Are Cement Mixing Plants Served by Rail?

[Anonymous]

I'm going to have a cement plant on my layout and I would like to know if cement mixing plants are served by rail. My layout is in the present. The reason I would like to know this is because cement mix plants receive aggregates and dry cement like you can see from this Heljan Plastic's model - http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-2016 - but cement distribution plants like this one from walthers -http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3019 - only receive dry cement. If cement mixing plants are served by rail then my gravel plant would have something to ship to. [:D]

[TomDiehl]

If you go to the NMRA convention in Philly this summer, you'll have the option of touring one of the production plants in Stockertown PA. The magazine Scale Rails (NMRA Bulletin) had an article about it a couple issues ago.

[jrbarney]

Skip,
This link to the Index of Magazines :
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&sort=A&output=3&cmdtext=%22CEMENT%22
includes some 49 article citations that you might find relevant.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Prairie Material Sales on 79th Street and the IHB in Bridgeview IL is a large operation and does have a spur to receive raw materials. Aggregates are received in hoppers and sand and portland cement are received in covered hoppers.

[tomikawaTT]

Something you might want to add to your rail-served mixing plant - a block factory. Same materials in (just more of them,) plain building with bins over one end connected to the main cement plant by conveyor and big doors on the other end for a rough-terrain forklift, stacks of finished blocks on pallets outdoors. Blocks are sold locally and leave in everything from homeowner pickups to flatbed 18-wheelers.

Historical note. All of the megatons of material that went into Hoover Dam arrived at the on-site mixing plants by rail! The mixed concrete also left by rail, but it only traveled a few hundred yards to where the overhead cableways could get to the buckets. If you know where to look, you can still see some of the old roadbed and mixing-plant foundations. (The most interesting part is a hiking trail that passes through five tunnels.)

[route_rock]

Lafarge corp has a lot of its dry cement hauled by rail. Like CSS said as well larger plants have spurs with some material shipped by rail.Think I have been to that plant or another one in Chicago land that had rail service still.
Rock Island in the 70's had a mini train experiment where a train of 10 or so cars would run back and forth between a shipper adn a consignee. I think one of the products was stone and or cement,so it is prototypical to have a short haul train running back and forth ( somewhere on BNSF we have a short haul train like this but I couldnt tell you where or where I saw that info)A small switcher or GP unit could run a small amount of cars from your gravel pit to the cement plant.Dump and return to be reloaded and do it all over again.

[ndbprr]

Ozinga Cement in Mokena, Illinois gets 10-12 small hoppers of stone and/or sand daily via the Iowa Interstate in Gatx hoppers. Train switchs full ones in and empties out. The process takes anywhere from 25-45 minutes before heading for Blue Island.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the good info and good news, everybody! Now which model cement plant is the most prototypical? Here are the ones from the walthers search: http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=Structure&scale=H&manu=&item=&keywords=cement&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search - and here is Walthers offering: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3086 . Thank you for your help!

[Anonymous]

Yes cement and concrete plants are served by rail and they are very interesting models. Aggregate is an important part of concrete and should be included in your model. Most aggregate is shipped in open hoppers and unloaded into a pit that has a conveyer belt that move the aggregate out of the pit and into large piles at the plant. A front end loader then moves the aggregate to the mixing plant where it is mixed with the cement and water to form concrete. Powdered cement is shipped in covered hoppers but I have also seen it shipped in via boxcar if it is in bags for sale to the public. These plants see a variety of differnt rail cars so that makes them great for model railroads as a destination for different cars.

[ndbprr]

Which one is right is a function of what era you model. Today they are all portable and can be torn down so they can be relocated closer to where the business is (read suburban sprawl). Older plants would make good bomb shelters.

[twcenterprises]

One plant I've seen has the spur cross the main road, goes up a small hill to their unloading area. Open hoppers of gravel go first to the end of the spur where there is a small trestle like structure to unload the gravel. Covered hoppers of dry cement get unloaded in the middle of the spur. Sand comes in via dump trucks. This plant makes concrete blocks as well as ready mix.

Another cement plant I've worked next to is actually in the quarry. There is also a pavemant plant in the property as well. This is actually a cement plant, where they take the aggregate material, and turn it into cement. The cement is shipped out by truck (no rail access). The cement and asphalt plant has the advantage of being right next to where the aggregate material comes from, so there is (virtually) no transportation costs involved.

Brad

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for an industry for my present-day layout. I do like this cement plant http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3019 but would something like that be found in the midwest? is this the type of hopper that would either ship the cement "powder" or the sand used to make it? http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH93904 I think it is.

[Anonymous]

I have been to many cement plants in the east and to a few in the south.

I encourage you to look at the availible space and fit what elements you want in it best.

Dont worry if one plant is like a specific area or protoypical.

The last plant I worked at no longer exists as it has literally been picked up and moved to a better location closer to new construction leaving behind a pad that was added on as needed over the years.

Dont forget a green water pond, waste concrete and excess material is dumped in there daily by ready mix trucks and bin cleaning dozers.

The dozer usually has to climb into the pond to remove very large masses which otherwise would cause the water to overflow.

Also dont forget a tanker or two of acid or even a boxcar with barrels of lube, grease and perhaps bags of fibers which is used in the mixer to make a stronger product.

The other posters have everything pretty much covered.

[West Coast S]

Sometimes an entire line was built to service a cement plant. My layout duplicates a actual SP branch that serviced a large cement plant known as the Calaveras Cement Company, abandoned since 1984 it was important for having the only turning facalities on the line within the plant property, thus even the in brief era of passenger runs terminated at the plant. So to answer your question, it is prototypical...

Dave

[Anonymous]

Thank you to everyone who replied. I have quite alot of info now. Dingoix, that is a cement distibution plant, not a cement mix plant, and it only handles dry cement. I don't know if you knew that or not, I was just checking.

[Anonymous]

Do you know if something like that would be found in the midwest?

[Anonymous]

Ya,There is one down in Omaha right next to the BNSF,and there is one here in Blair next to the Union Pacific. There is also one in Fremont in between the BNSF and the UP too. Allan.