I have seen refridgerated rail cars delivering what is presumably fresh fruit to food processing plants such as Dole, but do railroads also deliver to frozen food plants? What other other commodities might these plants(both canning and frozen food) receive by rail? Corn syrup and chemicals, such as Liquid Nitrogen for freezing? Would/do these companies also ship the finished product by rail or solely by truck? Thanks in advance for your help.
Mike
BUMP
There is a very large business rail business picking up from frozen potato products (french fries, tater tots, hash browns … wait, now I’m hungry) out of Idaho, eastern Washington, and the northeastern corner of Oregon, and a smaller one out of Colorado and California (and possibly other states that I don’t know about). But I am not aware of any delivery in the present time to the frozen food plants of the fresh raw material by rail. Even historically, virtually all fresh produce arrived at canneries and packing houses by wagon, then truck. Frozen food appeared at the time when trucks were in broad use.
I’ve seen tankcars at frozen potato processing plants but I’ve not paid attention to their placards, if any. I’ll do that next time!
I think the reefers you’re seeing at frozen food plants are either delivering frozen food for warehousing, or picking up frozen food for forwarding to distributors. I am finding it hard to believe that someone would pay $$$ to haul fresh produce long distances only to freeze it before delivering it to consumers.
RWM
Does Maine still ship potatoes by rail?
RWM-
Excellent point. I could understand about the railroads not wanting to pay the money. I also never thought about how lucrative and important rail service would be to the frozen potato industry. Guess that comes from being a Midwesterner.
I work near a company that makes frozen pizza and pizza products and just assumed they were served only by truck simply because there is no rail service to their location. So I assumed other companies near rail service used rail service. It is helpful to hear that may not be the case. As for the liquid gas that I also know that the pizza company has 2 or 3 liquid gas tanks. I’m nearly certain that one is Liquid Nitrogen. Again it is served only by truck due to its location, so it is also good to know that these companies may be served by rail. If you do notice what those tank cars are carrying, please let me know![:D]
If anyone else has any additional info to offer I’d very much enjoy hearing it. Thanks to all!
Mike
Actually I was wondering this too. I doubt that they’d ship to Washington state or especially Idaho. The Idahoans would probably take it as an insult.
I doubt that many, if any, potatos are shipped out of Maine by rail. UP bought a bunch of BAR reefers, I think in the late 1980s. They are in the low UPFE 461000/ARMN 761000 series (but with other reefers occupying parts of those series).
I have seen corn syrup cars at canneries, but not any plants that freeze food. Also, there are probably a significant amount of frozen foods that contain tomato products. I wonder how many plants that produce these receive tomato paste by rail (RBLs or XMs).
I have seen a tank car stencilled “Tomato Paste” at the Con Agra plant in Oakdale, CA.
Around here, ammonia seems to be a common refrigerant.
No. Maine potatoes all go by truck.
When it comes to potatoes, Maine is literally “small potatoes”. They are the 8th ranking potato state, producing only about 3.5% of the US potato crop.
Food production in the US is remarkably concentrated by product and potatoes are no exception. The leading two states, Idaho (26%) and Washinton (21.2%) produce almost half the crop. This concentration of production results in long transportation hauls to population centers. These long hauls should favor rail transportation, but truck is the dominant mode.
The volume is huge. Per Capita consumption is 136 pounds per year. This works out to about one million truckload equivalents per year. And most of it does move by truck.
No good reason for that other than than the railroads just are not “marketing companies”. They never have been.
I’ve personally not seen ammonia as a refrigerant but I’m by far not an expert. I’ve not seen tomato paste either but I don’t find it shocking given the volume some of the companies output.
In regards to the BAR reefers I’ve seen a couple arounf here that were relettered but not repainted. Fun to see them in the Midwest nowadays. [:)]
I’m not sure about food, but ammonia is often used for refrigeration in old rinks and the like. I’ve never seen any rinks served by rail, though.
I work in a frozen food producer, make a million pounds a week - no rail closer than 6 miles.
We use very little fresh material to make our product, most is frozen or canned.
We do use liq. nitrogen in some special freezers, CO2, and the freezers are charged with ammonia - 30,000 lbs worth. Most if not all large commercial freezers are ammonia.
We do container finished from Ohio to the west coast - but it trucks to Chi-town for loading.
Union Pacific runs a service called the “French Fry Express” reefer service with frozen potato products from the Pacific NW direct to Texas. It is a premium service.
In addition, UP has (in the past) used oversized boxcars to ship fresh potatoes from Colorado farms to Wal-Mart distribution centers in the mid-South, Memphis area, for their grocery business.
After the acquisition of the Southern Pacific, UP thumbed its nose at produce business for years but later realized the huge profit potential of reliable delivery schedules. Shippers were willing to pay extra. UP today calls its ultra-premium service Blue Streak, an homage to the old SP.
[dinner]
Thanks again everyone! I really appreciate the info!
Mike
Two quick questions:
As to the “French Fry Express”, do you know where (company/location) it runs to in TX?
Are you talking Hi-Cube boxcars or something big as an auto parts car?
Just curious. Thanks again!
Mike
UP has operated expedited frozen potato schedules from the Pacific Northwest through to at least North Platte Yard since at least the 1970s, transitioning from fresh potatoes as that business declined. Schedules have originated at Hinkle Yard as well as Nampa and Pocatello. The service originally used mechanical reefers and now includes cryogenically chilled insulated cars that are larger than a standard mechanical reefer but not quite as large as an 86’ autoparts car – potatoes if they have a lot of consumer packaging will tare out before they cube out in a 263K car at about a 76’ Plate F car. If they’re packed more densely the biggest car that’s practical is about a 60’ Plate C car. At present UP has about 60,000 carloads annually of frozen potatoes, according to their website – not an immense business but 160 carloads a day, or two good trainloads, is nothing to cavalierly wave off, either.
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/service/2006/0502_reefers.shtml
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/service/2006/0502_reefers.shtml
The “French Fry Express” is a marketing name that doesn’t appear to have much use elsewhere beyond UP press releases
There is a spur track off of the MMA(Montreal, Maine and Atlantic) line that goes to the McCain’s processing plant in Easton, Maine. Weather processed potatos go out via rail, I don’t know.
“I’ve seen tankcars at frozen potato processing plants but I’ve not paid attention to their placards, if any. I’ll do that next time!”
Some or all potato processing plants that cut their product into fries partially cook them with soybean oil, which might explain the tank cars.
Another great point that I hadn’t thought of. Thanks!
There are four lanes for UP currently. PNW to North Platte, and Fresno to North Platte (works Roseville). Those trains are humped on arrival, and run east on three trains. QNPSKP for Selkirk, and QNPWXP for Atlanta. A third train, MCPFW from St. Paul has a solid block of perishables (Frozen Veggies) from Canada for Dallas.
The hottest however is QWASKP out of Wallula, Washington for Selkirk. The hottest train on the RR. It is 55 reefers and is authorized for 75 mph in most spots to Chicago. It returns from Selkirk as QSKWAP every week in the same order as it was shipped, as they train is usually only cut in two and pulled inside to be unloaded.
Many reefers also originate in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas with beef and pork for export. And every part of the pig is shipped. Why they want pig epiglottis in Korea is beyond me.
UP instituted Express Lane for perishables (established in 2002). Express Lane moves produce, fruit, wine, and yes, French Fries.
Blue Streak is for intermodal (using EMP containers) only.