I think it's funny the way some threads drift. Usually threads that drift are just as interesting as those that don't, although sometimes they can get a little crappy. In the good old days when railroads were hauling cars of manure, did employees have to bid on those jobs? If they did, what jobs were they doing that were bad enough that a manure gig was an improvement?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Internet threads always drift - a comment by one poster generally 'rings a bell' in another poster that correlates to the topic of the thread but offers a differing tangental insight that may be a right or left turn from the original line of the topic.
If the manure job worked daylight, that would be a upgrade for someone that is working nights but prefers to see what they are doing in the light of day.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
PC also handled it out of Cincinnati, to the mushroom farms, it always made the first available train out of Undercliffs Yard, especially in the summer.
Murphy Siding In the good old days when railroads were hauling cars of manure, did employees have to bid on those jobs? If they did, what jobs were they doing that were bad enough that a manure gig was an improvement?
In the good old days when railroads were hauling cars of manure, did employees have to bid on those jobs? If they did, what jobs were they doing that were bad enough that a manure gig was an improvement?
Being furloughed.
Besides, handling manure probably wasn't the only thing a switch job did. It would more likely be one of many chores that the job did. It would just be more "fragrant."
Jeff
Way back when in Trains (late 1960's?) "Professional Iconoclast" John Kneiling wrote a column or two and a short article about using rail to haul garbage. A reader wrote in to the Railway Post Office section about a garbage or sewage sludge train in the Los Angeles area, on the SP as I recall. The 'cargo' was loaded into open gondola cars and was somewhat fluid. Then there was the night when the train went into emergency while passing through downtown, and the load slopped back and forth in the cars until some of it went over the car ends and onto the streets . . .
- PDN.
During my first few years on the job, we'd occasionally get gondola loads of "guts" (offal). I can't remember where they went from or to (Cudahy may have had something to do with them). I recall the first time I saw one of these from the tower...I think they are reasonably solid most of the time, but this was during or after a rain. The first warning we got was when the General Yardmaster said, "Here comes lunch!" The top retarder set the contents to sloshing; when the car went by me it didn't feel like a good lunch. I didn't retard them enough with the intermediate retarder, and the student in Tower C couldn't help me much, either...when he grabbed the car with the group retarder, about half of the contents went over the end! I remember months later, when I was back to being a ground-pounder for a while, it was still slightly aromatic in that area. I'm glad it didn't mess up the switches.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRR During my first few years on the job, we'd occasionally get gondola loads of "guts" (offal). I can't remember where they went from or to (Cudahy may have had something to do with them). I recall the first time I saw one of these from the tower...I think they are reasonably solid most of the time, but this was during or after a rain....about half of the contents went over the end!
During my first few years on the job, we'd occasionally get gondola loads of "guts" (offal). I can't remember where they went from or to (Cudahy may have had something to do with them). I recall the first time I saw one of these from the tower...I think they are reasonably solid most of the time, but this was during or after a rain....about half of the contents went over the end!
Soon after I had hired out as a brakeman, I caught a job that switched the "guts plant" as we called it. It was so much fun riding these gondola cars into the facility, as the grab irons (as well as everything else--pin puller, anglecock, hoses...) were covered in the muck that has sloshed over during transport (or (ahem) going over the hump). What amazed me was seeing the workers casually eating their lunch next to the tracks while we switched them, while I was just barely able to not lose my lunch.
I don't remember the name of the facitily, although I might remember it if I heard it. I looked on Google maps and could not find any trace of the switch lead or anywhere that the tracks or building might have been. Of course, that was 45 years ago.
Paul_D_North_Jr Then there was the night when the train went into emergency while passing through downtown, and the load slopped back and forth in the cars until some of it went over the car ends and onto the streets
From what I read about some parts of LA these days, that might not even be noticed. Of course, except for a quick visit to Westwood every two years, I don't get up to LA at all any more. Every place I worked up there has been bulldozed and replaced and nothing else lures me much.
Thank You.
ChuckCobleigh Paul_D_North_Jr Then there was the night when the train went into emergency while passing through downtown, and the load slopped back and forth in the cars until some of it went over the car ends and onto the streets From what I read about some parts of LA these days, that might not even be noticed. Of course, except for a quick visit to Westwood every two years, I don't get up to LA at all any more. Every place I worked up there has been bulldozed and replaced and nothing else lures me much.
mudchickenDear old Farmer John was one such
Yeah, and what became of Bandini Mountain? (Maybe in line with Murph's thread title?)
Used to see the exact same thing in Avondale, Pa. back in the fifties. Gondolas used to sit on a siding right next to Highway U.S. 1 when it was the principle road between Floriday and Maine. I was too young to ask about its origin, but I sure knew where it was going; the mushroom houses are above ground
(Meant to add this to mvlandsw's post, but hit the wrong button)
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NDG- Thank you.That was interesting.From the looks of the photo, you'd think some of the crew members should have been wearing life jackets.
NDGLots of Data here for the Modeller. Including end stirrups. http://trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_rolling/two.htm Thank You.
I am looking at that very first boxcar, CP 19442. It has very interesting trucks. I wonder if any drawings exist that would show all the parts and how they are assembled. I wonder if they are some type of swing motion trucks with elliptical springs possibly set crosswise to the car, maybe inside those two box structures in the top tier of the truck frame.
Euclid I wonder if they are some type of swing motion trucks with elliptical springs possibly set crosswise to the car, maybe inside those two box structures in the top tier of the truck frame.
The more I look at these up close the more interesting they get.
i think the two 'box structures' are wood beams with reinforcing plates around their ends, with a center trunnion casting (part of the fun may be whether this is a pivot as it has considerable visible depth). I would have to wonder if there is a lateral spring between these two members. Do I see a side-bearing spring on the forward truck?
We need more pictures, and ideally drawings, of the arrangement here.
Note the extreme lightweight construction of the 'flip-up' journal box covers.
Yes. Really.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/11/alabama-new-york-poo-sewage-environment
Still in training.
We still get the people manure in pellet form out here from New Jersey. Somewhat amusing when it gets stored in old siloes that later suffer dust bin explosions (volatile stuff)....Still spread thinly on the Colorado prairies as top-soil builder and fertilizer. Most gets here in covered low sided COFC containers. (almost look like dumpsters)...
It came in by railgon and by truck from the Chino dairy farms. Wound up in yards and landscaping everywhere.
ChuckCobleigh mudchicken Dear old Farmer John was one such Yeah, and what became of Bandini Mountain? (Maybe in line with Murph's thread title?)
mudchicken Dear old Farmer John was one such
mudchicken It came in by railgon and by truck from the Chino dairy farms. Wound up in yards and landscaping everywhere. ChuckCobleigh mudchicken Dear old Farmer John was one such Yeah, and what became of Bandini Mountain? (Maybe in line with Murph's thread title?) Most of the Bandini Mountain site is built over with commercial buildings. (The commuter rail station kept the name (better than Lever Bros.)
Most of the Bandini Mountain site is built over with commercial buildings. (The commuter rail station kept the name (better than Lever Bros.)
The farmer did not charge the college for the product.
Johnny
So Joan Hardey job is to sell Fiber and Cow Manure?
"Canadian Pacific has named Joan Hardy its vice president of sales and marketing for grain and fertilizer."
Well, since we're knee-deep into manure stories....When I was about 10, a kindly, old neighbor lady would pay my friend and me to bring her aged sheep manure from a little barn on our property. We thought she was crazy. Who pays for used sheep poop?A couple years back one of our neighbors had his lawn fertilized by a company using a big truck with a hose. The side of the truck said they used 'all natural, liquid fertilizer'. Well, it stunk to high heavens and gave the lawn a brownish tint.
mudchickenMost gets here in covered low sided COFC containers. (almost look like dumpsters)...
Well, now I know where those are headed when they go by...
Every now and then you'll see piles of chicken leavings dumped next to a field for spreading.
When the co-gen was burning coal trucks left daily to deliver the ash to local farmers - apparently it helps the soil chemistry.
And, of course, I think I mentioned that area dairy farms have to dispose of liquid manure on a daily basis. In fact, I was at a farm a while back for a farm rescue course when the farmer mentioned that he couldn't increase the size of his herd unless he found more acreage on which to spread said product.
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...
Now that we have moved to the cowbarn---. My best friend lived on a farm. From time to time, his father would hook his trailer behind his Model A, go out into the woods and fill the trailer with pine straw--which he spread in the stalls in the barn. After milking the cows, he would pick up the other product with a pitchfork and toss it into the appropriate stall. I was never around when the stalls were cleaned, so I do not know what the next disposal was..
Pine straw- nature's way of keeping your manure smelling good!
Murphy Siding Pine straw- nature's way of keeping your manure smelling good!
Deggesty Murphy Siding Pine straw- nature's way of keeping your manure smelling good! Yes, it worked! Perrhaps we should have found pine straw somewhere to spread when we were fertilizing the college campus?
Yes, it worked! Perrhaps we should have found pine straw somewhere to spread when we were fertilizing the college campus?
tree68 mudchicken Most gets here in covered low sided COFC containers. (almost look like dumpsters)... Well, now I know where those are headed when they go by... Every now and then you'll see piles of chicken leavings dumped next to a field for spreading. When the co-gen was burning coal trucks left daily to deliver the ash to local farmers - apparently it helps the soil chemistry. And, of course, I think I mentioned that area dairy farms have to dispose of liquid manure on a daily basis. In fact, I was at a farm a while back for a farm rescue course when the farmer mentioned that he couldn't increase the size of his herd unless he found more acreage on which to spread said product.
mudchicken Most gets here in covered low sided COFC containers. (almost look like dumpsters)...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/13/new-york-city-halts-sewage-train-to-alabama-amid-stink-issue.html
Timely news article ..... Photo of the containers is what we see on the eastern CO plains regularly (same outfit's containers)
Reminds me of something I noticed around here some years ago.
Virtually every township used to have a dump. Those dumps were almost always located right on the town line, never at a central location.
These days, everything that doesn't get recycled goes to the regional landfill. Of course, those sometimes become known as "Mount Trashmore" as they rise above the land around them.
Ski Kansas here.
Aberdeen SD where my wife is from is as flat as a pancake. The city landfill is about 5 miles out of town. You can see the trash pile and the dirt pile used to cover the trash for miles.
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