Re: [CBQ] 50ft end door auto cars

["Louis Zadnichek via groups.io" <LZadnichek=aol.com@groups.io>]

February 24, 2021

 

Leo - What a fascinating story!  Never knew any of this before..... I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, "Isn't this one WONDERFUL group to belong to!" Where else can you find this kind of information - Louis

 

Louis Zadnichek II

Fairhope, AL

 

In a message dated 2/24/2021 9:58:42 AM Central Standard Time, jpslhedgpeth=aol.com@groups.io writes:

 

Just a quick  "ME TOO" which seems to be the "order of the day".....Summer 1958 I was braking on the Wymore Division.   I "bid in" a "regular" job as brakeman on "Fairmont-Hildreth local with Conductor Caldwell (who turned out to be my "all time' favorite conductor and also a "closet railfan" as I found out as time went along.

 

At this time corn was still being harvested via the old style "Corn Picker" mounted on a tractor.  These machines just pulled the ear off the stalk and tossed it into the following wagon.  The corn...still on  the cob was taken back to the farmyard and put in a "crib" to dry over the winter and then later "Shelled"   Said shelling was done by "Custom Shellers" who traveled around from farm to farm, set up their machines and "shelled out" the corn.  The kernals were put in the bin to be sold or "fed out"  The cobs were piled up and either burned or shipped off for other uses.  

 

One of the "by products" from corn cobs was alcohol which was produced by a plant along the river at Omaha along with other pollution generating plants.   

 

At Ong Nebraska a corn sheller had set up his loading operation along the elevator track and had a huge pile of cobs awaiting transport to Omaha.   Come now the  50's auto cars.  These cars were "hi cube" and the cobs were "light weght"  hence  'ipso-facto" on just about every trip out we had a couple of these "Hi Cube" cars to be set out at Ong for "Cob loading"..going back east we would pick up a couple of these cob loads and take them to Fairmont to be picked up and taken to Omaha and set to the "Alcohol Plant" where the cobs were turned into "Juice" which then became, at least part of the alcohol producit which came out of that plant.  

 

Of course today the cobs and everything else is "chewed up" by the picker and "snowed" right back onto the ground and the kernals are shelled and go right into the hopper wagon and right onto the "elevator" or for farm storage.

 

 

Pete 

-----Original Message-----
From: Louis Zadnichek via groups.io <LZadnichek=aol.com@groups.io>
To: cbq@groups.io
Sent: Wed, Feb 24, 2021 9:08 am
Subject: Re: [CBQ] 50ft end door auto cars

February 24, 2021

 

Fred - GREAT story from my Dad's era when he was Chicago Division Superintendent! I graduated from Downers Grove HS in June 1963. Thanks - Louis

 

Louis Zadnichek II

Fairhope, AL

 

In a message dated 2/23/2021 8:09:25 PM Central Standard Time, fhc925@frontier.com writes:

 

When I was transferred to Detroit in May 1964, the movement of autos in box cars was just about over.  Autos by rail were now moving on bi and tri level auto racks.  On the second or third day I was in the office the NYC called asking for disposition on a CB&Q 50ft auto box car being released from Cadillac service that day.  I called Mechanical in Chicago for instructions and passed the information back to the NYC.  The NYC guy told me that was the last Q car in the pool.  Someone in our office then told me that was also the last Q box car in auto service.  The cars were sent to Eola (I think) and the Evans loaders were removed at the Reclamation Plant.  The cars were then put into general service.  The end doors were supposed to be welded shut.  A year or two later I got a call from my pals at the GTW.  The war in Vietnam was heating up and GMC Truck and Coach was building some kind of military vehicle in Pontiac and the GTW was looking for 50ft end door box cars that still had working end doors.  The GTW guys said that their mechanical dept. was very efficient and their car ends were all welded shut.  I called Mechanical in Chicago and they found about a dozen Q cars that they had not been welded shut yet.  I had them sent to the GTW at Pontiac.  This T&C pool lasted a couple of years and the cars then returned to general service.  We handled the movement via GTW-CBQ-Grand Island-UP-SP to Oakland.  I wonder if the end doors ever got welded shut on those cars and why didn't I keep that last car number.

Fred Crissey

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