TastyBake ISL

[Herc Driver]

Mark -

Absolutely now worries regarding that transfer table suggestion. I apologize for the blatantly dumb idea. (Besides, I think I'm projecting my desire to incorporate one on my layout, where I don't have enough room for one either, onto everyone else's.)

You're right that for the size you're working with, the layout as-is looks very prototypical. You've got some great space to work with and enough room to pay particular attention to the details of scenery.

[Mike Kieran]

Herc is onto something. A cleanout area on the layout makes for an added operational feature. I would put it between the turnout and the loading dock. Think of it, the covered hoppers and tank cars would need to be cleaned after delivery and rather than get billed, the bakery would clean it out themselves.

[Russ Bellinis]

Senior moment! I was thinking of bakeries in terms of breads, cakes, and snacks, like Hostess cupcakes, Twinkies, etc. I completely forgot that cereal companies would also be bakeries. I think a cereal company would be perfect. The biggest ones would be Nabisco, Post, General Mills, or Kellogs. The large grocery chains such as Krogers, Safeway, or Albertsons, also sell store brands of cereal, but I don't know if they have their own bakery. I suspect that cereals such as corn flakes, shredded wheat, or Cherrio types may be produced by one of the big bakery companies and boxed in packaging with the generic branded graphics for the specific store company. They would receive car loads of grains, flour, and sugar in covered hoppers that would be stored in silos. They receive tank cars full of corn syrup, molasses?, and vegetable oils of various types. Any liquids received in bulk, would be unloaded to and stored in tanks. They also use honey for sweetener, but I've never seen a tank car labeled for honey, so it may come in large cans or drums in box cars. They would also receive box cars loaded with thin cardboard and wax paper for the cereal boxes and liners as well as corrugated cardboard for packing cases. They would ship out box cars loaded with cereal to warehouse distribution centers all over the country. Paper is heavy so it would come in in 50 foot box cars I think, perhaps 60 footers, but the cereal is very light in weight since whether flaked, puffed, or shredded it is still mostly air, so I suspect that the finished products would be shipped out in the largest box cars available, and I'm sure that a lot of product would be shipped out in trucks to more local warehouses. Also a grocery company with a distribution warehouse nearby might send their own trucks over to pick up products. Receiving tracks for covered hoppers would be near silos. Tank cars would unload near the tanks with manifolds designed to avoid any chance of cross contamination between oils and sweeteners, and the receiving dock for box car loads would be on a different side of the plant from the shipping tracks. A big plant shipping out products by both trucks and rail would have those two shipping docks separated so that trucks would not be blocking rail spurs.

After I posted this, it dawned on me that they would also receive glue for the cereal boxes and cases. I don't know if the glue would be brought in in liquid form in tank, powdered in covered hoppers, or in cans or boxes in box cars.

[Southern Tuxedo]

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions. I’m getting really excited the more I think about this layout. I’m going out of town to a trade show for several days and when I return the first thing that I will finish will be two more Walthers Airslide hopper kits. Then I will start on the bench work so I can get a better feel for how everything will lay out.

More progress pictures will follow.

Mark

[Southern Tuxedo]

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a while since I started this layout build and I think it time for an update.
I have been doing the final assembly/work on my fleet of Walthers Airslide hoppers and I would like some opinions on a final detail. Five out of the seven cars have been assembled out of old kits and while building them, I decided to add or change some details. On the roof walkway I carved off the grab bars and added new wire ones. Underneath, I changed the brake valve thingie to one that I had in the scrap box that looked much better scale wise. 36” metal wheel sets were added as well as Kadee’s 158 scale size whisker couplers. The couplers needed new gear boxes and a red fiber washer (.015") installed to get them to the correct height, because with the 36” wheels and the stock gear box the couplers were too high.

The last detail that I am thinking of changing is the stirrup steps (am I calling them by the right name?), but I am concerned by how fragile they will ultimately be. These cars will be pulled on and off the layout a lot and I don’t want to make them too easy to damage. Also, these cars aren’t detailed like many of the cars are today. There are a lot of crude cast on details, such as grab bars, that wouldn’t make sense for me to remove and replace as I don’t have tons of time and patience. So...does it make sense to change out the steps, will it look ok with the other cast on detail or is it a lot of work to do for a very small payback?

Your opinions and suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks,
Mark

ps: Roofwalks and bodys are still loose to facilitate weathering.

           

[Tyson Rayles]

I'm on dial-up so I haven't read every word but in going back thru this thread I didn't see any menton of scale ( yeah I'm sure it's there somewhere and I missed it ) so could you please tell me/us again? Thanks. As far as putting those details on I guess if it's something you enjoy then do it. Myself I'm in N scale and I don't do those kind of details as I tend to break them back off when I handle the cars.

[Southern Tuxedo]

Well Mike... ...I'm thinking that I never said what the scale is because I don't see it in my first post . Thanks for pointing it out.

It's HO.

Mark

[Russ Bellinis]

If those cars are handled a lot, the plastic stirrup steps will get broken off, at least some of them will. The metal will be a lot stronger than the plastic. The only problem I see is that the steps should be square section rather than round. That is a detail that probably won't be noticed by most people. If you want the correct steps, I think A-line/Protopower makes them. Another advantage of the Aline steps is they will be cast in brass rather than bent from wire and are more resistant to being bent.

[Tyson Rayles]

Thanks for the info Mark!

[Southern Tuxedo]

Russ,

I will look into those a-line steps when I get some free time later today. Thanks for the info.

Mark

[Southern Tuxedo]

Ok, I ordered the correct style A-Line stirrup steps today and will install them when they arrive. Thanks for the information Russ, I don’t think that I would have found them on my own.

My next questions have to do with car types used to carry dry powdered or granular materials. TastyBake will be receiving three different types of raw ingredients in the enclosed unloading shed.

1. Flour will be delivered in the Airslide hoppers. Check.

2. Cornstarch will arrive in PressureAide hoppers like these… <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.atlasrr.com/hofreight/hopressure.htm">http://www.atlasrr.com/hofreight/hopressure.htm</a><!-- m --> …Is this an acceptable car to use for this commodity? I have two decorated for Corn Products, one for ADM and one for ACFX.

3. Sugar (granular?) ships I what type of car? I really have no idea on this and could use some help here. Any suggestions on car type, length and/or HO manufacturer?

Thanks for all the help.

Mark

[FCIN]

Mark;

Sugar would also be shipped in the Airslide Covered hoppers. The pressure aid covered hoppers have gradually replaced the Airslides in the modern era, although I still see plenty of the Airslides around.

One reason that I picked a candy or confection plant for my layout was to be able to use my fleet of Airslides along with the corn syrup tank cars. Must say that I'm not going to go to the extent you are with removing some of the molded on details on mine though.

Hope this helps.

[Southern Tuxedo]

Ed,

Thanks for the information on airslides. If I use them for sugar service as well as flour, I might have to get a few more so I have a good rotation of cars and don’t see the same ones to much. There will always two flour cars and one sugar car in the unloading shed. These won’t be moved until they are emptied and there is a loaded car being delivered.

If I wanted to get another type of car onto the layout for variety, would sugar be delivered in any other types of hoppers? Maybe something that is just gravity discharged?

Also, am I correct in thinking that the pressureaide hoppers are good for cornstarch?

Thanks again.

Mark

[Russ Bellinis]

For another type of car, corn syrup in dedicated tank cars is also commonly used by large bakeries. I think vegetable oil would also come in tank cars. Boxcars might bring in various canned and package goods like fruit filling, boxes and containers, shortening, etc.

[Southern Tuxedo]

For another type of car, corn syrup in dedicated tank cars is also commonly used by large bakeries. I think vegetable oil would also come in tank cars. Boxcars might bring in various canned and package goods like fruit filling, boxes and containers, shortening, etc.

Yep, TasteBake will receive all those ingredients. I have a bunch of corn syrup tank cars that are appropriately decorated, a few tank cars for vegetable oil and a handful of boxcars for miscellaneous cargo, but I will need more.

The problem is, certain commodities are shipped in specific cars and because I am just getting back into the hobby I just don’t have the knowledge to know which ones need, or should have, specific cars.

Also, because I'm relatively new I will probably be asking a lot of basic questions so please bear with me as I would rather not make any stupid or expensive mistakes or at least keep them to a minimum.

Thanks again Russ

Mark