I’m thinking about writing a children’s book, and I’m beginning research on moving goods by freight train from one part of the country to another.
I am not sure if I will focus only on the train aspect of the journey or also on what happens to the product before and after its train trip.
For example, when corn is loaded into a gondola from a silo by spout, how is the corn handled, where does it go, how does it reach a factory/processing plant, etc.
Or when oranges are picked, how do they get to the train and how does the train bring them to a processing plant, or wherever, before they become the cartons of juice, you buy at the store.
Can anyone reccommend any books or websites or articles that would help in moving commercial goods by train?
Lots of info if you read through all the back posts. They also have a lot of other info available, including a bibliography and links to other sites.
The site description reads: “The first purpose of this group is to collect, preserve and share information about the citrus industry in Southern California as it pertains to the operations of the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. This includes citrus farming, packing and shipping activities and the equipment, practices and economic aspects related to these activities.”
In 1989 David Ellis producted, edited and directed an excellant video called TRAIN 110. It’s focus is on one railcar of lumber from a Weyerhauser plant in Oregon and transporting it Ohio. Most of the video is being moved on Burlington Northern tracks being handed over to Conrail in Chicago from the BN yard in Pasco, Washington. It could be a good tape to get ideas from.
i do a presentation for elementary schools (or did when my kids were younger) where I aske the kids if they or their parents use a railroad to ship anything or use railroads. They all say no.
I then show them common things and how they tie in. I show a picture of something they are familiar with, ask them if they use that and then show how it ties in with the railroad. Like an auto and then show an auto rack . Then they stop at a fast food resturants and I show them French fries and a reefer that carrys 'spuds". Then a soft drink and point out its flavored with corn syrup and show a corn syrup tank car. The next stop is at a toy store and i show a Nintendo set and then a container car. Then I show a light switch and a coal train.
I sum up by pointing out how many things that the kids use in their daily lives that had something to do with a railroad at some point.
Other industry groups can help, particularly the Coal Board. This would be an interesting topic, since kids think coal is just coal and there are many varieties. And transportation is part of the sorting process.