Re: [CBQ] National Silica

[qutlx1@aol.com]

Bob

How the sand plant was switched depended on how much "time on the main" you could get. Some times you went up engine lite and coupled up all the loads and brought them down the hill. Then when traffic allowed you shoved the empties  back up. My memory is it was rare to go up with empties and pull the loads. Too much time on the main and too many cars/weight to shuffle in a long move.

Box cars (my memory) at all the sand plants(Oregon,Wedron,Ottawa) were for bagged sand loading. I don't remember Shabbona Silica loading box cars. The only bulk loaded box cars I remember were company service.

At all the sand plants you simply spotted the lead hopper under the tipple and the plant loading crews loaded the car and let it roll by and pushed or pulled the next one under the tipple.

Oregon had a very long track after loading tipple so long strings of cars could Accumulate making for a hard pull out of the plant and calling for some skill to control going back to town. 

Wedron had short leads and run off trks requiring almost constant switching.

Today Wedron and Oregon use their own track mobiles to expedite car movements and my last visit to Wedron revealed they are loading at multiple tipples on multiple trks both above and below the road xing. 


Leo Phillipp 
Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 9, 2012, at 9:25 AM, herrick@krausonline.com wrote:

 

This is for Leo or any of our listers who worked Oregon back in the day.

My 1967 track chart shows two tracks into National Silica.

I assume you had to push the set-outs ahead of the locomotive, but once there, did you pull everything out and set them on the main and then push the set-outs in?

Were there designated spots or did each track have a designated purpose, or did it matter?

Bill Diven's Oregon photo file has a 1961 photo of the plant showing far more boxcars than covered hoppers. Were these for bagged silica or was the product loaded in them like grain? A very early Railmodel Journal Issue had a story on the silica plant at Ottawa and it said the silica was loaded in boxcars though the wastage was high.

And finally, did the waycar tag along or stay at Oregon?

Phew! Thanks, gang.

Bob Herrick

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