I am doing a Santa Fe inspiration on the layout I am doing. I am having trouble finding what industries are along the railways. Any suggestions and help would be great. Thanks.
That’s going to depend on what part of the railroad you’re going to model. Your question needs to narrow it down to a geographical area.
Hi!
I’ve been a Santa Fe “nut” since the 1950s, and it is the primary RR I model. As indicated, the industries the ATSF served depends a lot on the area you are modeling, and the time period. California had its fruit and vegetable trains running from there to Chicago (and other points). In Texas and the mid south west you had cattle and livestock trains, as well as oil trains and coal. In Illinois you had a lot of production plants shipping their goods to the west, so boxcars and now container cars are a big deal.
Actually, today container trains bringing in Asian imports from California ports to the midwest are prevelent.
Of course the industries would be in those general areas to support those trains. Better said, you would have farms and orchards in California, Cattle facilities in Texas and surrounding states, grain farms in the midwest, manufacturing plants in Illinois (or wherever), and oil facilities in California, Texas, and northern Illinois. But again, your time frame is as much the driver as the area.
There is an organization - The Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society - that I’ve belonged to for 25 years, and if you are really serious in learning about the RR, I suggest you check them out at www.atsfrr.net.
cacole said industries along line would depend on what part of the country you are modeling. They would also depend on what TIME PERIOD you are modeling.
I was once planning a layout which would have included a major industrial city near the Texas coast, with an inland port. My plan called for industries in several districts of the city, based on several real similar cities-- and bringing together things on one layout which were not necessarily all really that close in real life. It includes the industries at an unmodeled inland port served by interchange to a port switching terminal railroad.
41 SANTA VACA HANSON ROAD SWITCHING DISTRICT
switched by local job out of 65th Street yard
an “outskirts of town” industrial area with a
predominance of “outdoor” industries
On the era I am thinking the 1970’s since thats the style of cars i have. Also i was thinking about the new mexico/texas area. I have a cattle car in the mix of cars.
I have a 1971 Southern Pacific tariff of industries (and the commodities they ship or receive) for towns that are on the SP AND one other railroad.
(if it is a town with just SP-- not listed)
(if it is a town with other railroads and not SP- not listed.)
I will look up towns in the Texas border/ New Mexico area where SP and ATSF met or crossed and transcribe some of that information.
But not tonight. I have homework to do.
- Tank cars for a bulk oil depot or corn syrup for a baking goods or candy manufacturer
- 50’ outside ribbed boxcars single door for any large boxed goods
- flat cars with machinery covered by a tarp for farming machines
- grain cars for sure headed to the gulf ports ;sugar or flour refineries
- TOFC 86’flat cars intermodal yard possibilities for local small industries
- Coal cars for a power plant
Just a few simple ideas of big industries to model and cars needed.Cattle cars by the way
were very rare by the 70s.
Industries in Deming, New Mexico, a town located at a connection of the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific, from a 1971 industry-spur tariff. Some industries are located on one railroad or the other, but they are mostly typical of businesses you would find any medium sized town in New Mexico—with the exception of the government manganese stockpile!
City of Deming Sewer pipe Team
Columbus Electric Co-op Poles, cable, Elec. Equipt ATSF
Deming Gin Co. Bags, machinery Team
SP and SF also met in El Paso, TX. I would me interested if you could post those as well.
El Paso industries
The industry spur tariff for El Paso in 1971 lists between 200 and 300 rail-served industries—too many to copy here.
Some of the largest are just one-line entries.
American Smelting- copper smelter- uses ores mined elsewhere, don’t know form shipped out,
600 foot tall smokestack.
Photographed in 1993 while riding past aboard Amtrak Sunset Limited.
Rail-served “Industries” (customers) in El Paso similar to those found in any fair-sized city. These are nearly all distribution type facilities, that only RECEIVE by rail, with the exception of the freight forwarder.
· Freight forwarder/ “package” car company. Ships LCL freight much like the railroad freight house except it may ship to localities NOT on the same railroad.
· Cold storage warehouse. Accepts refrigerated and frozen shipments for a local grocery distributors, etc. which may not have their own facilities for receiving carloa