Gern traffic

[P5se Camelback]

... By the way just what is GERN???? Bran cereal, hand soap maybe industrial goo the mystery is what makes it fun.

The following has been copied and pasted from the copy I made of the answer that was offered by doctorwayne when I asked what was basically the same question, a short time ago.

Gibson’s Extraordinary Remedial Natural Flux

I copied this from my reply to the same question which was asked over at Zealot:

Well, the idea for GERN originated in the late '50s, and was my brother Steven's brainchild. We had a table-top hockey game, the kind where the players are controlled by rods under the "ice" surface. We each had several teams, and all of the players were named, allowing us to keep statistics for each "season". One of his players was Cookie Gibson, centre, team owner, and well-to-do flux magnate. If I recall correctly, he won the scoring championship several times, playing for the Shawinigan Syrup Kings.

It was determined that flux was not so much like soldering flux, but more like flux in the expression "in a state of flux", or changeable. When I finally had the opportunity to build my layout, I knew that a flux facility would have to be included. Steven picked up the ball (or puck) and came up with some advertising, signs, and snippets of historical information.

Since I model the late '30s, I've arbitrarily back-dated GERN's origins (as ever, in a state of flux) back to the early 1900s. Historical records do exist (somewhere) that flux was mined in Britain as far back as Roman times, and the Chinese "claim" to have evidence of prehistoric flux mines. Regardless, Mr. Gibson (his real name is Charles, although most call him Cookie) has secured the world-wide rights to all flux deposits, including any yet to be discovered and has recently negotiated lunar mining claims, for the time when that becomes feasible. So, even if a company mines flux under the name of another company, GERN is sure to reap the financial benefits.

Several recent court cases have borne this out, and GERN of the People's Republic of China may be one of the few industries in that country subject to stringent standards of quality control, both through the Government and through GERN International. The consumer can rest assured that "If It's GERN, It is indeed Good".

By the way, for a long time, I didn't like the sound of bagpipes either, but I've come to appreciate them in some contexts. One of my favourite songs with bagpipes is AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (if You Wanna Rock and Roll)". I don't know if it's good bagpipe playing in the opinion of a true bagpipe aficionado, but, for me, it really "makes" that song.

Much of the plant's output is shipped in 100 lb. bags (which, because of technical advances from the GERN Laboratories, weigh only 75lbs), and can travel in ordinary boxcars, like this SOO Line car shown here:

Fluxene Peroxide is an enhanced by-product of the flux milling process, removed from the flux ore before final milling. This material travels in shortened tankcars, like the one shown below, due to its extreme density, which is attributable to it being the "removed component" that leaves that 100lb. bag of flux "as light as a feather". This is the proverbial "ten pounds of flux in a five-pound bag" and a little of it goes a long way in it's many applications, which include glass-making, forestry, agriculture, zeppelin production, and explosives:

Flux Sludge is an integral component in almost all manufactured food products, enhancing flavour, prolonging shelf-life, and making food look at least 3% better than it otherwise would. It's also widely used in the hide tanning and brick-making industries:

Anhydrous Flux, once considered a waste by-product of the sludge-making process, has become an important additive in the paper-making process, and is finding an ever expanding market in a number of other fields:

Liquiflux, used in pharmaceuticals and many food-related applications:

Bulk shipments of GERN products are becoming more and more popular with many larger customers nowadays, pioneered by these cars, which are are product of the fertile minds at the GERN Research & Development Division, working in conjunction with the Carshops of the Elora Gorge & Eastern Railroad. Basically a boxcar, the doors have been fitted with GERN Flux-o-Seals (patents pending) to prevent both leakage of the cargo and moisture incursion. Both powdered and granular flux is loaded via roof hatches and, at the Customer's receiving area, the cargo is quickly dumped from the four longitudinal underfloor hoppers. In addition, the car can be easily converted to bagged flux service with the simple installation of GERN's patented Converto-Panels, which provide a smooth, flat floor atop those hopper bays.

Modellers with less real estate available on their layout shouldn't despair of having their own GERN facility, either. GERN is the "Superman" of layout industries, able to generate many carloads of product from even a telephone booth-sized building. A building flat against the backdrop will do just fine, as long as there's a suitable door with a siding. Even if you can't squeeze that into your layout, GERN could be in an unmodelled part of town. I have several industries in Dunnville that are either not represented on the layout or barely represented, with rail access being a pair of sidings under the staging yard. The Evell Casket Co. is one of these, represented by this partial structure in front of the backdrop. This end of the building is where the pencil pushers work - no siding or loading doors in sight.