Let's not be too hasty to dismiss intermodal...

traffic for America's system of narrow gauge railroads. Why not a transcontinental plan that turns conventional wisdom on its head? Let the truckers have the long haul (who needs that hassle anyway) and a syndicate of n.g. tourist/preservation lines will handle that fun, short haul stuff. Here's how it works:
Pick an eastern port, say Philadelphia. A trucker takes the narrow gauge road railer (we don't need no stinkin' DUAL gauge technology) off the dock, hops on the PA Turnpike and hauls it to out to Orbisonia. He hands it over to the EBT, giving him time to fuel-up and eat lunch before picking it up at Picnic Grove.
Then its on to Flint where the Huckleberry spells the driver for a while. Yeah, I know their line is a loop, but that's the beauty of it. The trucker doesn't have to move. Saves wages and milage. From Flint, it's down to Chicago and on towards Colorado on I-80/I-76.
Now comes the good stuff. He pulls into Georgetown where the Georgetown Loop hauls it to Silver Plume. The nice thing about this move is that it's shorter by road to Silver Plume so it saves a little on your overhead (tho not as much as the Huckleberry) for the trucker to deadhead there. Make's sense, right?
Then another hop down to Antonito to hand it over to the C&TS, etc. Well, you get the drill by now. After the D&S takes it to Silverton, all that's left is to drive it up to the nearest UP connection, wherever that is. Let them figure out what to do with it. Hell, we did all the work.
Sarducci