Can any one tell me how modern era railroads haul potatoes. Is it in boxes in boxcars shiped from a wharehouse, or are they in covered hoppers. and if in covered hoppers, how are they loaded.
Gabe
They are shipped in refrigerator cars. I suggest you search around at the various railroad photo sites for pictures of the Eastern Idaho Railroad and San Luis Central Railroad, to name a couple. I do not know for sure, but I imagine that along with apples, the Railex trains from Idaho and California to the East Coast carry potatoes, as well.
John Timm
I hink it depends what area/region you are modeling. Back in the 60’s the NP was using standard reefers. They then bought special covered hoppers(Condition-Aire) that has foam insulation on the outside of the car body, and a refridgeration unit on the end of the car(ATSF also had some). Back in the 90’s, BN/BNSF was using special ‘low profile’ containers that they could ‘triple stack’ in a well car. As of now, I am not sure in the Red River spuds are being hauled out via rail or trucked out.
Jim
Potatoes are shipped in-bulk in mechanical reefers nowadays.
There is lots of info on both the cars and the industry HERE and HERE.
(Non-members won’t be able to view the pictures, though.)
Potatoes also need to be protected from freezing, so, depending on the locale and time of year, the car could be mechanically heated, too. The operation shown in the links above is in Texas, and the potatoes are removed from the cars using heavy-duty water hoses.
Wayne
Thanks for the help guys.
Two more questions though.
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Does it matter where I am modeling? I model Minnesota short line
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What does the buildings look like. Could I just use a Pikestuff courgated warehouse or what.
thanks
Some potatoes are shipped fresh, some are shipped processed and frozen. Either way, they move in temperature-controlled cars like the AmeriCold and CryoTrains reefers.
Pikestuff buildings might be OK. Most of the plants I remember from Idaho were generally concrete tilt-up construction.
Photos from the area you plan to model will give you an answer – you can see the plant using Google Street View.
thanks guys
another question. could the warehouse be attached to (or part of) a grain elevator/co-op?
The building in the links which I posted is also a concrete tilt-up structure, although the unloading facilities are outdoors. I think a Pikestuff building would look okay, too, but you can build a tilt-up style concrete structure using .060" sheet styrene.
The plant can unload up to ten cars at a time, on two side-by-side tracks. Even though it’s a fair-size structure, only two cars on each track are actually alongside the building itself, so you could model it as a background semi-flat or even on an angle as a semi-flat, with only the corner of the building modelled.
I doubt that it would be attached-to or part-of a grain elevator, as they’re hardly related industries, but perhaps there’s a prototype somewhere. On the other hand, it’s your railroad. [:-^]
Wayne
OK two more questions. Are the potatoes boxed at the warehouse or at the Farm? also how would the truck side of the building look?
I would think it’s unlikely a grain elevator would be dealing in potatoes. Grain elevators generally are taking in grain like wheat brought by truck from surrounding farms, and storing it until it’s loaded into freight cars to be taken to milled at a flour company (often in a distant large city). Grain can be stored a long time, potatoes can’t without spoiling, so it’s a different type of operation. If a warehouse wasn’t dealing in just potatoes, it would be more likely (I’d think) to deal in items like beets, sweet potatoes, or other vegetables.
BTW, with all due respect to a previous GOP vice president, it’s “potato” not “potatoe”.
[;)]
In my earlier reply, with the links, the potatoes are shipped in-bulk - in other words, a temperature-controlled car filled with loose potatoes. The receiver turns them into frozen french fries, and they’re shipped out in trucks.
Potatoes are generally sold in bags, either paper or plastic, although these may be shipped in palletised boxes. Potatoes aren’t especially fragile to handling.
The truck side of the building is a bunch of big doors to which the trucks are backed. It might be worth your while to register at the linked site, just to see the photos. Registration is free (although they’ll gladly accept donations, as the site is ad-free). [swg]
Wayne
Whoops!!!
Really, they just throw them in there. hmn. well thanks everybody
Here are some packing or processing and storage facility on the shipping end.
The warehouse you show from the W catalog would be a good start. Plants that ship pallets of frozen potato products would have a flexible seal between the warehouse door and the reefer door to contain the cold air. Plants that ship fresh product generally wash and box them, then wrap them on pallets that are handled with a forklift. The type of handling depends on the year you are modeling.