In the 1950's era how was sand for masonry use or general use transported? Open hopppers or gondolas I take? With a gondola was sand just shoveled out of the gondola into a makeshift chute into a bin/shed or just thrown over the side into a pile or all of the above? Thanks!
Most sand was mined locally, and never used rail - The distance was too short. Current 'frac' sand operations can be quite large and move processed sand in unit trains. I suspect there was some rail movement of sand in the 50's, and either 2 bay covered hoppers or gondolas would be used. I have seen clay loading on the DM&E west of Mankato. When it gets to it's destination, a small clam-shell bucket is used to unload it. I suspect sand could be unloaded the same way.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Many railroads used covered hoppers for moving sand for restocking the locomotive sanding facility. PRR stenciled an S in a yellow square to designate their cars for this service.
Bowser Photo
Ed
Sand was shipped in covered hoppers for various uses. The Ann Arbor shipped casting sand from Yuma, MI to the Ford Casting plant in Brookpark, Ohio for making engine blocks.
While I was working for ODOT in the 60's we would receive sand for making concrete from an approved sand pit in Wolcottville, IN which was shipped in covered hoppers to the concrete plant in Maumee, OH (used covered hoppers to keep the containiments out of the sand).
Many glass plants received sand in covered hoppers for the same reason.
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Through the 1950's Muncie & Western had a fleet of 100 Mather composite boxcars that carried bagged sand to Muncie, IN to be made into glass Ball jars for canning. The cars were painted in a bright yellow scheme with a "The Ball Line" slogan. Outbound from Muncie, the cars carried the finished product.
There was a Pennsylvania Glass Sand Co. plant at Tatesville, PA on the Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain Railroad. That plant shipped out bagged sand in boxcars. Any clean boxcar could be used. A friend and I studied wheel reports from the early 1940's and found that the majority of those boxcars were from PRR (natural, since PRR was H&BTM's only connection); but large numbers of cars from B&O, NYC, Erie, MILW, M&StL, and other roads were also seen. We never figured out why so many MILW and M&StL cars showed up there.
Sand from the diggings near Berkeley Springs, WV generally went out in B&O covered hoppers in the 1950's and later, but I think boxcars were used in earlier years.
I have also heard of sand being shipped in gondolas, but I imagine this would only be for short distances.
Open hoppers (i.e., coal cars) probably would leak sand at the hopper doors, so I doubt that they were used in sand service.
Tom
My wife grew up in a small town in North Western Minnesota. Near this town was a sand pit that the Northern Pacific took sand from. What was done with the sand, I can't quite remember, however one of the Northern Pacific's Mainstreeter Magazines had an article about this sand pit, so in this instance sand form this pit was transported via rail.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
GE had a small fleet of covered hoppers and, later, center-flow hoppers for moving glass sand to their various glass plants in eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Illinois. In the '50s GE had over twenty glass plants.
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/ge/ildx319ajs.jpg
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/ge/ildx353ags.jpg
Bowser also has kits of these cars.
Thanks for the info guys! I was looking for info how a general purpose sand (non foundry/frac/glass )at small town lumber yard or coal/aggregate company was unloaded. Small time operations in small towns.
That would have been hauled by trucks, from local (say within 30 or 40 miles ) from gravel/crushing and sand pit operations, even if a large quantity was needed. If you wanted to model a sand receiving operation, hoppers would be good, if you have the facilities to open the doors and dump them. If not, gondolas would be the choice, and they could be unloaded with a small clam shell, such as Jim mentioned, and/or hand labor. Today, the same type of operation still goes on, except the gondolas are unloaded by track back hoes, driven right on the sides of the car, and the sand loaded into dump trucks. You can Google that type of operation, and finds lots of pictures.
Mike.
My You Tube
dti406While I was working for ODOT in the 60's we would receive sand for making concrete from an approved sand pit in Wolcottville, IN which was shipped in covered hoppers to the concrete plant in Maumee, OH (used covered hoppers to keep the containiments out of the sand).
Unless there is a Wolcottville in Indiana, I believe the town's name is Wolcott. I used to live in Rennsselear, IN, some 20 miles to the east of Wolcott. I used to see the covered hoppers on the siding along the main (I can't remember the railroad name), which paralelled U. S. Route 41, as I recall, from some 35+ years ago.
Also, I find it curious that in those places not far south of the Great Lakes, that any facility in northern Indiana or northern Ohio that uses silica sand (such as that used for glass making) would go non-local for their source. There are uncountable deposits of silica sand in the ancient lake beds of lakes Erie and Lake Michigan.