I'll take a try at answering Tom's question about Grain elevator preference but
before that I'd like to discuss the train in the photo. While we will never
know for sure I don't think this is a wayfreight. With the exception of the Fox
River wayfreight, the Roustabout and the Rockfalls job all Aurora Division
wayfreights by this time had a single geep or an end cab switchers. None of the
two unit jobs went anywhere near Sandwich.
It was my experience the elevators that had the capacity much preferred the
Covered Hoppers because of rate savings,easeof loading(no Grain doors to
cooper) and no lost Grain and claims. The box cars were sieves, train crews
were equipped with rags in the waycar tool lockers to stuff in holes,etc.
Keep in mind by this time the Qs online Grain business was a shadow of the
former volume. I have a report by a Aurora Division special asst. dated mid to
late 60s in which he summarizes his Station by Station loading/car traffic by
stating"Grain traffic has left the railroad". I once asked a 90 plus year old
farmer when did the Grain start leaving the railroad. He thought for all of
about 5 seconds and replied when the Illinois River was deepened and locks
installed in the early 1930s. Farmers simply trucked their grain to river
terminals directly or the local elevator did it. This process took years to
reach the point it was in the late 60s.
Leo
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