correct!! Trains here in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico all operate the same way moveing from one major city to the next seting out cars in larger yards for brake down to local interstate trains. The Locals take the cars to smaller yards out side of the big city to anouther smaller yard in some cases for anouther local to take the cars to industries or to interchange with outher short line railroads or regionals. Heres a good exsample of one train that runs on Conrail (Now CSX)
Train BUSY (Buffalo, NY-to-Silkirk, NY) This is an east bound train lets say this train started in Chicago, Illinois going East to Buffalo this train would be called CHBU for exsample. This train is a general fraght mixed cargo Boxacars, tankcars, gondolas, Reefers, Covered and open hoppers. Avarage number of locomotives may have been lets say 6 Union Pacific Locomotives once they hit Chicago, Il the power is pulled and the cars are sorted later on in the day Conrail adds oh 4 Locomotives to take the train to Buffalo on the way the train will his Gary, Indiana maybe drop cars off there and pick up a few cars as well. The next stop would be Erie, PA cars get droped and picked up. Next stop is Frontier Yard in Buffalo, NY the train gets broken up and resorted into Train BUSY (Buffalo, NY to Selkirk, NY) BUSY is an odd train with all of the general assorted fraght cars plus Auto Racks, and Double Stack well Cars. The train will start out with lets say 6 Locomotives for a 130 car train. The top speed is 55 miles an hour with 5 30mph speed restrictions between Buffalo and Syracuse the train will make stopes in Rochestor, NY, Lyons, NY, Syracuse, NY, Utica, NY and then Selkirk Yard in Selkirk, NY where the cars picked up and droped off over its number of stopes will be re sorted for points east, North, and South for the following Railroads Guilford, Canadian Pacific, and Delaware & Hudson. The of the outher stopes that were made along the way are sorted out by local trains that will again sort there cars and take them to local industrys in there areas.
The Lyons Local for exsample will inter- change cars with 3 short lines and several industys.
The Rochestor local will run cars to industys in the area as well as run cars to Lyons for swap cars as well.
Cars droped by Train BUSY in Syracuse, NY would be stack cars and TOFC cars along with seveal General Fraght Cars trains would be broken up here and sent out for local industry and intercahnge with the New York Sesquhannah & Western, Canadian National, and the Finger Lakes Railway.