Some background: I model a Missouri Pacific branchline circa 1982. On the prototype (as on my layout) there was a "team track" that occasionally received boxcars of goods that were presumably unloaded into trucks. Unfortunately, I don't know what was IN those boxcars.
But my main problem is this--I acquired a handful of Athearn Genesis 60' boxcars. These were used for appliance service in the real world. Would it be plausible that one would end up at the end of a branchline (in a Texas town of 11,000 people) to be unloaded at a team track? I guess I'm looking for a reason to keep the cars, but if it stretches reality too much, then I have no qualms about disposing of them. I'm just not sure if a single boxcar of appliances would realistically find its way to the end of a branchline for unloading. Or would these kind of boxcars most likely go to a large distribution center (with its own siding) rather than to a team track out in the boonies? Back in '82, would a small appliance store even bother with receiving goods via rail? Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
A small appliance store would not have enough business to move an entire railroad carload of product with any sort of regularity, especially in a smaller town. A local distributor, or maybe a appliance factory located away from the tracks could use it.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
When I was younger, back in the early sixties, my Dad and I trucked together. There were times that CN would spot a car of apples or peaches in one town and we would truck them from there to four or five other towns in opposite directions. They could do the same thing with your appliances. The merchants would get together and could get a better price on a car load that benefited them all.
That would work for me. I wouldn't be getting rid of those cars. Just make sure your team track has good truck access to one side ( or the end ).
Johnboy out................................
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
When I was younger, back in the early sixties, my Dad and I trucked together. There were times that CN would spot a car of apples or peaches in one town and we would truck them from there to four or five other towns in opposite directions. They could do the same thing with your appliances. The merchants would get together and could get a better price on a car load that benifitted them all.
Does your branchline run off a trunk that ran AROUND a major city or distribution center? Was your end-of-the-branch-line point once out in the middle of nowhere, but now not too far outside the fringe of a city area? Would it make sense to have a car delivered to team track at a little town five miles outside a burgeoning suburb on a line that avoids downtown yard and street traffic congestion, for a major dealer or distributor located twelve of fifteen miles outside city center, and ten miles from traditional rail distribution points?
Depends on how you envision your line.
There is a team track that is located about three blocks from my house. There used to be a boxcar that was spotted there that had rolls of newsprint. Several of the printing companies used to receive rolls that way. They would divvy the rolls up and they would go use it at their respective facilities. One of the plants no longer prints newspapers, only magazines (which uses a different kind of paper that is usually shipped from a different location), so the team track is no longer used.
Will
Which branch?
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
cv_acr A small appliance store would not have enough business to move an entire railroad carload of product with any sort of regularity, especially in a smaller town. A local distributor, or maybe a appliance factory located away from the tracks could use it.
LCL would work for me. If it's the wrong era then the old standby works, "Hey, it's my railroad."
last mountain and eastern hogger has an interesting operating concept . . . . . . . . . . however there is a considerable difference between apples and peaches and front loading washing machines and gas dryers. Let me advance an alternative scenario which will allow you to use these 60' boxcars:
. . . . . . . . . . a rather large manufacturer recently built a factory in the vicinity of Smith City, Texas prompting a housing boom in the county adjacent to the city limits--build yourself a hidden staging spur which disappears into your backdrop. The local appliance distributor has discovered that his volume of business has increased to the point where he is now able to secure a franchise for some brand name bypassong the middle man and ordering those brand name appliances directly from the manufacturer. While waiting for a new warehouse to be completed--MODEL IT; FUTURE HOME OF SMITH CITY DISTRIBUTING; the railroad has already constructed the spur into this warehouse located on the edge of town; model a tilt-up building being built but not yet ready for occupancy--anyway, while he is waiting for his new warehouse to become available for occupancy he is being forced to use rented warehouse space and the team track and to move his incoming appliances utilizing local trucking.
Just my scenario.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Back in the 1960-1970s there was a local discount department store that had 3 stores at the most. They unloaded many boxcars of product ,appliances, furniture on a team track located in Auburn Mass on the New Haven /PC /P&W line there were at times as many as a 5 or 6 boxcars on this team track, many were for this department store known as The Fair .As times changed The Fair went out of business ,I am not sure if the receiving by rail stopped first or The Fair went out of business. I can`t remember if this lasted into P&W days but in NH / PC times there were a lot of cars on that team track some days.
mopac57 But my main problem is this--I acquired a handful of Athearn Genesis 60' boxcars. These were used for appliance service in the real world. Thanks in advance.
But my main problem is this--I acquired a handful of Athearn Genesis 60' boxcars. These were used for appliance service in the real world.
The questions that are intrigueing me are...
1. which cars are these?... and, in particular, what is the "New" or "Built" date? There's plenty of model cars (let alone real ones) that I've not discovered yet but I don't recall any "appliance service" cars.
2. What indicates that these are for "appliance service" to the trackside observer? Are they marked for captive service?
3. Are they marked as having load restraints and'or special gear of any kind?
The logic (madness) behind my questions is as follows:-
1. if they are new(ish) cars then they are more likely to be in a specified use... but the older they get the more they are likely to have been "cascaded", Cascading doesn't necessarily get old specific markings removed... removing them costs labour/money.
Even new they can be used to back haul loads --- the thing not to do is to damage any loading restraints or special gear or tie the cars up any undue length of time... for this second reason they might be more suitable for back hauling LCL... This especially applies if they can be fitted in to regular working(s)... maybe the appliance maker has a regular bunch of cars going out loaded to a warehouse a few hundred miles away... he wants the cars back nice and clean on a time scale... some of the time there is some other product to be picked up part way back and dropped off part way back or close by. It cuts cost to link the two together. The two customers might not know about the cost saving the RR is making... more profit for the RR. If, however, they are in captive service the RR isn't supposed to do this... but it will be charging more for having the cars tied to the exclusive service and back hauling them empty.
2. I don't know the specific cars... but... most cars got built in large numbers of one design with variations ( like load restraints) to specific batches (as the ciustomer required/paid for). This means that an external shape could be used by one RR for a specific traffic (appliances held safe with load restraints) but something quite different by another RR --- so unless the car is specifically marked or you know it was only used for one traffic the external shape is not a very reliable indicator of what traffic a car would be used for... basically, unless marked otherwise, any boxcar can carry anything... you just don't know what's in it at any given time.
RR don't like to restrict the use of any car - because back haul empty costs them track space, fuel, maintenance, labour and other overheads... they will pass on as much extra cost as they can but that makes them less competative against trucks...
3, Having load restraints fitted doesn't mean that a car cannot take another load... it just mustn't damage the special equipment.
PS If we take the block load out and LCL load(s) back idea... It may be easier for the RR to keep the cut of cars together all the time than to have a car or two taken out for a back load... so if there is space in the team track the whole cut might go in even if only one car has a load.
It also occurs to me... with or without any load for the team track it can occur that the customer using the cars does not always have track space available for the cars when they show up... in which case they may be temporarily parked up waiting forwarding when track space becomes available... clearly they will more normally only be staged when empty because of the value of an appliance load and security issues. --- just because a car is on a track it doesn't mean that it has business there.
(specific cars or loads may be prohibited from tracks but, apart from this, cars can be located where they happen to need to be located). A team track is the RR's "all purpose" track... so long as the cars don't get in other cars way it may be more convenient/cost effective to spot bthem there.
When the cars are loadd there may be a contract to spot them on a private track - inside a fence - that has better security... it's the same as trucking... but on rails.
Just add a couple of Sears box trucks and roll em out
Actually, that is not a bad idea. Sears had a regional distribution point in Dewitt with room for half a dozen rigs and a team track in the back of the building. I am not sure what came in the boxcars, could have been clothes, bedding, appliances, tools and yard equiptment. Regardless, a regional distribution point could have been in a small town and been a large contributor to the economy. very plausable and feasable.
Owendubya Actually, that is not a bad idea. Sears had a regional distribution point in Dewitt with room for half a dozen rigs and a team track in the back of the building. I am not sure what came in the boxcars, could have been clothes, bedding, appliances, tools and yard equiptment. Regardless, a regional distribution point could have been in a small town and been a large contributor to the economy. very plausable and feasable.
R. T. POTEET Owendubya: Actually, that is not a bad idea. Sears had a regional distribution point in Dewitt with room for half a dozen rigs and a team track in the back of the building. I am not sure what came in the boxcars, could have been clothes, bedding, appliances, tools and yard equiptment. Regardless, a regional distribution point could have been in a small town and been a large contributor to the economy. very plausable and feasable. We got your point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . again!
Owendubya: Actually, that is not a bad idea. Sears had a regional distribution point in Dewitt with room for half a dozen rigs and a team track in the back of the building. I am not sure what came in the boxcars, could have been clothes, bedding, appliances, tools and yard equiptment. Regardless, a regional distribution point could have been in a small town and been a large contributor to the economy. very plausable and feasable.
R T What was your point again?
Very plausible..
A appliance distributor may not have a rail siding and the only way to unload a boxcar would be on the distribution track or at the railroad's distribution center...These appliaces would be unloaded into a trailer then rubbered to the distributor by a contract trailer spotting service trucking company.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Some years ago ( before the advent of the big box stores) one of our locally owned hardware and appliance stores would have a "track side sale". The Milwaukee Road had a team track with an unloading platform and ramp. The store would get in 1 boxcar of appliances and hold the sale right on the platform. Load was a mixture of stoves, refrigerators, washing machines and clothes driers. According to one of the store owners it took about 2 days to sell off the load. Anything not sold was hauled to the store and placed in regular inventory at regular prices. They had a big banner hung from the roof of the box car, a couple of sales people to do the selling and a couple of strong backs to move appliances from box car to platform into the back of the buyer's pick-up truck or trailer.
Mark B
These days, the store could have rented a small lift truck to do the heavy lifting & unloading.
My main concern would be to have a way to secure the load while on the team track. No free five finger discounts. Perhaps the team track could be part of a lumber yard or home center.
My L&N picture freight car book shows boxcars in pool service from the mfr to the distributor. You could have a regular swap of a car to & from a location. There would be a stencil to return the car empty to a location. Depending on the era, you could have a string of several similar cars to swap.