One spur serving two or more industries

[CSXFan]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of designing my layout and I would like your opinion. I have room for only one spur leading into a grain elevator complex. I want to include grain loading, liquid fertilizer unloading, and bagged grain loading/unloading all in this one complex. Could at least 2 of these be included on one spur, or would this be a bad idea? Would the prototype (modern CSX) ever consider this? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of designing my layout and I would like your opinion. I have room for only one spur leading into a grain elevator complex. I want to include grain loading, liquid fertilizer unloading, and bagged grain loading/unloading all in this one complex. Could at least 2 of these be included on one spur, or would this be a bad idea? Would the prototype (modern CSX) ever consider this? Thanks in advance.

Put a passing track nearby or a house track where you can reach in, grab the cars, set it aside, go deeper and switch the end industry and put everything back where it was when you finish.

It's not good to have everything on just one track. Try to offset one of the industries and run a second track to it a few inches alongside the orginal siding.

[jeffshultz]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of designing my layout and I would like your opinion. I have room for only one spur leading into a grain elevator complex. I want to include grain loading, liquid fertilizer unloading, and bagged grain loading/unloading all in this one complex. Could at least 2 of these be included on one spur, or would this be a bad idea? Would the prototype (modern CSX) ever consider this? Thanks in advance.

I don't know about CSX, but on the local shortlines, many industries unload multiple types of cars on the same track.

For instance on the Portland & Western, White's Hauling in Hopmere, OR unloads covered hoppers full of soy or corn distillates near the entrance of the track and further down (although there is a spur to it turning the main spur into storage) there is a boxcar ramp for unloading cottonseed. All of these are for cattle feed, btw:


As for liquid fertilizer and granulated fertilizers, there is an example next door to White's Hauling at the Western Farm Service has only one spur with a hopper dump at the far end and a tank car pumping station near the middle:
Hopper dump:


Tank car area:


There is another in Stayton that does exactly the same thing, but they only get tank cars once or twice a year and run them through a portable reactor to make up the fertilizer.

There is also an outfit in Salem called Cascade Warehouse that does both lumber storage and reloading as well as refrigerated products reloading. So on one of their spurs you'll find both centerbeams and  BNSF reefers.

[CSXFan]

Thanks a lot for the info and great pics too. That pretty much answers my question. Here is a diagram of the spur and surrounding track.

I think I'll put the fertilizer unloading on the end of the spur and have the grain loading chutes near the middle.

[jeffshultz]

Either that is one long elevator track, or a very short yard....  Have fun with it!

[Andrew Falconer]

On an O Scale Layout one siding with spurs has to serve at least 3 businesses. On a very tight HO Scale Layout the same principal of adding as many backdrop industries to a spur-siding would help.

Andrew

[NS2591]

I belive Progressive Rail has a few industries like that. And If you don't mind me asking, Is that the Applichian Central from the 2000 issues of MR?

[CSXFan]

I belive Progressive Rail has a few industries like that. And If you don't mind me asking, Is that the Applichian Central from the 2000 issues of MR?

Wow, you really know your MR magazine! It is in fact the N scale Appalachian Central from the January and February 2000 issues of MR. All I'm doing different is using broader curves and making the main double tracked. I hope to start the benchwork for it this weekend. Thanks for all the replies.

[johncolley]

Don't know about modern anylines, but back in '50's-'70's around Oakland, CA there were several complexes with a single spur going deep and serving more than one customer or type of car. In fact there were some that a car loades/unloaded into a doorway from one side and further into the spur pocket a different car loaded/unloaded into a doorway on the opposite side! jc5729