Has anyone ever seen a siding going onto a farm? I think it would have to be a larger farm to justify the expense.
Boyd,
There used to be a long spur at Lake City, MN that curved off the west for about 1/2 mile and ended in a large farm. It was still there in the late 70’s, but is long gone now(golf course). I have no idea what was loaded on that spur.
Jim
I know in the west they used to use trains to move cattle from one grazing area to another. I suppose a big ranch could generate enough “traffic” to warrant their own spur track for loading and unloading. Down in Savage MN I think Col.Savage farm/estate had it’s own siding on the Omaha Road, in part for Dan Patch’s private car.
Here is an Oregon farmer who just bought a rail line to serve his farm.
From the article:
For now, he’s the only customer _ but he’s a pretty big one. Venell expects to ship 250 cars of wheat and 150 cars of livestock feed pellets in the first year.
Being able to ship by rail instead of truck not only will cut his transportation costs, but it should also help him rebuild his feed business. Venell used to ship feed pellets _ a value-added product made from grass seed waste _ all over the West. But without rail service, it was too costly to ship the pellets more than about 400 miles.
Have seen sidings that serve feedlots in CO and KS. I think they are used to bring in cattle feed - covered hoppers and tankers.
400 cars a year is not much of a traffic base.
The article says its 5.3 miles long, which works out to about 75 cars per mile per year. That’s marginal for being self-sustaining for a ‘for-profit’ railroad. However, this shipper is in a different position, and apparently was convinced enough to ‘put his money where his mouth is’ and buy the line to facilitate his other businesses. Can’t complain about that - he oughta know, and as long as he’s not asking anyone else to pay for it, no harm done.
Notably, it was part of the SP’s ‘‘Bailey Branch’’ that served - and apparently still could - the Hull-Oakes Lumber Co. That line was the subject of a short article in Trains sometime in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s.
- Paul North.
My Candidate is the Delta Valley &Southern RR.
(Operated primarily in Mississippi Cnty, Ark and some in Crittenden,Cnty [at some time in the past].
The railroad was a functionary of the Lee Wilson Co and was used to move their cotton bales to a connection with the BNSF (nee BN, nee SLSF RR in the area of Wilson,Ar.) The railroad and its purpose was to move freight for the Wilson Plantation to the railroad at Wilson.
It started out as several railroads hauling lumber and agricultural goods for R.E.L. Wilson The main predecessor was the J,L.C.& E RR purchased about 1911 by REL Wilson ( Jonesboro,Lake City & Eastern) then SLSF RR (Frisco) Branch from E lkins to Delpro all but some 2.3 miles abandoned in 1947. But still exists in a short section between Blytheville and Armorel,Ar.
Some information linked here: http://libinfo.uark.edu/SpecialCollections/ardiglib/leewilson/history.html
JLC&E RR (Frm Wikipedia) Linked here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonesboro,_Lake_City_and_Eastern_Railroad
THe Delta Valley& Southern linked here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Valley_and_Southern_Railway
Linked here( Photo of #50) :
There is a siding next to the mainline at Tagus, CA where they unload grain hoppers. According to the information I have, the customer is a farm.
Wasn’t there a ranch siding that had a PV parked in the movie Giant?
In the 70’s there was a siding off the Milwaukee Road, east of Rapid City, S.D. called HO siding. It went to the HO ranch, but I never knew what it was used for, or when it stopped being used. It was the first siding east of Murphy Siding.
Kersey, CO (including portion of purchased UP main track R/W)
Rocky Ford, CO (feedlot)
Julian, KS
[:-,] Was that for a really big model railroad at 1:87 scale, or for a politically-incorrect activity that is usually found in certain locations further west in the state of Nevada ? (sometimes referred to - at least in Alaska - as a “house of negotiated affection”, or by zoning and land use lawyers as a “Commercial Recreational Facility”, and similar euphemisms . . . ) [swg]
The Union Pacific Coalmont Branch (now abandoned) had a double-ended spur track that served the Brownlee Ranch just a ways north of Walden, Colo.
The spur was used for a time for loading tank cars with crude oil. It’s last use that I recall was for loading locally mined carbon dioxide gas into tank cars.