading trailers from the side or top with lifting equipment - no longer using ramps and loading from the end. The train is made up of older 89 foot conventional piggyback flatcars (not spine cars), but have had their ramps removed. Santa Fe started the move to spine cars (single-trailer-or-container platforms with semi-permanent, no-slack coupling bars between platforms) with their Ten Pack Fuel Foiler equipment in 1978.
Adjacent train, is there any name for that ... in India we call it as RO-RO (Roll On - Roll Off)
The adjacent train is what we refer to as a piggyback, but by the time this photo was made, most if not all US railroads were loading trailers from the side or top with lifting equipment - no longer using ramps and loading from the end. The train is made up of older 89 foot conventional piggyback flatcars (not spine cars), but have had their ramps removed. Santa Fe started the move to spine cars (single-trailer-or-container platforms with semi-permanent, no-slack coupling bars between platforms) with their Ten Pack Fuel Foiler equipment in 1978.