E-L man tom Ad to that list: automobile parts manufacturing plant (small, brake parts, etc., or large, auto frames, etc) produce packing houses (if early enough, ice bunkers for the reefer cars are used here too) general consignment warehuses (generally, a freight storage and transfer station) by the way, concrete (or cement) plants do not have to be especially large to be served by rail. There is one local to me that, if selectively compressed, would be quite believable. This plant takes on probably 20 or so covered hoppers (the short ones) per week. They do not take any boxcars, as all cement produced there is bulk. You could, however, maximize the diversity of car types being used by having some product being produced in bulk as well as bagged, thus taking both covered hoppers and boxcars. Walthers makes the Medusa Cement Plant that could be kitbashed and/or added on to, to your liking. That, I think, would be a fun project!
Ad to that list:
automobile parts manufacturing plant (small, brake parts, etc., or large, auto frames, etc)
produce packing houses (if early enough, ice bunkers for the reefer cars are used here too)
general consignment warehuses (generally, a freight storage and transfer station)
by the way, concrete (or cement) plants do not have to be especially large to be served by rail. There is one local to me that, if selectively compressed, would be quite believable. This plant takes on probably 20 or so covered hoppers (the short ones) per week. They do not take any boxcars, as all cement produced there is bulk. You could, however, maximize the diversity of car types being used by having some product being produced in bulk as well as bagged, thus taking both covered hoppers and boxcars. Walthers makes the Medusa Cement Plant that could be kitbashed and/or added on to, to your liking. That, I think, would be a fun project!
Wow either I saw a video about of some men loading cement or something else. All I do remember is some men loading a boxcar that appear to be either cement or flour to be honest lol.
But like the saying goes, you learn something everyday.
I've worked for 3 different manufacturing companies and all three used rail service:
ATK (formerly Thiokol) built the boosters for the Space Shuttle. These were shipped to Kennedy Space Center via rail and the used parts were returned to be refurbished, also via rail.
La-Z-Boy had a rail spur, but I never actually saw any traffic on it. I believe that they did use it at one time or another.
Weather Sheld (window manufacturer) received lumber via rail and we also kept a hopper on our spur to dump waste glass into. About every 6 weeks they'd take the full one and replace it with an empty. That hopper load looked like glitter. They took the waste glass to a glass recycler.
A friend once told me about safety problems involving railcars at Miller Brewing, so that seems like a good choice for an industry served by rail.
Other plants that I've seen in industrial parks that used rail service include a rollercoaster manufacturer, Fram filters, Kraft foods, and Wilson Sporting Goods (tennis ball factory).
I'm pretty sure that Bowman Kemp (window well manufacturer) is served by rail - they receive a lot of sheet steel).
I interviewed for a job at Huish Detergents. They make laundry and dish detergents, and they use rail service (I don't know much more than that; I didn't get the job).
There was a soda pop plant near the Space Shuttle component refurbishment center that always had corn syrup tank cars on their spur.
Really, it appears that any factory where they ship or receive something that is bulky and/or heavy could be a realistic rail customer.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
One thing I haven't seen modeled yet, applicable to the outskirts of a large present-day city:
Transload facility for municipal garbage, loaded on trains for transport to a distant disposal site.
(The intervening communities don't like the trains. They'd like a thousand garbage trucks a day even less!)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Well just a few I'm thinking of for an HO shelf switcher (see "Model a transloading terminal" MR Aug. 2010 VOl. 77 Iss. 8)
distribution warehouse; consumer goods including non-perishable food, furniture, appliances, plywood products, insulation products and other building material products
Bulk liquid transload; chemicals, fuels such as LNG/LPG or ethanol, fertilizers, other food like corn syrup
Bulk dry transload; animal feeds, powdered matierials such as cement, sand, grains, salt, other powdered materials such as pot ash and minerals like calcium or talc
Also possibly thinking of a TOFC ramp, but the limited space I'm using may make this unobtainable and/or unrealistic. I don't plan on being 110% prototypical, but I do still want to remain realistic.
I also just happened to glance up and notice your truck-train terminal listing, but I still choose to post my ideas.
I take it that the OP decided to either quit the forum or was asked to leave?
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
simon1966 I take it that the OP decided to either quit the forum or was asked to leave?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.