I believe among the last western moves were in the late 1960's - early 1970's. From time to time there'd be a photo in Trains of the last ones on the D&RGW narrow-gauge, and the UP in Idaho - at the Harriman Ranch perhaps - complete with cowboys on horses, wooden cattle pens and loading chutes, etc. Those were more in the nature of moves from winter corrals to summer pastures or vice-versa, not long-haul to market.
I was under the impression that the requirement to Feed, Water, Rest (exercise) the critters was at 24-hour intervals, not 36, but I can't support that belief with any citation.
One of the Kalmbach books - I believe it is John Armstrong's Track Planning for Realistic Operation - has a photo of a double-deck car of hogs going past an "F"-shaped standpipe, with each of the two spouts discharging a solid stream of water - one at each level - to cool them off.
- Paul North.
PNWRMNM The folks in cattle country are smart enough to know it is just the smell of money. Mac
The folks in cattle country are smart enough to know it is just the smell of money.
Mac
Alas, people who have money and want to build a house "out in the country" rarely see it that way, even though the farm was there long before they built the house...
[aside]Some years ago the NY state firematics drills were held near me. One of my son's friends was at first puzzled by the sounds emanating from some of the Long Island fire vehicles that passed their house on a state highway. They finally figured out that it was the firefighters, reacting to the sight of real cows in fields along the road.
"Mooooooooo!"
[/aside]
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...
You failed to mention PETA. PETA would have a field day if animals were still moved in live stock cars.
King, NC.
BaltACD As I recall....there was a section on the Livestock Bill of Lading where the shipper could authorize a 36 Hour FWR (Feed, Water, Rest) provision. Carriers that were active in the Livestock pipe line had their own stockyards at stragegic locations in order to comply with the legal requirements of transporting livestock.
As I recall....there was a section on the Livestock Bill of Lading where the shipper could authorize a 36 Hour FWR (Feed, Water, Rest) provision. Carriers that were active in the Livestock pipe line had their own stockyards at stragegic locations in order to comply with the legal requirements of transporting livestock.
Somewhere about 1960, the UP was running an expedited cattle train between Salt Lake City are and LA. The idea was to get the cars to LA before the 36 hour limit hit, so the cattle would not have to be taken off en route. These trains were given a 60 MPH speed limit in contrast to the 50 MPH limit for most other freights.
The Super C was regularly doing Chicago-LA in 37 to 38 hours, so it would have been possible (that's possible, not necessarily practical or economic) to run a cattle train from Kansas to So Cal without FWR.
- Erik
Here is a link to some photos of UPRR's last stock cars:
http://cssfreight.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2354156
These cars were conversions to triple decker hog-hauling service.
Their reporting mark was, of course, HOGX !
If I remember the story about this service and when it ended, someone at UP had the thought that UP ought to try and take back fome of the stock hauling business out of Nebraska, they found a buyer for the on-the-hoof hogs at Farmer John's Meats in the Los Angeles area. This service took place some time in the 1980's to 1990's (early '90's(?). Apparently this hog service lasted for some time, whereClougherty Packing Company was the receiver. Farmer John's Meats was one of the last receivers of live hogs by rail in LA.
The cars were run on trains in expedited service categories, that insured a time schedule that would fulfill all the appropriate government rules pertaining to the hauling of live-stock by rail.
I would bet that if our retired UP car guru [Carl Shaver} is looking he could fill in the information gaps on this subject. Who originally made the former auto parts cars and who and when they were converted those to haul livestock; not to mention how long this service lasted and why it was terminated(?).
Found a link referencing the Hog Cars, and their handling on Trainorders.com.:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2094359
scroll down to the post by :UPNW2-1083
he even posts a couple of photos, as do several other posters. Lots of anecdotes in the Trainorders link.
Yes, livestock needed to be taken off the train for exercise, watering, feed, etc. every so often. The Erie, for instance, had a stockyard stop at Campville, NY, about 5 miles east of Owego and 20 miles west of Binghamton before hauling the pigs and cattle to Secaucus, NJ and environs for the Metropolitan crowd's pork chops and succulent steak!
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
oltmannd The last cattle Conrail handled was for Kosher butchers in Phila and North Jersey. It moved on the head end of intermodal trains so that it could get from Chicago in less than 25 hours and not need a watering stop.
The last cattle Conrail handled was for Kosher butchers in Phila and North Jersey. It moved on the head end of intermodal trains so that it could get from Chicago in less than 25 hours and not need a watering stop.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
It's probably for the better that railroads don't ship cattle anymore. If NIMBYs are getting upset up about "smelly" garbage in sealed containers passing through their neighborhoods on trains, imagine what they would say about livestock trains with openings that let the aroma of animal business waffe out of the cars.
Thomas,
Trucks have much lower terminal costs than rail which gives them a tremendous advantage in the short haul 60-100 mile moves you suggest. Truck will deliver in that range in an hour or two. Rail likely to be a day or two.
To the best of my knowledge relatively little cattle moved in trainload volumes. It was mostly a carload business with all of the handling that characterizes that type of traffic.
As a matter of fact the last rail moves of livestock were long haul, where there were lots of miles to absorb the terminal costs.
The whole food industry changed, not railroading in this instance. Freezing and faster transportation meant that the slaughtering/processing could be done and a finished product be shipped either by rail or truck. So, now whole animals need not be shipped thousands of miles but the frozen or refrigerated meat...faster and cheaper. Rails no longer needed in this instance.
BTW, animals are often shipped by truck for processing but it is in smaller herds than the old cattle drives,usually just from farm to slaughter house.
The railroads were probably thrilled to see them go also. Animals got better treatment then people in some respects. It was against the law for an animal to travel more than 24 hours without being let out of the car for food and watering. Logistic nightmares for dispatchers.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Last cattle I recall my carrier handling was in the middle 70's. What changed was not the carriers problems in hauling livestock, but the distribution logistics of the meat industry.
To have 'fresh' meat in 'the good old days', the animal had to be slaughtered and butchered in near proximity to where it was going to be processed and sold. With the improvements in refrigeration, packaging and transportation it became more economical for meat processors to handle the livestock at a limited number of processing factories and ship the finished (or near finished) product to market, rather than the 'raw material'.
I always wondered why the railroads stopped moving animals in cattle cars. I can understand the long distances would be a problem but I can't see how moving a cow by train say 60 miles or 100 miles is any different then a truck doing it? Anyone know what year they stopped?
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