[Genma Saotome]

markus_GE, on 01 August 2013 - 11:13 PM, said:

But as said above, if for hide shipments only the really old cars, at the end of their "careers" were used, that often weren´t allowed to run on other railroads anymore, how did they do the tranfers? Unloading and reloading at each interchange??

Cheers, Markus

Unloaded? No way. You're talkin about 30 tons of rotting flesh inside a box that's been out in the sun for n days.

Cars under 40 years old were interchanged w/o constraints. Cars over 40 years were not supposed to be interchanged, usually were not interchanged, but in rare cases it occurred. I think it obvious that cars that were 40 or more years old were kept around only because the service was local. Once "in the loop" it was not likely to stray.

Next, factor in that the service lifetime of boxcars was usually less than 30 years, made obsolete by their smaller size, soon-to-be-required regulated expenses, or an accumulation of minor damage. Such cars could be put into hide service, interchanged, and when it finally became necessary to spend any money on them... scrapped. Basically they're squeezing out the very last drops of use before tossing it out.

[markus_GE]

Ah, now there´s getting some light into the "dark mysteries of hides" :sign_thanks:

But were boxcars the only cars being squeezed out like that? Or what would they do with other types of cars?

Cheers, Markus

[Genma Saotome]

markus_GE, on 02 August 2013 - 11:02 AM, said:

Ah, now there´s getting some light into the "dark mysteries of hides" :sign_thanks:

But were boxcars the only cars being squeezed out like that? Or what would they do with other types of cars?

Cheers, Markus

Older hoppers could be kept if there was purely local coal service. House cars (box & stock) could be converted to MOW service as tool cars, bunk cars, whatever. If the car was sheathed w/ wood and there was no use for they'd collect them at some yard, roll them over on their side and burn them. I would think the trucks and wheels were rolled away right after being tipped (it's only gravity that holds a car body on its trucks so the notion the car body could be rolled over w/o the trucks is plausible). I was told the PRR burned around 20,000 XL class cars at one location, taking a couple of months to do the job. Dunno if that's true numbers... but they did burn them. And for any burned cars, after the fire is out they'd pull out the steel and sell it for scrap. If it was a steel sheathed car it would be sold to for scrap and cut apart at some metal yard.

[markus_GE]

Recycling still is older than one would think.

Thanks for the info. It´s always interesting to know not only where things come from, but also where they go in the end.

Cheers, Markus

[CGW121]

There used to be a rendering plant near Dubuque that was serviced by the CGW. There was a lengthy discussion at the CGW Yahoo group about it, and the smell made the boxcars unfit for anything else. It did get me to thinking about that and other stinky jobs and how to deal with them. I remember reading about a zoo that would have orphaned bear cubs, Grizzly and Polar, and having trouble raising them. What they wound up doing was smearing the female bears nose with Vicks Vaporub. By the time it wore off her scent was all over the cubs and she would raise them. Made me wonder if something like that would worke for hide service.

[Falcus]

CGW121, on 05 August 2013 - 05:32 AM, said:

What they wound up doing was smearing the female bears nose with Vicks Vaporub. By the time it wore off her scent was all over the cubs and she would raise them. Made me wonder if something like that would worke for hide service.

lmfao, somehow I doubt the rail industry wants to buy a Vapor Rub Plant just for some boxcars, lol. And they certainly won't distribute Vapor Rub to any of the poor folks that live near or around a Rendering Plant, or any RoW that carries Hide Cars, lol. I think they'd be more inclined to say something like "Close your windows or stay away", lol.

Falcus

[rdamurphy]

Using hides to make leather isn't "recycling". Except, perhaps, from the viewpoint of the bovine.

Dave, the entire D&RGW narrow gauge car fleet is a good example. When a car wore out, the wooden portions were burnt, the steel parts recovered, and new wood used to make a new car.

Steel is one of the world's only 100% recyclable materials.

Robert

[CGW121]

Falcus, on 05 August 2013 - 07:55 AM, said:

lmfao, somehow I doubt the rail industry wants to buy a Vapor Rub Plant just for some boxcars, lol. And they certainly won't distribute Vapor Rub to any of the poor folks that live near or around a Rendering Plant, or any RoW that carries Hide Cars, lol. I think they'd be more inclined to say something like "Close your windows or stay away", lol.

Falcus

What I meant was for the poor saps who got the nasty job of unloading the boxcars. One guy said he would wrap towels around his nose and mouth and it still would not do any good. I was thinking if I ever had to do that sort of thing that a dust mask with Vaporub on the inside might help. I certainly would not expect the railroad to buy it for me. As for the people who live near there, well one needs to pay attention to whats around them when they buy or rent something.

[rdamurphy]

Actually, I've been to a few rendering plants and have loaded hides. I much prefer that to a paper mill where they pulp...

Robert

[conductorchris]

Falcus, the particular tannery in question, formerly at Lebanon NH, I don't believe used home road B&M boxcars at all, at least not to receive hides. I have photos of C&O and CofG boxcars there (both 1932 AAR steel boxcars in the early seventies, close to 40 years old - but not over). The C of G boxcar made it into msts, thanks to my efforts -- you'll find it in a package of six southern Railway boxcars available on this site and at trainsim.com. So that's TWO hide boxcars available here. Hope the smell isn't a problem for anyone!
Christopher