Auto Plant Loads

[Bob Bufkin]

Didn't know exactly where to put this.

I'm not modeling an auto plant (no room).  There have been discussions on inbound and outbound loads to auto plants on this forum for some time.  I got one of those questions which for some reason just pops up in my head.

Auto plants used lots of paint.  Did this paint come into the plant by trucks or railroad tank cars.  Think about it.  Lots of different colors on hundreds of cars or truck or heavy mechinery for that matter every day.

[Hyperion]

I can't say for certain but based on my experience in other industries with a lot of painting (though they pale in comparison to a car-a-minute plant) the paint arrives in large ~200gallon totes.  These can come in by either boxcar or truck and are also returned to supplier for re-use.

[sirenwerks]

When I was younger I used to spend a bit of time around Baltimore's GM plant and I don't remember seeing a lot of tank cars. My brother used to work for Akzo-Nobel, an auto coatings manufacturer with significant market share around the world. He dealt with aftermarket coatings but I'll see if he might know about production systems.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

This reminds me, I've been trying to understand what's going on at B'mores Peterbilt plant.

See: http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qjc05r8mmr2m&scene=31902008&lvl=2&sty=b

You'd think it'd be boxes of parts or something, but instead it's covered hoppers and tank cars.

[SirTainly]

You'd think it'd be boxes of parts or something, but instead it's covered hoppers and tank cars.

Plastic pellets in the hoppers perhaps?

[central.vermont]

Ed,
Looking at the picture I think what you see is two different companies there. I think
Peterbilt is only a dealership. Also known as Baltimore Trucks. The company behind
and beside them is Lever Bros inc. They make soaps and detergents as well as many
other products. That's why there are tanks and covered hoppers.

Here's a different aerial view that will give street veiws. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=5300+HOLABIRD+AVE,+BALTIMORE,+MD,+212246010+US+&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=5300+Holabird+Ave,+Baltimore,+Maryland+21224&ll=39.274092,-76.549773&spn=0.00485,0.008272&t=h&z=17

And here's a company profile.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lever-Brothers-Company-Company-History.html

Jon

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ahhhh, ok, that makes sense.

I had done some street level stuff that was making it look like it was part of Peterbilt, but Lever Brothers makes complete sense.

I have a buddy who's doing that section of town (The Canton RR) in HO, and he's talked about it a bunch, but I never put 2 and 2 together.

Thanks Jon!!

Guess it means I'm OT here then. Doh!

[sirenwerks]

Ed,

That's the P&G plant - soap products, dude. BUT, if you're lookin' for an industry for the new layout, a load of PBs on an 89-footer would be smokin'. Ford used to ship that way, why not PB or Mack?

[Hyperion]

This reminds me, I've been trying to understand what's going on at B'mores Peterbilt plant.

See: http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qjc05r8mmr2m&scene=31902008&lvl=2&sty=b

You'd think it'd be boxes of parts or something, but instead it's covered hoppers and tank cars.

Peterbilt's are made in Denton, TX (just north of DFW) and also someplace up in Quebec.

BUT, if you're lookin' for an industry for the new layout, a load of PBs on an 89-footer would be smokin'. Ford used to ship that way, why not PB or Mack?

Peterbilt doesn't even have rail service anywhere remotely close to their facility in Texas and everything ships out of by truck now -- they load up like 4 stacked up on each other's 5th wheel and ship 'em out that way.  I suppose they could drive them the short distance down to Haslet/Alliance and load them up there on BNSF, but I've never seen it done.  I'd be surprised if it wasn't done at least at some point in time though by some manufacturer.

[sirenwerks]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't done at least at some point in time though by some manufacturer.

Yup. As I stated, Ford used to ship via 89-footers. I've seen a number of photos of these load-types on the WP in the Feather River valley, I imagine on their way to the Bay area or on to SoCal.

[Bob Bufkin]

Volvo has a manufacturing plant in Dublin, Va near Roanoke.  Looking at satellite map, there is a line nearby (NS?) but nothing running into the facility that I can see.

[Packer]

I'd have to agree with the notion of paint coming in large drums.

Back in high school I went on a field trip to tour the Hyundai plant in Montgomery. Although the field trip never went near the rails (I wish it did) all everything seemed to arrive via trucks, and there were no rails going into the factory.

The products may have been transloaded to trucks nearby since there looks too be a "team track" setup on the other side of the autorack loading areas. Steel may have been brought in by truck from Birmingham since it's only an hour and a half away.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=32.286135,-86.309978&spn=0.006385,0.009602&t=h&z=17

[Mr. G]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't done at least at some point in time though by some manufacturer.

Yup. As I stated, Ford used to ship via 89-footers. I've seen a number of photos of these load-types on the WP in the Feather River valley, I imagine on their way to the Bay area or on to SoCal.

Wouldn't the Fords have been heading from the Milpitas plant over Altamont Pass if they were en route to SoCal?  

[havingfuntoo]

Depending on the type of paint, 200 litre drums, 1000 litre IPCs And 20ft double skinned bulk shipping containers.

[sirenwerks]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't done at least at some point in time though by some manufacturer.

Yup. As I stated, Ford used to ship via 89-footers. I've seen a number of photos of these load-types on the WP in the Feather River valley, I imagine on their way to the Bay area or on to SoCal.

Wouldn't the Fords have been heading from the Milpitas plant over Altamont Pass if they were en route to SoCal?  

If I remember correctly, Milipitas manufactured pick-ups, not LNTs. I'll have to find some of the photos and double check the direction of travel.

EDIT - I managed to find one of the reference photos I was thinking of and, indeed, the two 80+ footer cars with diagonally stacked Ford LNT tractors are traveling directional west-bound (southbound in reality, heading over the North Fork Bridge over the Feather River, in its namesake canyon) on WP's Fast Ford train. The FF was largely parts for the Milipitas plant.

Besides the two flats of tractors, though, there are also several full open auto racks (too small to see if they're Fords). I'm not sure why the tractors are heading west. They're all safety yellow and white, so my guess is they're headed somewhere to be retrofitted as utility trucks or something similar.

On a side note, or actually back on topic... I'm having a heated e-discussion with a friend about the social merits of the TV drama The Wire and had to rewatch an episode. Funnily, a contraband raid turned up 55 gallon drums of pigment pellets. It got me thinking about how auto coatings more than likely are not shipped via rail pre-mixed, but likely as separate components - carrier, binder, toner, catalyst, flake, etc. All that would settle into layers being traveled in a large tank car and I don't imagine the unloading process being easy.