Does anyone know if the Erie Railroad handled any reefer traffic on their Marion Division, between Chicago and Marion, Ohio in the 40s and 50s?
I'd say it's a certainty they did. The Marion Division was the Erie's "speedway" and all the perishables the Erie carried east went that way. Milk, produce, you name it.
Page 42 of Erie Memories (that 1993 all-B&W picture tour of the Erie, division by division from west to east, by Crist) says that in the late 1930s and 1940s Erie carried 98% (?!) of the "fresh fruits and vegetables" from the West to NY City. Think that's possible?
timz Page 42 of Erie Memories (that 1993 all-B&W picture tour of the Erie, division by division from west to east, by Crist) says that in the late 1930s and 1940s Erie carried 98% (?!) of the "fresh fruits and vegetables" from the West to NY City. Think that's possible?
Erie had a pretty direct route to the NYC metro area, but didn't actually go into the city, as I recall. The Central actually went "downtown." I'd imagine the Pennsy had a piece of that action, too.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Well, no. The Erie didn't get darn near ALL of it, the ICC wouldn't allow it, BUT according to Paul Carlton's "The Erie Railroad Story" with generous clearances due to the Erie's original six-foot gauge and with no major metro areas along the route to cause congestion AND when the new Berkshire type locomotives came on the scene perishable cargoes could get from Chicago to Erie's Croxton Yard in Secaucus NJ faster than on any other railroad. So the Erie got a very, VERY large chunk of perishable traffic.
98% is a bit of an exaggeration, although MAYBE during WW2 they got close to it considering wartime traffic on other 'roads.
Carlton does say solid reefer movements behind Berkshires did become kind of an Erie trademark "way back when."
I'd think carfloats from Croxton to NYC would be about as direct as from Greenville, Oak Island, or other facilities in New Jersey from the Hudson down to the Narrows. There was not enough 'business' to keep the substantial CNJ bridge open; the very logical freight-clearance version of the rail Hyman's Hole was never built; the 20-track Lindenthal bridge from 1916 was never dusted off even with truck-only lanes added to the mix...
Meanwhile the freight line down to St. John's Park, though double-tracked and surprisingly heavily trafficked comparatively late in the game, didn't thrive any better.
Flintlock76The Erie didn't get darn near ALL of it, the ICC wouldn't allow it
I recall reading somewhere - probably a Trains article by David P. Morgan - about how "smart shippers" for produce shipped Santa Fe-Erie. I seem to recall in the article about how Santa Fe 4-8-4a would forward the perishables to Chicago and turn them over to the Erie's high-drivered 2-8-4s to speed them on to New York.
Can't verify the article or author - just a whisp of a memory from something I read a while back.
timz Flintlock76 The Erie didn't get darn near ALL of it, the ICC wouldn't allow it The ICC would tell shippers to choose a different RR, or tell the western RRs to choose a different connection?
Flintlock76 The Erie didn't get darn near ALL of it, the ICC wouldn't allow it
The ICC would tell shippers to choose a different RR, or tell the western RRs to choose a different connection?
Unfortunately Carleton didn't specify. Whether it was by quota or some other means your guess is as good as mine. I suppose the ICC was concerned about a monopoly by any one 'road. Or something.
kgbw49I recall reading somewhere - probably a Trains article by David P. Morgan - about how "smart shippers" for produce shipped Santa Fe-Erie. I seem to recall in the article about how Santa Fe 4-8-4a would forward the perishables to Chicago and turn them over to the Erie's high-drivered 2-8-4s to speed them on to New York. Can't verify the article or author - just a whisp of a memory from something I read a while back.
One thing about the shipment of perishibles from the West Coast to Eastern markets. When the shipments were loaded, there wasn't a consignee for the load. The loads would normally be shipped to the shippers account at some point in the East via a circuitous routing, generally among multiple carriers. The circuitous routing would allow the shippers 'marketing department' time to actually find a buyer for the car load. While the shipment was still inroute the 'marketing department' would issue Reconsignment and Diversion Order for the carload for it to be moved on direct route to the final consignee.
Reconsignment and diversion are facts of life in the shipment of many varieties of consumer grade agricultural products - even in the 21st Century. When harvesting consumer agricultural products, the products have to be harvested at the 'proper' time to be saleable to consumers.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.