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Any newspapers still receive paper loads by rail?

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Any newspapers still receive paper loads by rail?
Posted by Ulrich on Friday, March 24, 2017 8:51 AM

A newspaper with a railroad siding? Are there any that still receive their paper directly via boxcar? 

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Posted by overall on Friday, March 24, 2017 9:24 AM

The Nashville Tennessean recieves UMAX and Canadian National containers sometimes. It did have a siding, but that was removed some years ago. I do remember when they did get their paper from boxcars, but that ended probably 10 years ago.

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Posted by dehusman on Friday, March 24, 2017 11:53 AM

Omaha World Herald still served by the UP.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, March 24, 2017 12:00 PM

I believe that the Chicago Tribune receives its newsprint by rail.  The printing plant is just west of the North Branch along the C&NW.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by LensCapOn on Friday, March 24, 2017 12:23 PM

What's this thing called a "newspaper"?

 

And why isn't it online?  (heh!)

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Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Friday, March 24, 2017 1:35 PM

Herald Standerd Uniontown PA- AVR railroad does streetrunning to get to Newspaper

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Posted by mudchicken on Friday, March 24, 2017 2:38 PM

Omaha, Denver & Cincinnati still do. (IIRC St. Louis just ended ... because of the ballpark and the light-rail changes)

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Posted by MarknLisa on Friday, March 24, 2017 4:17 PM

I've seen the CP delivering box cars to the Minnapolis Star Tribune a few times recently.  We can see thier printing plant from our office windows. 

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Posted by NDG on Friday, March 24, 2017 5:17 PM

Thank You.

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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Saturday, March 25, 2017 3:47 PM

Been a few years since I chanced upon CP switching them, but I believe the Calgary Herald still receives newsprint in boxcars, printing plant located here: 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/215+16+St+SE,+Calgary,+AB+T2E+2P5,+Canada/@51.0507346,-114.0149877,18z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x53717acb9d5487f5:0x6121e884b1ab29fc?force=lite

In Edmonton the Journal's plant still has a nominally intact rail spur (also served by CP), but I believe it has been many years since they received a boxcar, plant located here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/4864+93+Ave+NW,+Edmonton,+AB+T6B+2P8,+Canada/@53.5309327,-113.4117827,18z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x53a022989a9d3a6f:0x1e4e20b6f2c922a3?force=lite

Also Quebecor has a printing plant in Edmonton's west end that as of a few years ago still received boxcars and probably still does, I just haven't been around to witness it, plant located here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/18130+114+Ave+NW,+Edmonton,+AB+T5S+2E8,+Canada/@53.5633298,-113.633967,17z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x53a02129de55440f:0x73ae4eb4bbf3eff3?force=lite

On another note, the Alberta Newsprint Company's mill near Whitecourt is still doing a brisk business in outbound boxcars, and they must all end up at a warehouse somewhere...

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

NDG
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Posted by NDG on Saturday, March 25, 2017 5:11 PM

 

Thank You.

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Posted by rrnut282 on Saturday, March 25, 2017 5:32 PM

Fort Wayne (IN) Newspapers built a new printing building across the street.  They built a truck-dock, not a new spur.  There is a connection between the two over Van Buren Street, but I don't think it is heavy enough to handle paper rolls. 

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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Saturday, March 25, 2017 5:47 PM

NDG
SD70M-2Dude

Been a few years since I chanced upon CP switching them, but I believe the Calgary Herald still receives newsprint in boxcars, printing plant located here:

AFAIK.

The Calgary Herald outsourced it's in-house printing quite some time ago. An Outhouse job for their employees???

http://www.j-source.ca/article/calgary-herald-ends-house-print-production-marks-%E2%80%9Cend-era%E2%80%9D

and, I have heard, but not proved, they lifted the spur into the former plant, which is for Sale/Sold.

As when DPM discovered the UP GP30 on a work train, he had not realized years had gone by and the locomotive was no longer Top Tier road power.

I read, about 1980 or so, in the print Calgary Herald the big splash re the opening of their new facility as shown on Google with state of the art presses and stats on how many cars of paper were used a year, brought rite to the door in boxcars on the new spur.

Well that is unfortunate NDG, but thank YOU for the update. 

Going by the date of that article I believe I saw one of the last rail moves into the old plant.  I wish I had known, would have stopped and snapped a few photos.

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Saturday, March 25, 2017 7:49 PM

At one time the Atlanta constitution, &  ATL journal received their  newsprint from a siding that was actually east & parallel to the ATL Union station platforms.  Now CSX once NC&SL. As to if now ? ? ? 

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Posted by CatFoodFlambe on Saturday, March 25, 2017 8:11 PM

The "Columbus Dispatch" printing plant still takes rail delivery of newsprint paper via the Camp Chase Industrial Railroad.  

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Posted by Randy Stahl on Sunday, March 26, 2017 8:54 AM

The Providence Journal Via P&W .

 

Randy

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Posted by Ulrich on Sunday, March 26, 2017 5:25 PM

I didn't realize there were so many! I would have thought maybe one or at most a couple.. 

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Posted by CMStPnP on Sunday, March 26, 2017 6:01 PM

Haven't been staking out the plant but the Dallas Morning News used to get it's newsprint via KCS at their Plano  plant.     I think the spur is still in place but I have not seen a train on it and believe the switching operation is at night to avoid surface street traffic disruption.

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Sunday, March 26, 2017 8:41 PM

Apparently R. J. Corman's Allentown line still serves a dock in Allentown that's used to transload to trucks for delivery to The Morning Call's printing plant a few blocks away - from this webpage, accessed today:

http://www.rjcorman.com/shortlines/allentown.html 

"The Allentown Lines in Pennsylvania is critical to the local operating area where it hauls virtually all of the newsprint for the Allentown Morning Call."  

The Philadelphia Newspapers (The Inquirer) Schuylkill printing plant north of PHL and further just north of Conshohocken (Upper Merion Twp.) used to get newsprint by rail, at least as of 2012 (I have no knowledge of more recent operations).  At that time a railroad worker - an "assistant train engineer" (?) per the cbslocal.com report linked below - was killed by a roll of paper that fell/ rolled out of a car onto him: 

http://www.timesherald.com/article/JR/20120518/NEWS/120519539 

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/breaking/Worker-Trapped-Killed-by-Huge-Roll-of-Paper-Inquirer-152026915.html 

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/02/19/widow-of-man-killed-by-newsprint-roll-sues-philadelphia-newspaper-company/ 

- PDN. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by Boyd on Monday, March 27, 2017 12:11 AM

MarknLisa

I've seen the CP delivering box cars to the Minnapolis Star Tribune a few times recently.  We can see thier printing plant from our office windows. 

 

And they print the St.Paul Pioneer Press also.

 I'm sure I've seen it somewhere but does anyone know how large the rolls are and how much they weigh. 

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Posted by SFbrkmn on Monday, March 27, 2017 3:34 AM

In May 2016 Wichita Eagle discontinued printing operations. The Kansas City Star now prints the Wichita paper at KC. This resulted is the loss of a BNSF client. Eagle did receive their newsprint that was bought from a supplier in Idaho and Mississippi. The Eagle building is scheduled to be torn down in May. Likewise the long industry lead connecting the newspaper site to the mainline will also be removed. This is one of the few short miles of old Frisco trk in town that was retained until it was no longer needed. Hardly anything left of SLSF here.               For fun & games I ran some car traces a few times on these boxcars. A few times after the cars were released and pulled by the YWIC201, the empty boxes were routed 25 miles north to Newton where they were spotted at Horizon Milling for domestic sacked fllour loading. This reduced the empty car miles instead of being returned back to the paper mill for reloading

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Monday, March 27, 2017 7:37 AM

Boyd - check out the articles I linked above on that accident.  As I recall the rolls weighed 1,500 - 1,800 lbs., and looked to be about 4 ft. diam.

- PDN. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by samfp1943 on Monday, March 27, 2017 10:20 AM

In Memphis,Tn. The Newspaper Plant {The Commercial Appeal} built a printing plant at its facility off Union Ave to receive newsprint (in rolls) and printing ink by tank cars. The line was off a NS Industrial line (nee: Sou Rwy), and was off the original Memphis and Charleston RR line  that serviced the former M&S station/freighthouse between Madison and Adams Sts. That building lasted into the last of the 20th Century, after celebrating its centenial in the 1960's. Southern's replica train 'Best Friend' was brought in for the event.  

 

 


 

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, March 27, 2017 12:13 PM

Boyd
I'm sure I've seen it somewhere but does anyone know how large the rolls are and how much they weigh. 

I pass a small mill near me on a regular basis and often see them moving rolls across the street from the mill to the warehouse.

And this used to be a major paper producing area.

That estimate Paul gave is about right, I'd say.  And remember - rolled paper like that is like a solid block - there is no give.

In fact, a roll of paper won't burn en masse.  It peels off, with fire burning the single thickness.  Get a whole warehouse of that going, and you've got problems.

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Posted by MarknLisa on Monday, March 27, 2017 4:18 PM

Back when I lived in Des Moines [Late '80's] the Register would take deliveries of paper rolls at a small warehouse south of downtown. They'd truck the rolls to the printing plant downdown as they needed them.  A few times I saw a clamp truck carrying a single roll up 5th Ave. 

I dunno if anything has changed in the last 30 years or so. 

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Posted by aegrotatio on Monday, March 27, 2017 4:40 PM

Not really a newspaper, but the Government Publishing Office in Washington DC gets regular CSX deliveries of paper for the Federal Register which is required by law to be published on paper every day.

 

Also, The Washington Post has several sidings. I believe the paper is still delivered by barge and transloaded to the railroad.

 

 

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Posted by jeffhergert on Monday, March 27, 2017 5:13 PM

MarknLisa

Back when I lived in Des Moines [Late '80's] the Register would take deliveries of paper rolls at a small warehouse south of downtown. They'd truck the rolls to the printing plant downdown as they needed them.  A few times I saw a clamp truck carrying a single roll up 5th Ave. 

I dunno if anything has changed in the last 30 years or so. 

 

As I recall, the Register no longer prints on site, stopping the presses a year or two back.  I think it's been a lot longer since they received paper by rail.  The Register used to print their Sunday sports section on peach colored paper.  (At one time I read the daily sports section, too.)  When I worked down in the yard, a few of the old heads said one of the reasons they stopped using peach paper was that rail service became unreliable.

On a related note, many, many years ago the Register did some printing for the railroads.  I have some old employee timetables listing them as the printers.

Jeff 

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Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Monday, March 27, 2017 6:35 PM

The Baltimore Light Rail served Qubecor Printing in Glen Burnie MD which printed comic strips

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Posted by SFbrkmn on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 1:48 PM

Perhaps slightly off the curve here. One of the clients of a switch job I held in the past was a firm that received boxcars of paper waste. Five boxcars spotted inside the building right up to the wheel stops. This product would be transformed into cardboard packing boxes plus huge rolls of brown industrial paper. While the average size of these rolls are about one ton, some are big as 8000-9000 pounds. There always was paper scrap all over inside the building and on the trk. If the place ever caught fire, the rats in there would not have a chance 

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Posted by TODD THURMAN on Monday, April 3, 2017 8:49 PM

CMStPnP

Haven't been staking out the plant but the Dallas Morning News used to get it's newsprint via KCS at their Plano  plant.     I think the spur is still in place but I have not seen a train on it and believe the switching operation is at night to avoid surface street traffic disruption.

 

I was wondering about that myself. Used to see the railcars there, but that was ten years ago when I used to be in the area in another job. Now, in the Sherman-Denison area at work.

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