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Beer and Wine by boxcar...Does your regional distributer have a RR siding?

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Posted by jeffhergert on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 9:28 PM

CShaveRR

When I was alive...I mean, working...a lot of Corona beer used to come from Mexico to a distributor right by Proviso (don't know whether it was in Yard 9 or south of Global 2).  Toward the end of that time it all came in standard 50-foot box cars.  It had previously come in RBLs during the colder months to protect it from the cold.  I used to love seeing these cars, because they were mostly the old incentve-per-diem box cars that originated with every shortline imaginable.  

As they came here from Mexico, my assumption is that they came via Kansas City. Jeff, do you still see beer on any trains headed for us?

 

Once in a while.  I see more wine.  I used to see tank cars of whiskey going to Peoria, but it's been a while for that.

I used to enjoy reading the hazardous response info for the whiskey/alcoholic beverages.  About the same as regular alcohol, but it seemed funny to read some parts of the warnings for something meant for human consumption.  Things like avoid exposure, if exposed flush with large amounts of water, etc.  I always thought if exposed, it should be flush with large amounts of black coffee.Big Smile 

Jeff

 

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Posted by samfp1943 on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 12:53 PM

Firelock76

I live in the Richmond Va. area, and as far as I know the biggest beer distributor around here, Brown Distributing, gets the stuff by truck even though they're pretty close to Acca Yard.

Anheuser-Busch has a brewery down by Williamsbug, and they MAY get the raw matierials in by train. The old C&O, now CSX, runs by there, but I'm not sure.

PS:  I don't drink Budweiser, I like Miller.

 

WELL!  I guess I might add a little here. Seems that what got missed here is the addition to Virginia Beer Drinking Culture.. It used to ride in on the Norfolk Southern : Specifically, Coors Beer.

Back in the late 1970's There was a little labor kerfuffle that erupted in Golden Colorado at the Home of Coors Brewing.  I think, I remember it lasting in the neighborhood of about a decade(?).  

   An outcome of that unpleasantness was the arrival about 1978(?) in Rockingham County, Va. of a 'Packaging Operation' for Coors Beer to package, and ship to East Coast beer drinkers their Coor's  Woblin' Water: " Brewed with Pure Rocky Mountain Water" .

  The deal was that the beer arrived in tank cars via NS to the packaging plant. Mostly, the bottles, wrappings and other supplies got trucked in, and trucked to quinch the thirst of those that had acquired a taste for it...Mostly gotten from trips to the 10 or 11 states out West where it could then  be gotten legally, and those whose tastes  for it had been quinched  via various bootlegging activities. Whistling  

 It was about 88 or 89 when the previous kerfufle was settled, and later(2007 ?) when Coors Brewing merged with Molson ( YEP! OH! Canada!), and now they call it MillerCoors, and they are apparently brewing some of their Woblin' Water in [Elktron] Virginia.  Mischief

 

 


 

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Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Monday, March 28, 2016 10:22 PM

East Syracuse NY there is a branch line that served Carreir Airconditioning that also served a Beer Dist. Also in New London CT there was a distributer at the south end of the Central Vermont Ry.

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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, March 28, 2016 3:46 PM

When I was alive...I mean, working...a lot of Corona beer used to come from Mexico to a distributor right by Proviso (don't know whether it was in Yard 9 or south of Global 2).  Toward the end of that time it all came in standard 50-foot box cars.  It had previously come in RBLs during the colder months to protect it from the cold.  I used to love seeing these cars, because they were mostly the old incentve-per-diem box cars that originated with every shortline imaginable.  

As they came here from Mexico, my assumption is that they came via Kansas City. Jeff, do you still see beer on any trains headed for us?

Carl

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CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by jeffhergert on Monday, March 28, 2016 3:11 PM

The Des Moines Budweiser distributor used to receive by rail, but I think they discontinued that some years ago.  About 15 years ago I worked the switch job that pulled/spotted cars there.  Beer would come in both MRS and UP family box cars.  I hated riding those MRS cars, the grab irons, while meeting regs, were placed closer to the car body.  Made it harder to get my size 13s on them.

Still see a fair amount of wine in box cars.  One train I had one time, wine made up 10% of the loads.

Jeff  

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Posted by rvos1979 on Monday, March 28, 2016 3:05 PM
Hauled beer for 7-1/2 years, AB rarely ships finished product by rail, MillerCoors ships a little. There are a few larger distributors that have a rail siding, most have quit receiving or built new facilities away from the tracks.........

Randy Vos

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Posted by MikeF90 on Monday, March 28, 2016 2:59 PM

Sierra Nevada Brewing receives grain via rail at most of its facilities. Petaluma Brewing receives grain and ships product out (to where is unknown).

Unless you are located next to a shortline, railroad cooperation is difficult at best.

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Posted by DARREN OTTE on Monday, March 28, 2016 2:11 PM

BOB WITHORN

Most no longer receive by rail. Brewers are shipping from regional warehouses not by truck to the Distributors. A fair amount of beer is shipped in tank cars as concentrate to regional bottling plants that add the carbinated H2O and package/bottle it.

Bob

 

BOB WITHORN

Most no longer receive by rail. Brewers are shipping from regional warehouses not by truck to the Distributors. A fair amount of beer is shipped in tank cars as concentrate to regional bottling plants that add the carbinated H2O and package/bottle it.

Bob

 

ive 

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, March 28, 2016 1:45 PM

One of our local distributors is located right next to the tracks, but I doubt rail delivery was ever a consideration.  There's no room for a siding between the tracks and the building.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Monday, March 28, 2016 1:17 PM

Most no longer receive by rail. Brewers are shipping from regional warehouses by truck, not by rail to the Distributors. A fair amount of beer is shipped in tank cars as concentrate to regional bottling plants that add the carbinated H2O and package/bottle it.

Bob

Ok, so I corrected my post so it may make sense now

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, March 27, 2016 7:08 PM

CandOforprogress2

My regional distributer has a RR siding but it has not been used for over 20 years and that was the same way in the distributer in the town before that in Richmond VA at Acca Yard...So I was surprised that beer and wine acording to the Train Mag Artical "Boxcars still matter" that alcoholic beverages are in the top 5 boxcar commoditys.

 

What town is that in?

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Posted by mudchicken on Sunday, March 27, 2016 6:34 PM

The Coors side of Miller-Coors still ships heavilly by rail and an awful lot of some popular mexican beer comes to Denver in boxcars.  North yard Denver has a major rail served beer warehouse next to it near Utah Junction. A-B still ships quite a bit of finished product by rail out of Ft. Collins.

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Posted by Firelock76 on Sunday, March 27, 2016 5:23 PM

I live in the Richmond Va. area, and as far as I know the biggest beer distributor around here, Brown Distributing, gets the stuff by truck even though they're pretty close to Acca Yard.

Anheuser-Busch has a brewery down by Williamsbug, and they MAY get the raw matierials in by train. The old C&O, now CSX, runs by there, but I'm not sure.

PS:  I don't drink Budweiser, I like Miller.

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Beer and Wine by boxcar...Does your regional distributer have a RR siding?
Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Friday, March 25, 2016 3:25 PM

My regional distributer has a RR siding but it has not been used for over 20 years and that was the same way in the distributer in the town before that in Richmond VA at Acca Yard...So I was surprised that beer and wine acording to the Train Mag Artical "Boxcars still matter" that alcoholic beverages are in the top 5 boxcar commoditys.

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