LETTUCE

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rob_l

QUOTE: Originally posted by ericsp

QUOTE: Originally posted by rob_l

Some progress was starting to be made on melons, they got some carloads of melons last summer, the first in more than a decade.

Was this Pappas & Company?

Don't know the shipper names, but in 2003 they got melon loads out of Firebaugh, Mendota and somewhere on the Cal Northern up around Woodland.

Don't know what if any they got this year.

Regards,

Rob L.

Mendota would be Pappas & Company.

The only shipper in Firebaugh is Toma-Tek (processed tomatos). UP also lists NF Davis (dehydrator) and Valley Seed Growers. I have never seen cars at the former and have only seen a covered hopper at the latter once. There is a place about a 1.5 miles south of Firebaugh (Shaw Avenue at Highway 33) that has four spurs going into it. They look well maintained, however I have seen any cars there.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

One problem with eastbound RailRoaders out of CA is back hauls - that never has been balanced for refrigerated transport. A trucker buddy of mine was hauling strawberries eastbound and then back hauling sheet steel in a reefer. He still had a 200 mile dead head on each end.

dd

Surely California would demand something from the east that requires priority and in reefers. Steel in a reefer; was it cold-rolled[:D]

Not in the kind a volume necessary for that large a backhaul. Take a look at cycles on UPs existing reefers. Most go from California to the northeast and then south to reload and back to CA.

LC

[greyhounds]

Yep, you're going to have some empty miles. It's no big deal, as long as they're kept under control. 200 miles empty on a 6,000 mile round trip, about 3.3%, is no big deal.

And some decent part of the westbound loads are going to be "dry freight", freight that doesn't require temperature control. That's no big deal either. A reefer trailer/container can haul dry freight just fine.

If you want another example besides California, go to Denver. Ft. Morgan and Greely, Colorado have large beef slaughter facilities. Colorado also produces a significant potato crop down around "Monte Vista" I believe. So that's meat and potatoes. Yum Yum. Steady large volume long haul staples of the American Diet.

Denver is an inbound city for dry freight - "dry vans" go empty there and there just ain't no loads for 'em. BNSF and UP have to drag empty equipment with no, zero, none revenue out of the town. Gee, if they'd do some marketing they could get revenue loads both ways, but they'd have to use reefer trailers/containers. Take the dry loads into Denver - take the meat and potatoes out of Colorado.

And it doesn't really matther which way the meat and potatoes go. They can go easterly bound - which is fine, or they can go on westerly bound. Westerly bound would get the equipment out of Colorado under a revenue load and positiion refrigerated equipment in California. Which would be a non-problem.

Basically we could call this "California Dreamin'" because it ain't gonna happen any time soon. Unless someone shows up with a coal mine or shiploads of containers, railroads have lost the ability to "market" their services. They didn't loose it on purpose, but they lost it. Getting that ability back is about as easy as a woman regaining her virginity. (Or a man regaining his virginity for that matter, but virginity in a man has rarely, if ever, mattered.)

[rrnut282]

Isn't there a restriction on what kinds of loads you can put into a reefer that will carry foods? If there is, that will restrict the ability to find a back-haul, or revenue re-positioning movement.

[daveklepper]

Anything clean is OK

[edbenton]

having hauled out of the Salinas area for a couple of years I can tell you why UP will have a heck of a time regaining any share of the produce loads out of there. First alot of trucks that haul produce are run as a team truck with 2 drivers on anything going east of the midwest. Second the ability of trucks to change destinations easily while in route had it happen more than once thought I was going to Chicago ended up going to St Louis. On the collaspe of Artic Express and *** Simon companies. One *** Simon is still around as Central Transport a divison of Swift. Artic Express collasped due to mismangement to many chiefs not enough indians they had around 700 trucks and 500 support staff.

[Anonymous]

Edbenton,

Arctic Express didnt go under. They are still around, they are just alot smaller in size. At one time they were under Chapter 11 bankrupcy. They really screwed their drivers and spent alot of time and money fighting OOIDA. They have sence gotten out of bankrupcy.

The daughter of Jerry Moyes, the CEO of Swift, supposely bought and owns Central Refrigerated.

[ericsp]

I saw the Express Lane train today (QFRNPP-16). It had 2 SD40-2s and about 15 RPLs and RBLs. I was driving on the freeway so I was not able to get a good, long look.

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ericsp

QUOTE: Originally posted by rob_l

QUOTE: Originally posted by ericsp

QUOTE: Originally posted by rob_l

Some progress was starting to be made on melons, they got some carloads of melons last summer, the first in more than a decade.

Was this Pappas & Company?

Don't know the shipper names, but in 2003 they got melon loads out of Firebaugh, Mendota and somewhere on the Cal Northern up around Woodland.

Don't know what if any they got this year.

Regards,

Rob L.

Mendota would be Pappas & Company.

The only shipper in Firebaugh is Toma-Tek (processed tomatos). UP also lists NF Davis (dehydrator) and Valley Seed Growers. I have never seen cars at the former and have only seen a covered hopper at the latter once. There is a place about a 1.5 miles south of Firebaugh (Shaw Avenue at Highway 33) that has four spurs going into it. They look well maintained, however I have seen any cars there.

It is Gargiulo, Inc. There is also a couple of other spurs coming off of the spur to Toma-Tek. I think this is Valley Seed Growers. There are not signs saying what the place is, however, there are large no tresspassing signs at the gates.

I have done a little research. It appears that Gargiulo, Inc only packs tomatoes. I wrote down the address of the other place. It come back to a pallet manufacturing company. The mystery deepens.

[jockellis]

In our Atlanta newspaper recently, I read about some chemical growers are spraying on their crops to keep them fresh much longer. Would that keep lettuce longer and make it more economically viable to ship by rail? Also, SPaving pulled up the tracks, can UP re-install them if shipping volumes require it?
Jock Ellis

[ericsp]

In case anyone is interested, I saw the QFRNPP-23 today. It was powered by 1 SD40-2 with 4 RPLs and 15 RBLs on it. At least 10 of the RBLs were carrying processed tomato products.