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Printing ink shipped in tank cars during the 70's and 80's?

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Posted by DSchmitt on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 3:29 PM

The Manufacture of Ink  1892

https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=RatIAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PR1

Probably more tha you ever wanted to know. 

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 3:06 PM

mbinsewi
The smaller and more obscure industries, you almost have to stumble apon while researching some thing else. Such as a place, right here in my small town, there was a glass recycler. He shipped out the crushed glass in open hoppers. Maybe 2 a week. Nothing big, by any means.

And those little jewels is easy to model and don't require much room. Another little jewel is a creosote plant that treats utility poles.In raw poles out treated utility poles and yes these creosote coating industries still ship and receive by rail..

There was a small plastic company that made plastic bottle caps and it received 2-3 cars of pellets a month. I thought it was funny how a plastic pellet covered hopper almost dwarf the building.The pellets was unloaded into storage silos. The caps was shipped by truck in plasic lined gaylords.

I found this small operation while replying to a help wanted ad for a forklift operator. Being 49 at the time I guess I was to old.

Larry

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Posted by BRAKIE on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 2:33 PM

DSchmitt
Central Ink Corportation Plant Tour

 

Yeah,each tank car holds 180,000 pounds..That's 90 tons!

Good stuff!

Larry

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Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 2:21 PM

Wouldn't that be something, never ending, and always updated info source on industries that use, or have used rail service.  The big industries we all know about, it's pretty obvious, and we do our best to compress the various rail served segments of a huge industry.

The smaller and more obscure industries, you almost have to stumble apon while researching some thing else.  Such as a place, right here in my small town, there was a glass recycler.  He shipped out the crushed glass in open hoppers.  Maybe 2 a week.  Nothing big, by any means.  When the huge trash collection companies offered recycling along with the weekly trash,  either by garbage can or a dumpster, he lost a lot of his source.  But, in a data base for such industries, you would be able to find his operation, the years it operated, and what rail cars it used, in and outbound.

Quite a fantasy I have going here, hey? that such a data base could excist?  What a monumental research effert it would take to even begin!

I also think that the map programs we all use, Google Earth, Bing, etc., etc., all make a huge difference in reseaching a particular railroad, even your own model rail road, as you sorta have an idea of the area your modeling, and some hours in front of a screen will give you a good idea what industies there are, but, thats only good for today.  Not for the past, such as the 30's, 40's, and 50's, which is the era that so many modelers do.  Now you have to go deeper, into the past, to find what your looking for, and look for historical maps and charts.

I also learned that watching videos, in which Central Ink surfaced, is another great source, as long as you look for videos such as this one, that show daily operations.

To me the researching is a huge part of the fun.  I love history.  That's why when a thread shows up in here about a long gone and obscure railroad, I can't help but jump in, and check it out!

OK, I'm done.  Laugh  Now I'll post it and see how typos I need to fix!

Mike.

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Posted by DSchmitt on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 2:17 PM

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 12:23 PM

gmpullman
It is entirely possible that the car shown was used for components of ink and not the finished product. Have Fun, Ed

Ed,This may help and goes with the tank car.

http://www.huber.com/about-us/our-history-t1/

 

I'm still satisfied that Central Ink receives raw ink for processing into specialized inks.

I'm sadden that such industries has never been covered in books but,all the books I read or more likely thumb through covered the run of the mill  industries we already model and ended there.

That's why I think modelers is having a rough time with the various rail served industries and the loads they receive.

Larry

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Posted by gmpullman on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 10:19 AM

While searching for another subject I came across this photo:

It is entirely possible that the car shown was used for components of ink and not the finished product.

Have Fun,

Ed

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Posted by trainmasterg on Friday, April 21, 2017 9:45 PM

thanks for the replies everyone, great topic and discussion!

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Posted by csxns on Friday, April 21, 2017 4:02 PM

pajrr
Obviously csxns is pissed because they didn't consult with HIM first.

110% true.

Russell

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Posted by BRAKIE on Friday, April 21, 2017 8:06 AM

pajrr

Obviously csxns is pissed because they didn't consult with HIM first.

 

NJT couldn't wait to removed that switch a move no short line or regional  would do.

So,I think the problem was indeed starvation from poor service..

Larry

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Posted by pajrr on Friday, April 21, 2017 4:57 AM

Obviously csxns is pissed because they didn't consult with HIM first.

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Posted by Randy Stahl on Friday, April 21, 2017 4:52 AM

Quad Graphics in Lomira Wisconsin got liquid ink in DOT111 tank cars at least while I was with the WC.

 

Randy

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Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:55 PM

NittanyLion
That's pretty uncalled for and vindictive. Plus, for all you know, continuing to use rail service might have been an untenable solution to shipping their product. It isn't a magic elixir for all customers.

Or the railroad "starved" them out by not delivering their cars in a timely manner or the company could have a lost a major contract that caused a slow down in business.

Larry

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Posted by csxns on Thursday, April 20, 2017 5:54 PM

NittanyLion
That's pretty uncalled for and vindictive

Crying

Russell

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Posted by NittanyLion on Thursday, April 20, 2017 5:45 PM

csxns

 

 
pajrr
They just STOPPED using raik

 

Hope they go out of business for that.

 

 

That's pretty uncalled for and vindictive.  Plus, for all you know, continuing to use rail service might have been an untenable solution to shipping their product.  It isn't a magic elixir for all customers.

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Posted by csxns on Thursday, April 20, 2017 4:27 PM

pajrr
They just STOPPED using raik

Hope they go out of business for that.

Russell

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Posted by pajrr on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 2:02 PM

Sun Chemical in East Rutherford, NJ makes printing ink. They just STOPPED using raik about 2 - 3 years ago. They have a 2 track yard that would hold about 8 cars. They used their own company owned tank cars, even labeled INK on the outside. NJT is just now starting to remove the switch that served the plant. Go to Google Earth and look up East Rutherford, NJ. Locate the train station and follow the tracks north. On the curve you will see Sun Chemical. It is even marked on Google Earth. You can see the layout with the storage tanks. Sun Chemical has a website. Maybe someone there would be willing to talk to you.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 1:09 PM

dehusman

What this thread is telling me is that if a company makes inks, then it receives chemicals of basic inks in tank cars, produces retail or wholesale ink and ships that out in boxcars or by truck.  The end consumers of inks (printing presses) don't appear to use tank cars of ink.

 

Let's try this approach. Central Ink refines ink into specialty ink products for use in the printing industries as Mike stated.

Basically this is the process.

Raw ink in by rail and  Central Ink refines it into  specialty  ink and ships it out by truck to printing industries.

Nothing new there since many industries recieves their bulk production needs by rail and ships by truck,container or boxcar.

Larry

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Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 12:55 PM

DSchmitt
If ink is recieved by rail it would probably be in a boxcar or container.

Liquid ink can be shipped in tank cars as the SMS video shows-the tank car  lading is shown on the bottom of screen during that move.

Larry

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Posted by DSchmitt on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 12:26 PM

While not described in the video, this video at 59 sec shows the ink being transfered to a large roller.  The roller transfers the ink to the printing plate.  The ink is not liquid. It is a paste. If ink is recieved by rail it would probably be in a boxcar or container.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBpeoCW8Xq8

 

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

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Posted by dehusman on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 11:02 AM

What this thread is telling me is that if a company makes inks, then it recieves chemicals of basic inks in tank cars, produces retail or wholesale ink and ships that out in boxcars or by truck.  The end consumers of inks (printing presses) don't appear to use tank cars of ink.

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 9:06 AM

The plant in IL., is also rail served.  Earth image shows tank cars, and tank trucks.

Mike.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 8:48 AM

mbinsewi
Looking at their products, they take ink and refine it into specialty ink products for use in the printing industries.

Ah,That would explain the small structure..A few mixing vats,storage tanks, a tank truck loading area and good to go.

Larry

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 8:34 AM

I just had to look into Central Ink, or as I found out, it's Central Ink & Chemicals, CIC Inc.

Corporate headquarters in West Chicago, IL., and 6 other facilities around the country, Illinois,Wisconsin, Florida, California, Minnesota, and the one we are looking at, in New Jersey.

Looking at their products, they take ink and refine it into specialty ink products for use in the printing industries.

Mike.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 8:10 AM

dehusman

On the other hand I attended college in Phillie and walked by the Bulletin (newspaper) building every day.  It was rail served and I never saw a tank car spotted there.  The Omaha World Herald (newspaper) is still rail served and only recieves paper by rail.  While its possible for a printer to get ink by rail, its certainly not universal.

 

Odd isn't? A small concern like Central Ink will recieve ink by tank car while larger concerns like large  printers and newspapers will not.

One would think it would be the other way around.

Larry

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Posted by dehusman on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 7:53 AM

On the other hand I attended college in Phillie and walked by the Bulletin (newspaper) building every day.  It was rail served and I never saw a tank car spotted there.  The Omaha World Herald (newspaper) is still rail served and only recieves paper by rail.  While its possible for a printer to get ink by rail, its certainly not universal.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 4:16 AM

NHTX
This car would dwarf George Roberts Printing. An older 6000 gallon capacity car might be a better option, if you intend on rail shipments of ink.

I would use a 16,000 gallon tank car with storage silos next to Roberts.

In the video that Central Ink is about the size of a Pikestuff warehouse-I checked it on Bing map's "bird's eye" view.

Larry

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Posted by NHTX on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 11:24 PM

     Page  33 of "Classic Freight Cars--The Series" Vol. 3, "A Rolling Pipe Line of Colorful Tank Cars" by John Henderson has a photo of ACFX 89658, a two compartment large (25,000 gal. plus) tank car leased to Sun Chemical Corporation's General Printing Ink Division.  The car is black with an orange band containing the black company name.  Judging by the ink spills emanating from the manways, it only carried black ink.  According to the photo caption, the car was built in 1972 and photographed in Maybrook NY the same year.  This car would dwarf George Roberts Printing.  An older 6000 gallon capacity car might be a better option, if you intend on rail shipments of ink.

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Posted by ericsp on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 11:06 PM

AAR Rule 90 prohibited cars built before July 1, 1974 from being used in interchange service unless it has been rebuilted per AAR Rule 88. The Code of Federal Regulations prohibits use of a freight older than 50 unless the owner gets an exception from the FRA. A car built in 1928 is unlikely to be in use in the 1970s or 1980s. Cars built in 1942 were probably hard to find by then.

Here is the former US Ink plant in San Leandro (since closed). There is no sign they received anything in tank cars but they did receive carbon black in the specialized covered hoppers.

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