Dan’s been back in touch again with a video on his HO train freight loads:
“This video follows a reefer train.
When various seasonal crops came in the railroads ran solid blocks of reefer cars.
An interesting thing about the blocks of produce. Often the produce was not sold until on the way east. For example, a carload of oranges could go to Chicago, St Louis, Pittsburg, or other large cities for distribution.
Produce was not the only thing shipped in freight reefers. The Great Northern Railway had “silk” trains. The pupa of silkworms was shipped from the west coast to mills in New England for the silk to be removed and woven into cloth.
During the winter apples, potatoes and other produce the cars had to be kept warm to prevent freezing. In the ice bunkers, they place charcoal heaters to prevent the loads freezing.
In the HO video where the train passes the Swift plant, notice the long piece of rail along side the track. This is a point of interest. The railroad is going to replace a section of welded rail here sometime later.
The ties (sleepers) have already been replaced and a track gang will come along later to change the track. This is an easy way to have visitors ask, “what it is for?” I can now teach them about rail work. Once a teacher, always a teacher.
Dan”
A huge big thanks to Dan for sharing his HO train freight loads. I did enjoy the video with trains running at realistic pace.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
PPS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
