Can anyone recommend some good links or books about rail freight in Europe and how it differs from rail freight in North America? Passenger rail is way bigger over there than it is over here, so it's harder to find information on their rail system that doesn't focus on that aspect. Of course, it doesn't help that their continent contains many more countries, and the only two big ones with English as the main language are not continental.

I'm not a huge fan of European railway operations or equipment, but I saw this book yesterday and was blown away by the level of detail contained within the maps. It may be relevant to what you're seeking.

http://www.ltmuseu...s-2nd-Edition.html

Hmm, thanks for the link. This atlas looks good too. Here are some sample pages from it.

Try messaging Euro foamers on Youtube

The only actual European freight train I can think of actually is the freight service used in the Channel Tunnel, Europorte.

For the most part I know also with the electrified lines, the loading gauge is pretty low, so most of the loads on European freight trains is "Less than Truck Load" or LTL.