Team Track Industry suggestion
#1
Just wondered what you guys think of an idea I have had.

My new layout will have team track on it, the time period for the layout is the last 10 years to the present day.

I want to try and make use of some woodchip cars I have, so how about a local logging company set up a mobile whole tree chipper at the end of the team track and use it to load the cars as they have a big clearance job in the local area?

Just wondered if you guys think it would ever happen?
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#2
I want to try and make use of some woodchip cars I have, so how about a local logging company set up a mobile whole tree chipper at the end of the team track and use it to load the cars as they have a big clearance job in the local area?
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Never heard of such a operation since chippers are noisy and messy.

My thoughts would be to transload wood chips from trucks(simi with dump trailer).The woodchips could come from a nearby nonrail served veneer lumber and finishing mill.
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#3
jhock,

I worked for a railroad out in Eugene Oregon and off of the UP yard a company started to load bark-a-mulch into woodhip cars. They started with a small piece of track and loaded maybe one or two cars a week. They would mix the bark with dirt and other natural stuff in a large portable grinder. They would then load it into the woodchip cars and ship it to California to gardening supply stores. The business grew so much that they started loading 20 to30 cars a week and bought a fleet of their own woodchip cars. This building is Lane Forest Supply, you can look them up on google.

I have also seen them do just plain woodchips, dyed chips and other outdoor chip products loaded into these cars.

I hope this helps!
Be Wise Beware Be Safe
"Mountain Goat" Greg


https://www.facebook.com/mountaingoatgreg/
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#4
If you go to bing maps and look up Eugene Oregon, look i nthe Nortwest to the large railyard, find the Randy Pape Beltline and then change to Aerial view/bird's eye. IF you look i nthe yard are you can see piles of woodchips and a small spur leading into them. They use the concrete pad for loading and at one time would move them between that track and the yard track with a front end loader.

Note tho old bottom dump woodchip loader that has been cut down and used as a storage building.
Be Wise Beware Be Safe
"Mountain Goat" Greg


https://www.facebook.com/mountaingoatgreg/
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#5
mountaingoatgreg Wrote:I thought I would put in a quick Bingmap view of the facility

http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9LmV1Z2VuZS...Q3MTA2OTI1

Note tho old bottom dump woodchip loader that has been cut down and used as a storage building.

Use the "share" icon in the upper right hand corner instead of copying the URL to get a link that goes directly to where you want to go on bing maps:

Is this the company you meant? : http://binged.it/OBruK8
(2111 Prairie Road, Eugene, OR 97402, United States)

Smile,
Stein
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#6
It does seem that more likely that the trees would be chipped on site and then loaded into the cars with a front end loader or similar, chipping trees in the middle of an industrial park would be likely to upset people.

Thanks for the link, I will look when I am not on the Ipad as it struggles with Bing maps.
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#7
Thanks Stein!! I knew there was a way of doing that...

http://binged.it/U7E31Z

That is their main manufacturing facility that you marked Stein, If you go south, railroad West you can see the rail load out. They have a fleet of chip trucks that bring in materials from all over the are and then are taken to their processing center. THey havea steady stream of trucks that move materials between the two sits. I heard at one point they were trying to negotiate for a conveyor system, but form the photos it does not look like they have built it yet.
Be Wise Beware Be Safe
"Mountain Goat" Greg


https://www.facebook.com/mountaingoatgreg/
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#8
mountaingoatgreg Wrote:Thanks Stein!! I knew there was a way of doing that...

http://binged.it/U7E31Z

That is their main manufacturing facility that you marked Stein, If you go south, railroad West you can see the rail load out. They have a fleet of chip trucks that bring in materials from all over the are and then are taken to their processing center. THey havea steady stream of trucks that move materials between the two sits. I heard at one point they were trying to negotiate for a conveyor system, but form the photos it does not look like they have built it yet.

Ah - on that side of the tanks - cool !

I see the same track probably serves both the little tank farm between the two sites and loading cars for your industry.

Smile,
Stein
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#9
Stein,

That tank farm is part of a pipelone that runs fro mthe Canadian Border to Mexico. I have not seen them load tank cars out but talking to guys who are a little older then me said that the SP used that to load cars to take to outlying location for filling up their company storage tanks. From what they recall one of the Trim jobs from the hump yard would make a trip over to the "Tank Farm" each night and swap cars around. if you keep going south you can see where a rather large TOFC facility and LCL building now occupied by a large, non railserved, scrap dealer.

Sure is amzing what use to be in this yard and the surrounding industries.
Be Wise Beware Be Safe
"Mountain Goat" Greg


https://www.facebook.com/mountaingoatgreg/
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#10
Wood chip cars are also used for scrap metal, so you could load them with scrap on a team track.
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#11
mountaingoatgreg Wrote:jhock,

I worked for a railroad out in Eugene Oregon and off of the UP yard a company started to load bark-a-mulch into woodhip cars. They started with a small piece of track and loaded maybe one or two cars a week. They would mix the bark with dirt and other natural stuff in a large portable grinder. They would then load it into the woodchip cars and ship it to California to gardening supply stores. The business grew so much that they started loading 20 to30 cars a week and bought a fleet of their own woodchip cars. This building is Lane Forest Supply, you can look them up on google.

I have also seen them do just plain woodchips, dyed chips and other outdoor chip products loaded into these cars.

I hope this helps!

That is some very interesting information!

Thanks for sharing.. Thumbsup

That's one thing I love about this hobby you learn something new every day!
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#12
While its a valid industry, I doubt it would be one for a "team track". Team tracks are for loading and unloading and it sounds like there is a lot more than that going on in this case. Now the industry might lease a little used team track (in which case it is a a "former" team track) to set up a wood chipping facility. If you want to bering in logs and load them on cars, ok. If you want to bring in chips and load thema in cars ok. If you want to bring in logs, chip them, mix them with other additives and then load them in cars, that's a bit much.
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#13
Team tracks are for loading and unloading any cars of any commodity onto and off of trucks. Some railroads were nothing more than team tracks/transload areas.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#14
Thank you for the input guys, I think the best option for me is simply to use my team track to transload pulpwood logs from truck to rail car, I have put a lot of effort into making a self loading pulp wood truck http://www.1-87vehicles.org/photo512/mac..._truck.php and want to make use of it, I also have made transloading conveyor so I will make use of the team track to off load soda ash from hoppers to trucks.
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