The Decatur Herald & Review in Decatur, Illinois still receives occasional boxcar loads of newsprint. It is served by Canadian National. I happened to catch CN's local yard job switching the plant on May 28, 2005.
Now for some area newspapers I know that have ceased rail delivery in recent years...
Springfield, Illinois' State Journal-Register, served by Norfolk Southern, received boxcars of newsprint until printing moved to sister Peoria Journal Star's Peoria facility in March 2011. Until about a decade ago, Champaign's News-Gazette received boxcars at an old Illinois Central freight house located across from the paper's offices. In September 2001, I recall seeing an Ontario Northland Railway boxcar spotted at an unloading dock next to Burlington, Iowa's The Hawkeye newspaper. Track has been used by BNSF M-O-W equipment most recently, so I'd say rail deliveries ceased some time ago. David P. JordanDunlap, Illinois
Yes the Detroit News had their paper warehouse on Jefferson at West Grand Blvd. Received paper by boat both Bowater boats and Canada Steamship Lines boats. Building also had spots for 12 railcars. Paper was trucked to printing plant at 615 W. Lafayette. This warehouse was just torn down this past year.
Detroit Free Press also had a dockside warehouse on Jefferson just downriver from the Detroit Harbor Terminals. Received paper by boat and rail. Both locations were seitched by the Union Belt of Detroit.
I remember when I was a kid 45 years ago that the Detroit News had a plant on the Detroit River at the foot of West Grand Boulevard and used to receive paper by ship. Canadian Steamship Lines Fort-class freighters were used.
NittanyLionEnded a few years ago. The Southern Robinson Terminal dock has been out of service for several years, to the point that they've already sold it, designed a hotel, demolished it, started construction, found an 18th century ship on the site, and resumed construction.
I haven't been down to Alexandria for a couple of years. There's a spur running through the area that looks derilect (I remember seeing EXEMPT signs at the crossings). The condo sites weren't cleared yet. Thanks for the update.
greyhounds Thank you for the correction. It's been a very long time since chemistry 102. I still wonder why I had to take those chemistry classes.
Thank you for the correction. It's been a very long time since chemistry 102. I still wonder why I had to take those chemistry classes.
You're welcome. As I recall, we are about the same age, Chem 4ABC was F72-Sp73 for me. Most of my working life has involved understanding chemistry and my dad had a PhD in Bio-Chemistry. To top it off, my former company was owned by GE for almost 5 years, and the PCB's in the Hudson River were one of the real life examples used in EHS training.
I did have some more direct contact with PCB's some 20+ years ago. An "oil" capacitor in an old Veeco leak detector let go, and there was a very distinct smell from the PCBs. Next step was getting the SDFD Hazmat crew in to take care of the spill (this was a decade prior to the GE involvement).
Thank You.
aegrotatio The Washington Post has several sidings. I believe the paper is still delivered by barge and transloaded to the railroad.
The Washington Post has several sidings. I believe the paper is still delivered by barge and transloaded to the railroad.
Ended a few years ago. The Southern Robinson Terminal dock has been out of service for several years, to the point that they've already sold it, designed a hotel, demolished it, started construction, found an 18th century ship on the site, and resumed construction. The Northern dock last had any cars spotted there in 2013 and there hasn't been so much as a trailer there since then. They are looking to sell the site. They were the last rail customer and the last commercial dock in town.
The only thing that the NS spur through Old Town is used for is CSX stores MOW equipment there when they're working between AF interlocking and Long Bridge. There's some stuff there right now.
Robinson Terminal by the Mixing Bowl receives paper all rail from Georgia now. They've also diversified their business to handle the decline in newspaper printing. There's often a few reefers spotted there and almost always a few centerbeams.
erikemPCBs (Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls), which was used as coolant for transformers, and dielectric liquid for circuit breakers and capacitors. Excessive exposure has been tied to increased rates of liver damage, hence the freakout (although no where near as bad as carbon tetrachloride). The bottom of the Hudson river downstream of the GE plant also was loaded with PCBs. PVC is Poly Vinyl Chloride, a common and relatively benign plastic unless burned. The two names are close, so it's easy to get them confused.
greyhounds Until they found that beneath the river bottom were PVCs or something else considered icky. The required dredging would have let loose an intolerable level of polution. So, dredging was out. The ships could not get to the new printing plant.
Until they found that beneath the river bottom were PVCs or something else considered icky. The required dredging would have let loose an intolerable level of polution. So, dredging was out. The ships could not get to the new printing plant.
PCBs (Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls), which was used as coolant for transformers, and dielectric liquid for circuit breakers and capacitors. Excessive exposure has been tied to increased rates of liver damage, hence the freakout (although no where near as bad as carbon tetrachloride). The bottom of the Hudson river downstream of the GE plant also was loaded with PCBs.
PVC is Poly Vinyl Chloride, a common and relatively benign plastic unless burned.
The two names are close, so it's easy to get them confused.
The Albuquerque Journal receives there paper from Canada on BNSF. They also contract print the USAT and WSJ.
CSSHEGEWISCHI believe that the Chicago Tribune receives its newsprint by rail. The printing plant is just west of the North Branch along the C&NW.
There's a story behind this that I written about before, but I'll also add it here.
The Chicago Tribune had an old printing plant very near the Tribune Tower on Michigan Ave. in Chicago. They owned forest lands in Canada that supplied their newsprint paper. I recall the forests as being in Quebec.
The printing plant was on the Chicago River and accessible by Great Lakes freighters. And that's how they got most of their paper. A freighter would come down to Chicago on the Great Lakes, go through the Lake Shore Drive drawbridge, up the river a little ways, and dock at the Trib's facility. The longshoremen would be ready and waiting and the rolls would come out of the ship. I watched this happen from my office on the 27th floor which overlooked the Chicago River.
So, time marches on and the Trib built a new printing facility in the 1980's further up the river. Their plan was to continue to receive the paper from Canada by lake freighter. It's just that the freighter would have to go further up the river. This was thought not to be a problem, but the river would have to be dredged. No big deal.
And the railroads started hauling the Trib's paper from Canada to Chicago. Sometimes you just get lucky.
The newer printing plant handles more than the Tribune. I think it also prints the Chicago Sun-Times, the local Wall Street Journal copies, and more. But, with the decline of newspapers, the Tribune Tower itself is being partially vacated by the newspaper and will be turned into rented office space.
LaGrange, Ga may still have an interesting situation. The Wall street Journal has a printing plant in the local industrial park located next to LGC airport. As well they print the south ATL edition of the Atlanta Constitution,
At one time the newsprint was brought from a rail served warehouse about 3 blocks from the plant but have no idea if that is still the operation.
Ulrich Going to take this to the MR forum.. would be great to model a newspaper railroad operation . more "doable" than a cement plant or steel mill for a smaller layout.. just sayin..
Going to take this to the MR forum.. would be great to model a newspaper railroad operation . more "doable" than a cement plant or steel mill for a smaller layout.. just sayin..
Indeed - many newspapers are now printed offsite, and it doesn't have to be a newspaper - such a plant could print anything from magazines to advertising fliers.
Our local newspaper building would hardly overwhelm a modest sized layout.
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...
Thanks CatFoodFlambe. You confirmed what I thought.
Several years ago there was a derail there when a car picked the switch.
"Mom! 99 is blowing for 16th Street. Dad will be home soon."
The Providence and Worcester Railroad (recently bought by G&W) still serves the Providence Journal's Printing plant. I work nearby and often see the railroad's PR-1 local freight switching boxcars at the plant when I talking a walk at lunchtime.
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
i think the new york post up in the bronx still does from csx or new york&atlantic.
[quote user="mudchicken"]
Omaha, Denver & Cincinnati still do. (IIRC St. Louis just ended ... because of the ballpark and the light-rail changes)
Doesn't ther printing plant in Maryland Heights still recieve box cars?
The printing plant of The Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times) is located in the 1300 block of 34th St N. St. Peteresurg (aka: US Rt 19) is served by a single track NS branch and receives several loads monthly.
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.
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.
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
The Baltimore Light Rail served Qubecor Printing in Glen Burnie MD which printed comic strips
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.
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
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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