Changes in Operations Europe - Freightliner (Details) £ in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 GBP (£) $ / £	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / £	Mar. 25, 2015 GBP (£) rail_car employee locomotive $ / £	Mar. 25, 2015 USD ($) rail_car employee locomotive $ / £
Foreign currency exchange rate | $ / £		1.51	1.51	1.49	1.49
Loss on settlement of foreign currency forward purchase contracts	$ 0		$ (18,686)
Freightliner [Member]
Business Acquisition, Effective Date of Acquisition		Mar. 25, 2015	Mar. 25, 2015
Business Acquisition, Name of Acquired Entity		Freightliner Group Limited (Freightliner)	Freightliner Group Limited (Freightliner)
Percentage of economic interest retained by acquiree's management		6.00%	6.00%
Number of employees | employee				2,500	2,500
Leased locomotives | locomotive				250	250
Electric locomotives | locomotive				45	45
Railcars | rail_car				5,500	5,500
Cash consideration		£ 492,083	$ 733,006
Deferred consideration		24,200	36,048
Total consideration		£ 516,283	769,054
Contingent liability				£ 24,200	$ 36,000
Acquisition-related costs			12,600
Loss on settlement of foreign currency forward purchase contracts			$ (18,700)