1950's method for transporting sugar, molasses, flour to an industrial bakery and/or candy operation

[owen w in california]

Hey all: I'm trying to figure out how an industrial sized bakery operation would have received ingredients by rail - flour, sugar, molasses and oil.  Would the sugar and flour come by boxcars filled with sacks of flour/sugar or via covered hoppers? Molasses and cooking oil would have come in tank cars, I suspect. I'm modeling east coast US in 1954. Thanks. Joel

[gmpullman]

One of these:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/gatx/gacx42360jpa.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/gatx/gacx42499akg.jpg

and, perhaps a bit obvious:

https://www.walthers.com/50-2-bay-airslide-r-covered-hopper-ready-to-run-brach-s-candy-gacx-47476

Tangent made a Brach's Airslide, too.

Depending on how big of an operation you want to portray. The Brach's factory on Kinzie St. in Chicago, was huge. I'm sure there were smaller operations that would have dry ingredients shipped in sacks by box car.

 

Good Luck, Ed

[owen w in california]

Thanks, Ed, for your quick reply and info. It's appreciated!  Unfortunately, the Diamond Sugar Hopper photo is dated 1964 and the Pillsbury is undated. I'm not sure I can rely on photos past the mid fifties, unless I can see the car's "built dates" .  The Brachs Candy (forgot about those) airslide hopper shows a built date of 1974 in the picture - so too recent.  Anyone else?

[gmpullman]

I was going by some replies in this thread saying "late 1950s" for the airslide hopper.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/t/227331.aspx

 

Sorry,

Ed

[owen w in california]

No worries, Ed. I appreciate the effort.  There is some info in that thread that might be useful. Maybe one of those hopper experts will chime in! Joel

[dknelson]

The initial airslides - the 2600 cubic foot ones with the single hopper at the bottom of the car -- were first produced in limited quantity in 1953.  Production began in earnest in 1954.  The Con Cor HO model is basically of this car although there were little design changes just about every year to 1959 and perhaps beyond.  Whether the Con-Cor is actually available is a bit unclear given the Chinese factory situations.

Athearn had a nice model of a 2600 c.f. airslide too but I think it is discontinued.

 

the two bay airslides that Tangent, Walthers, and perhaps others came out with are later era - 1960s.

Dave Nelson

  

[rrinker]

 Prior to that time, most of that stuff would have been carried bagged, in box cars.

                                --Randy

 

[dehusman]

Boxcars, boxcars and more boxcars, except maybe molasses which could be shipped in tank cars if the bakery can take 6000-8000 gals of it at once.

[owen w in california]

Thanks, Gents. That's what I thought. Boxcars galore for sugar and flour, and a tank car once a month for molasses, another one for cooking oil maybe (on site storage maybe), reefers with milk and butter.  Joel

[gmpullman]

owen w in california

for sugar and flour, and a tank car once a month for molasses, another one for cooking oil maybe — reefers with milk and butter.

You're making me hungry!   Ed

[Stevert]

Can't help you with the 50's, but I worked in the shipping/receiving department of a large candy factory in the Midwest in the early 70's.

Bulk brown sugar was delivered in 40 ft boxcars with paper/strap bulkheads in the doors. It was exactly the same way grain was shipped before covered hoppers appeared.

Molasses (we actually got corn syrup) was delivered in tank cars.  I seem to recall they had to be steam-heated to be emptied, but I never worked with those loads so that's just a faint recollection.

Oil was delivered via tank truck, and cocoa powder in 50-pound sacks was trucked in from an east coast port (New Jersey, I think).

I hope this helps. 

[NHTX]

     The publication "A History of the General American Airslide and Other Covered Hopper Cars" by Eric A Neubauer, as Freight Cars Journal, Monograph No. 9 provides the following information on Airslide covered hopper production until January 1955:

                            Railroad marked cars, all built 1954

       Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy  (CB&Q)  87000-87199

       Milwaukee Road                         (MILW)  99901-99965

       GACX leased cars, GACX reporting marks with lessee if any.

              42000-42004  Penick & Ford.  First 5 cars built, July 1953

                All of the following built prior to January 1955 and leased to:

              42005-42021  Minneapolis & St. Louis RR

              42022-42046  Rock Island RR

              42047-42114             GACX lease fleet

                    42050-42058  Wabash

                    42060-42114  International Milling

                  42115-42129  3660 cu ft , leased to Bakelite Corp.

              42130-42153  -------------------

              42154-42203  Wabash RR

              42204-42253  -------------------

                  42204-42209  Penick & Ford

                  42211-42219  Pillsbury

                  42220-42228  Ross                 

                  42246-42253  St. Louis-San Francisco Ry.

             42254-42285  Rock Island RR

             42286-42298  --------------------

             42299-42305  --------------------

       Athearn's 2600 cf Airslide has been moved to the Genesis line and the next release is due in late February 2019.  Judging by the images on their website, these cars may be of a later design(round corners on the vibrator brackets vs. square on earlier cars).

      I would like to make a suggestion to all modelers that has been invaluable to me.  Create a reference library on the aspects of the hobby that most interest you.  Try to acquire the books on your main interests.  Those modeling from the early 1980s to date  should by all means investigate the videos that were shot on high quality equipment. 

      Modelers who were in the hobby in the '80s will recall the days we had five monthly magazines, each carving out its own niche.  By 2005 or 6, the five had slimmed down to two.  These magazines and the information they published help fuel the drive to the detailed offerings we are seeing today.  A lot of the articles were of the type you would refer to again and again and, the magazine was saved.  The saved magazines could quickly become a storage problem and the search for that one vital piece of information was a nightmare.

      My solution was/is to photocopy those articles I felt I would want to refer to at a later time and keep them in loose leaf binders organized by subject: flatcars, industrial structures, right-of-way, etc.  Some subjects expanded faster than others, for instance, boxcars fill three binders.  It is still a lot easier searching three binders than a stack of almost 200 magazines.  Done a few magazines at a time, the cost will be quite managable so, give it a try, you will have a source of info tailored to YOUR interests.

 

                                        

                   

           

   

[zugmann]

owen w in california

Thanks, Gents. That's what I thought. Boxcars galore for sugar and flour, and a tank car once a month for molasses, another one for cooking oil maybe (on site storage maybe), reefers with milk and butter. Joel

We serve a sweetner place - and even today they get molasses that's shipped in barrels in a boxcar.  They also get molasses tank cars, too.  I'm guessing different grades.  The stuff in the boxcars smells good, the tank cars?  They are overpowering.

[owen w in california]

Wow! I got just what I needed and a lot more than expected. Thanks, gents! Joel

[BRAKIE]

rrinker

 Prior to that time, most of that stuff would have been carried bagged, in box cars.

                                --Randy

 

 

Even today bagged sugar,flour and other bagged goods is shipped in boxcars.