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Tomwatkins, I have had experience on the road with the "Meat Triangle" that includes Ft. Morgan Colorado, Plainview Tx and Liberal Kansas. This area is probably the main meat processing for most of the United Utates. As a Driver, occasionally I have had the unsavory task of hauling hides to Mexico by way of Eagle Pass Tx. These cattle gets slaughtered and processed in the same building. The guts and nervous structures (Brains etc) get sent to rendering for conversion into other products. Hides end up in a tanning facility near the main plant. There are a series of vats from one end of the building to the other. These hides spend some time "soaking" before being folded and loaded onto a flatbed. I had a "covered wagon" and could carry alot of hides odors and all. The good hides get to stay in country for domestic uses ranging from Jackets to Boots. The "bad" (Not necessarily poor quality) got sent out of the country. After I deliver these hides I would have the trailer washed with strong soap and chemicals. And the next stop would be laundry. I suppose a tannery can have a occasional box car of linen for a laundry place, soap and such (Borax?) and the cars used to carry hides were kind of the "Bottom of the barrel" and not suitable for other service. Tank cars can be used to ship out wastes and byproducts of the tanning process. (Interchange em out to a distant rendering plant?) This is usually a close part of the meat packing plants. I recall the drivers who had the task of delivering to the rendering plants had to keep their rigs very very clean and "TIGHT" hence wash racks may be provided to clean your cars. It was really upsetting to the Law Enforcement if any material was to "Drip" onto a state scalehouse. I think the cars can return from interchange and deliver feeds and such to the local "elevator" for agriculture and return to the tannery to begin the process over again. I hope this information is of value, I myself do not yet know the exact values of various loads that come and go from these places yet. But I learned for example that some 2700 cattle a day could be slaughtered in a large packing plant.
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