We could probably write a couple Bulletins just on grain traffic and handling. Please understand that grain moved from elevators to various destinations more or less all year. The big grain companies like ADM,Cargill,etc,etc would buy grain on an ongoing basis as did the companies like General Mills,Pillsbury,etc,etc. But the grain rushes in the west,.plains and Midwest were something different entirely. While there were not unit trains there were lots of boxcars of grain. It was a simple function of capacity. Farms didn’t have the grain storage they do today nor did the country elevators. The grain had to go major consumers,traders or export or rot.
Besides cars going direct to a user there was another type of shipment. Major yards had grain inspection tracks( my memory is Cicero was d-4 in D yard) where cars of grain coming from country elevators were inspected,checked for moisture,etc. They were then bought,traded and billed to destination.
So as grain harvest approached empty 40 foot box cars would be staged. Then as the rush of requests for cars came in empties would be released to elevators. During harvest there were never enough box cars for the business. That’s where those ICC orders to eastern roads to supply empty 40 footers to western roads came from. One system that existed was for the yard to place a string of empties on to a wayfreight and the Conductor was the car distributor. He more or less decided how many cars an elevator received. It was explained to me that on some runs this resulted in a very simple ordering system. Each day as the local arrived in town and did its switching the Conductor was visiting with the agent and maybe the elevator guys and discussing business. As the train left town the rear brakeman would have to be careful climbing back aboard because the rear steps would have the unofficial cars orders for the next day on them. The number of bottles of the Conductors favorite booze or cartons of his favorite Cigarettes represented the number of cars needed tomorrow.
Leo Phillipp
On Apr 4, 2026, at 10:21 PM, Steven Holding via groups.io <sholding=sbcglobal.net@groups.io> wrote:
No dedicated grain trains till more modern times. Most cars would have been carloads alone. Even multiple car loads out of the same elevator and headed to the same place had their own waybill. The Paper Trail is coming to the Zephyr or Bulletin someday Steve in SC
On Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 09:12:31 PM EDT, SCOTT NESBIT via groups.io <drthud=msn.com@groups.io> wrote:
Back when boxcars were the primary grain haulers, how many of these cars would be in a typical CB&Q train? Also, were smaller amounts of filled grain boxcars mixed in with other cars on locals till they got to a yard to be picked up by a grain train?
Scott Nesbit
(605)360-0185
_._,_._,_
Groups.io Links:
You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#68207) |
Reply to Group
| Reply to Sender
|
Mute This Topic
| New Topic
Your Subscription |
Contact Group Owner |
Unsubscribe
[archives@nauer.org]
_._,_._,_
|