For the steam era stock yard cleanings.. I recall seeing PRR gons filled with dirty hay from stock yards in the mid 50s..I'm not sure where these smelly loads was going but,I notice they was always heading West.. I alway felt sorry for the fellas in the cabin especially on a hot summer day.
I am not sure how one would model dirty hay unless he uses real hay(clean) and dirties it by weathering.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Shock ControlThe split-level house in the residential section of my winter layout runs an e-sales business out of the basement.
I'd raise the lease, and what about taxes? Does the state you live in have a sales tax due on e-sales?
You don't want the tax police knocking down your door. How would you explain that to the neighbors?
Mike.
My You Tube
joe323Another under represented industry is wholesale groceries....
I have two of them on my layout. This one, freelanced, and with a made-up name, was kitbashed out of what I believe were Tyco drug stores...
...while this one is mostly DPM modular walls...
It's based on a real business of the same name, but does not ressemble its prototype at all.
Wayne
The split-level house in the residential section of my winter layout runs an e-sales business out of the basement.
Hello All,
In southern Colorado sugar beet production was huge.
The Holly Sugar company had a processing plant east of Pueblo, CO. The silos with the Holly Sugar logo still stand today.
Tyco made a 34-foot covered operating hopper car with the Holly Sugar livery. These cars were labeled as "air slide" so I believe they transported the finished product and not the raw sugar beets.
I have re-purposed several of these cars to carry rock dust, used to line the coal mine, on my pike.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
SeeYou190 Yes, Sugar Beets were huge. Not that I don't want them discussed, I just know absolutely ZERO about Sugar Beet farming and processing. -Kevin
Not that I don't want them discussed, I just know absolutely ZERO about Sugar Beet farming and processing.
-Kevin
Indeed sugar beet processing IS very interesting and there is a lot to learn about it. Jeff Wilson's wonderful series of books on industries along the tracks should be in everyone's libraries. Vol 3 has the chapter on sugar beets. As it happens limestone plays a big part in sugar beet processing which I found fascinating. And the beets themselves are not the little red baseball sized things you get at a grocery but big honking things more like a football in size. And there are plenty of byproducts as part of the process, including animal feeds (much like ethanol) . Push the era back far enough and for a rail served processing plan it would be beats and limestone loads in and sugar and byproduct loads out kind of stuff, plus the empties.
Change of topic but here is another industry I am familiar with and in the case of one factory, pretty compact building, it is rail served even today: plastic bags. The pellets arrive by Center Flow, airslide, and other covered hoppers - I once found some spilled load near the vacuum device trackside and they were translucent plastic pellets about the size of aspirins. Most interesting of all, the siding and vacuum unloader (a sheet metal box with tubes to the hopper vents) was across the street from the factory itself. You could omit the structure! The factory began as a dry cleaner over half a century ago but gradually transitioned into making those rolls of plastic bags for dry cleaning that you see. very thin clear plastic. Another market they service: big plastic bags for caskets. They ship by truck.
Dave Nelson
Another under represented industry is wholesale groceries.
Back in the 80's I worked in a distribution warehouse for the now defunct A & P grocery chain The warehouse had an enclosed siding to receive boxcars which were unliaded sorted transferred to trucks for delivery to the stores.
Probably would make a decent background industry as there was not that much activity.
Joe Staten Island West
csxns jjdamnit drywall or sheetrock production We have one here lots of Centerbeams and flat bed 18 wheelers thats in Mt Holly NC.
jjdamnit drywall or sheetrock production
We have one here lots of Centerbeams and flat bed 18 wheelers thats in Mt Holly NC.
We have one here in the Las Vegas, NV area. They (PABCO) not only manufacture the sheetrock, they also own a gypsum mine. Lots of centerbeam flats with their wrapped loads.
Tried looking around with google earth, but views are limited. May have to take a trip.
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
Not to elaborate on sugar beets, but the wife grew up Billings MT., the plant there is still in operation, name has changed, but she lived next to the spur that led from NP's yard ( now MRL) in Billings, to the sugar factory, and beets were a huge deal.
the NP used a steam switch engine to haul cuts of beet cars from the main yard to the factory, well into the late 60's.
SeeYou190 Not that I don't want them discussed, I just know absolutely ZERO about Sugar Beet farming and processing. Discussing Sugar Beets in Florida is probably like drinking a Pepsi in Atlanta! -Kevin .
Discussing Sugar Beets in Florida is probably like drinking a Pepsi in Atlanta!
.
I got what you meant.
I don't know much about them either.
IIRC, it would be an industry for the early 20th century in western states. I think the pictures I saw or articles I read were about the Espee and their branch lines.
- Douglas
tstageIf you know nothing about them then why your earlier strong opinion about them??? There is life (and industry) outside of FL...
Tom,
All I said was:
SeeYou190Sugar Beets... Booooooooooo!
That was more "Tounge In Cheek" than a strong oppinion.
Sorry if it came across incorrectly.
I would expect a Georgian to say "Pepsi... Boooooooooooo!", or a Wisconsonite to say "California Cheese... Booooooooooo!" with the same light hearted intent.
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 Doughless For steam era folks, in the early part of the 20th century, weren't sugar beets a big industry? I recall seeing pictures of tall wooden gondolas specifically used to haul beets. Yes, Sugar Beets were huge. . Not that I don't want them discussed, I just know absolutely ZERO about Sugar Beet farming and processing.
Doughless For steam era folks, in the early part of the 20th century, weren't sugar beets a big industry? I recall seeing pictures of tall wooden gondolas specifically used to haul beets.
Yes, Sugar Beets were huge.
If you know nothing about them then why your earlier strong opinion about them??? There is life (and industry) outside of FL...
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
DoughlessFor steam era folks, in the early part of the 20th century, weren't sugar beets a big industry? I recall seeing pictures of tall wooden gondolas specifically used to haul beets.
In Florida it is all about Cane! Unfortunately, there is a very dark side to the history of Sugar Cane farming that still has deep scars in some communities today. Some of the past stories of Florida's Sugar Cane Industry still persist in culture today, and people still mistakenly think that is the way it still is.
I have been involved with the Sugar Cane industry since 1986, and it was all cleaned up by then. I never saw any of the atrocities of the past except for in pictures, but I sure met a lot of old-timers that remembered those days.
The movie Strip Tease sure did nothing to improve the image of Sugar Cane in Florida. That movie is all that a lot of people know about the industry, and it is 0% accurate.
Not rail served, but there is a team track nearby. This was the rear wall that came with the background flat Centennial Mills kit. I was surprised to find the back wall at all, but it has loading docks. I painted it and named it "Drosophila and Melanogaster Wholesale Fruit." Drosophila Melanogaster is the Latin name for the common fruit fly. My daughter was studying biology at the time.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
SeeYou190 Anything agricultural. . It seems that model railroaders think the Grain Elevator, Citrus Plant, and Feed Mill are the ONLY rail served agricultural industries. I rarely recall seeing feritlizer plants, canning plants, or the countless other industries revolving around agriculture. . -Kevin .
Anything agricultural.
It seems that model railroaders think the Grain Elevator, Citrus Plant, and Feed Mill are the ONLY rail served agricultural industries. I rarely recall seeing feritlizer plants, canning plants, or the countless other industries revolving around agriculture.
For steam era folks, in the early part of the 20th century, weren't sugar beets a big industry? I recall seeing pictures of tall wooden gondolas specifically used to haul beets.
edit: nevermind. I see you've already discussed sugar beets as far as you want to....
My layout will have an oil recycler to receive tank cars of used oil.
Asphalt shingle producer receives oil tank cars and short hoppers of granuals. Ships in boxcars.
Not far from me is a Solo cup factory, and plates and lids. Receives plastic pellets in pressuraide hoppers.
There's a fleet of special refrigerated box cars that haul potatoes exclusively from Idaho to the McDonald's french fry factory. There's an exhibit at the B&O Museum in Baltimore of one of these cars.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
moelarrycurly4 Frito Lay
Russell
jjdamnitdrywall or sheetrock production
And then of course scrap yards. I recently watched the State Line Farm Supply Kitbach Challenge videos and I just about fell over when Eric White said what he was going to build with his. Across the street from that scrapyard was (and still is) an old fashioned type of drive in called Richard's. We would often go there for hot dogs and their steak sandwiches, and milkshakes, when i was a kid. There was no seating, though the order windows was inside, so you didn;t have to stand in the rain to order food and ice cream. You ate in your car, but no car hops, you had to go up and order your food yourself. We used to sit parked on the side of the parking lot by the tracks, and could watch them bring gons in and out with scrap if we were lucky, or else just watch the crane with the giant electromagnet unloading scrap. Huge childhood memory for me.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Southgate How about ZINC? AKA white metal. It's on EVERYBODY'S layouts. If not locomotive boilers, frames, and other white metal detail parts, it's the weight in those locomotives and some freight cars, or even the floors. And many of our vehicles are white metal. Even if you use pennies for weight, yeah, they're zinc these days. For modelling, it could have to do with mining, transporting ore, processing, or transporting the finished product. Dan.
How about ZINC? AKA white metal. It's on EVERYBODY'S layouts. If not locomotive boilers, frames, and other white metal detail parts, it's the weight in those locomotives and some freight cars, or even the floors. And many of our vehicles are white metal. Even if you use pennies for weight, yeah, they're zinc these days.
For modelling, it could have to do with mining, transporting ore, processing, or transporting the finished product. Dan.
That's a good one too. Palmerton, PA was home to a NJ Zinc plant, served by its own railroad but also right by a fatastic LNE bridge which no longer exists that crossed the Lehigh River, as well as CNJ and LV tracks. You can still see evidence of it being there in the surroundign hills, but I remember as a kid the hills were all completely bare of vegetation, the fumes fromt he smelting process killed everything. Years of cleanup has resulted in most of it coming back, but you can still tell when driving through the area.
dstarr Save your Dixie cups. The South will rise again.
Save your Dixie cups. The South will rise again.
The Dixie Cup plant was near where I grew up. The water tower on top was shrouded and painted like a giant Dixie Cup.
Rail served off the Lehigh Valley's Easton & Northern Branch.
More modern times - how about toilet paper? Reading and Northern serves a huge Proctor & Gamble plant near Mehoopany PA that makes Charmin.
I had a Frito Lay plant on my first layout. It recieved potatos and cooking oil and empty box cars to ship out.
I have a couple fairly odd ones. I have Powell Piano Co. named for late S scale model railroader Sam Powell and my favorite decadent snacks......Tastykake. The bakery gives me a place to send covered hoppers and reefers on my coal hauling Western Maryland Ry.
oldline1
I don't know if I would consider it a "favorite" but drywall or sheetrock production seems to be underappreciated.
The gypsum could arrive by rail from the mines, along with the requisite rolls of paper and processing chemicals to produce the finished product that could, depending on the era, leave on rail or trucks.
Another is quarrying--be it granite, limestone, marble, etc.
I have seen a few pikes based on quarry operations but not many.
A narrow-gauge short-line could bring the blocks from the depths of the quarry to a cutting mill and then ship the finished blocks or panels out.
On my freelance coal branch loop, based near Paonia, Colorado, it would not be a stretch to have an occasional quarry train moving from the pits at Marble, Colorado, to a processing mill.
In the NMRA magazine there is a column called "Love Those Loads" that deals with unique freight loads.
One installment was about a modeler that got ahold of samples of faux marble countertops, through his work, and made them into oversized HO scale loads.
JoeBlow Industrial Parks - Lots of varied customers in a central area. The real estate development aspect of railroads is so under appreciated. Rail car mix depends on customers. Check out the Modesto Empire Traction Railroad and Big Spring Railway.
Railroads been servicing industrial parks since the 50s when they started showing up. As far Transload track major railroads use them as well but,they are lease and operated by a transload company.
If your modeling the present - try these.
1) Transload Sites / Team Tracks - A lot of the shortlines and regionals are partnering with logistics providers to service offline customers. These can range from siding in a dirt lot to a complex of cranes/ramps/warehouses. Anything and everything comes through-tank cars, box cars, flat cars, etc. Check out Anacostia Rail Holdings and Genessee Wyoming.
2) Industrial Parks - Lots of varied customers in a central area. The real estate development aspect of railroads is so under appreciated. Rail car mix depends on customers. Check out the Modesto Empire Traction Railroad and Big Spring Railway.
3) Military Installations - These have everything from rail served warehouses, fuel depots to ramps were equipment is still loaded circus style. Some installations even have there own switching railroads. There are installations near Yermo and Herlong in California.
4) Cold Storage Warehouses - Lots of reefers. Depending on the facilities business model/location, product can be cross docked from rail reefers to highway trailers (local distribution) or reefer containers (international shipping). Check out KPAC Cold Storage in Los Angeles, CA.
5) Harbors That Specialize In Maritime Break Bulk - There are many smaller harbors that handle cargo such as aggregates, bulk liquids, project cargo and other merchandise that cannot go into containers. Some of these harbors are rather compact and have there own municiple switching railroads. Others rely operators such as Gennessee and Wyoming. Check out the Port Of Panama City Florida (Municiple Railroad) or Port Hueneme (Ventura County Railway).
6) Power Plants - Coal plants can have rather elaborate trackage arrangements involving the use of switchers or even dedicated railroads. The Navajo Mine Railroad is one example of a point to point railroad serving one customer.
Here in California many of the large natural gas and nuclear plants have rail sidings. While they are are not regular customers they may occassionally require service during the initial construction/periodic upgrade/refueling(nuclear) or decommisioning. Rail moves can require the use specialized equipment. Both the plants at San Onofre and Oxnard have rail connections.
7) The Regional Railroad Intermodal Facility - Some regional railroads do have their own dedicated intermodal facilities that handle containers. The Iowa Interstate Railroad has facilities at Blue Island, Illinois and Council Bluff, Iowa.
8) Sewage Treatment Plants - Rail services can range from a single spur that recieves a few tank cars to in-plant railroad. Check out the Chicago Sanitary District Railroad.
9) Project Railroads - In the 1990s, the Los Angeles Metrorail built the Red Line tunnel through the Hollywood Hills that used a mine train to haul rock from the boring machine to the tunnel entrance where it was loading into trucks since there was no nearby railroad. Other examples include aquaducts both recent and in the distant past. The Southern Pacific built everything from a special yard in Mojave to sidings and spurs to on the Jawbone branch to service the construction of the California Aquaduct. The facilities existed only a short time in both the case of the Red Line tunnel and the aquaduct.
These are just a few examples of often overlooked industries/operations that can add variety to a layout or in some cases be the basis of a layout. Research can be done by using the library, the internet and on the ground visits.
A creosote plant.. In raw telephone poles out treated telephone poles. The same will work for railroad ties.
A paper recycling plant. In used paper out Gaylords of shredded paper in 50' boxcars..
Rail served landfills..Yes,there are garbage unit trains that is operated daily on several railroads.
csxns ROBERT PETRICK pulp and paper mill Logs are brought in from local tree farms and made into wood chips we have one north of Bostic on CSX and one on the NS in Nebo NC.
ROBERT PETRICK pulp and paper mill
Logs are brought in from local tree farms and made into wood chips we have one north of Bostic on CSX and one on the NS in Nebo NC.
Hey Russell-
Yes.
My mill is based, more or less, on the MeadWestvaco Mill in Sylacauga, Alabama and the WestRock Mill in Stevenson, Alabama. The Stevenson mill has a pretty impressive debarking/chipping facility, and the Sylacauga mill has a long log radial stacker. My N scale San Juan Pulp and Paper mill also features a 36" long fourdrinier paper machine, a 1300 ton pulp chest, a combine-cycle steam generating plant and incinerator (fired by natural gas and/or chip bark), and an 18-wheeler inclined chip/sawdust dump. All will have to be scratch built.
For rolling stock, I have a unit train of 24 bulkhead flat cars neatly loaded with cordwood and pulled by a pair of ACL SD35s.
Water treatment plants, either drinking water or sewage are not often modeled. The larger ones receive chemicals by rail.