One of the railway folks mentioned that it's cost-prohibitive to deal with anything.... If trucking works, they can't compete with trucking up to 500 miles. That's where they break even or where they are most cost-effective.
Why can't you do this? Does trucking not work? If they charge as much as truck transport for the first 500 miles—that's where their break-even point is—why would you not use trucking for the first 500 miles?