Roadrailer was a way of addressing air drag as well as dead weight. I remember an article in Trains about Roadrailer and IIRC Santa Fe found big fuel savings using a Roadrailer train. Because they skip the flatcar they are much lower to the ground and have much lower frontal area as well as much lower tare weight. Also, with the very close coupling between trailers eddying air currents are much reduced. I do not understand why railroads don't go for this technology in a big way.
Please excuse the photo quality. I took these pics in '98 with the second digicam Kodak manufactured, a mighty 1.1 megapixel powerhouse.
Lew