Re: Brick in Box Cars

I tried to tell that other guy, but he won't listen. Apparently he doesn't believe people who actually know.

On Dayton Blvd. in Red Bank, TN (near Chattanooga), a brick distributor has an open, uncovered concrete dock where bricks are received by boxcar. On the dritributor's single track I've seen boxcars spotted by the dock with doors on both sides open. The layout is the public street (Dayton Blvd.), sidewalk, track, and dock.

I'll try to get some photos the several times I go by. This will hopefully show the site with and without cars spotted.

"John X. Volker" wrote

----------

The '60s were 40 years ago John.

It's already been agreed that nowadays bricks travel in boxcars.

These questions remain unanswered:

Why do bricks travel in boxcars? Why would they need DD boxcars? (it's not like they're an extra wide item, requiring larger door openings) How much cubic capacity does the 'load-of-bricks' occupy?

----------

You repeatedly display what a dumbass you are. A non HS graduate perhaps?

The topic of conversation was 1960's era double door boxcars.

---------------- Sl> >

-------------

"Mountain Goat" wrote

-------------

Thank you.

"Raildavid" wrote

===============

Any idea why the opposite side door was open?

An isolated case or the norm?

This is an OSHA violation.

In less than a week, "Don't Know" has managed to exceed my monthly quota of snide, sarcastic and just plain gratuitously mean and stupid posts that I will put up with reading.

"Don't know" gets to join Rathburn and Mathu in the electronic great beyond.

Bye!

-- Jim McLaughlin

Please don't just hit the reply key. Remove the obvious from the address to reply.

Brick cars are never fully loaded. They are loaded one pallet high. There are many other types of loads that ship in boxcars the same way.

Southwire in Carrollton, Ga has a copper refining division that receives rolls of copper in boxcars, they are generally one level high.

The weight, as you mention is the main factor.

You repeatedly display that you are a jerk.

And Mark has already said that he did not limit his question to the

1960's.

"Jim McLaughlin" wrote

-----------------------

I'm less than impressed that you consider yourself so important in the world of model railroading that you feel compelled to announce your 'plonks' to everyone else.

Do you wear a "WIDE LOAD" sign on the back of your head while in motion?

BTW, next time please follow Usenet convention and mark your off-topic posts as such.

Yes.

Yes.

This can vary, I'm not sure exact size of the pallets. The car sizes are usually either 50' box cars or 60' box cars.

This too can vary. Single doors, double doors, usually sliding doors, but occasionally you will see a plug door car used.

The brick industries I've known all use fork lifts.

We only have building supply companies on our route, so they RECEIVE loaded cars. I've never seen a brick manufacturer, I would imagine it'd be interesting though, and I'm sure they get a lot of cars. I would also imagine they get the raw materials to make the brick in cars other than boxcars. Probably some covered and open top hoppers, and perhaps other types of cars.

I agree with you ...often times too much time and emphasis is spent on the motive power and not the rolling stock. Without the rolling stock, you wouldn't need locomotives.

------------------------------- "Slingblade" wrote

=======================

Rolls of copper sheet? Or 'spools'?

Are they lying on their sides like paper rolls, or hanging in racks?

You never mention who's shipping this stuff? Are they receiving in boxcars because the shipper (or shipper's home railroad) doesn't have Gons available?

They certainly aren't using boxcars for protection from the weather, or as theft deterrents.

Well, let me get in on this since I am intimately familiar with exactly this sort of operation here where I live. I have worked for Bickerstaff Brick Inc., a brick maker who ships product in rail cars and I have worked for the railroad that switches that plant, so I have seen both sides of the coin.

The bricks are moved from the kiln to a cooling area on large kiln trays. When sufficiently cool, the kiln trays are again moved to a sorting area where workers stack the bricks into aluminum (aluminium) trays that are moving along a conveyor belt. The filled trays are then transferred to the pallet loading area where the bricks are slid off the trays onto pallets. The trays are then returned to the assembly line to be filled again. When a pre-determined number of layers of bricks has been loaded onto a pallet, it is banded with steel straps and loaded into a boxcar by means of a forklift. this process continues until a pre-determined number of pallets has been loaded into the car. Typically a boxcar will be loaded with fifty pallets of bricks, twenty-five in each end of the car. This is approximately

50 US tons or about 100,000 pounds. At first glance, a carload of bricks standing with the door open might appear to be empty. A ton of bricks is only about a meter (metre) cube; maybe a little more, but not much. A typical North American boxcar of the post WW II era is 10 feet wide and 40 - 50 feet long. Lotsa room to hide bricks.

Quite often there will be several carloads of bricks going to the same receiver. Not far from my home is a large commercial brickyard that supplies brick and brick products to a number of re-sellers such as building supply companies and home improvement stores. It is not at all unusual to see numbers of boxcars spotted on their siding all the time. additionally there is a constant stream of trucks coming and going through the main gate. Most are leaving loaded with bricks, but some are delivering as well.

What else do you want to know about bricks?

Captain Handbrake

wrote

Thank you, very interesting. A couple questions come to mind:

Does the entire above described scenario take place at dock height? Or are the hot bricks on trays, brought down to ground level, spread out to be cooled? Do the kiln trays have a solid bottom or are they grated (to allow upward air flow from below)? Is there any mechanical aid to cooling (fans)?

Can you give us a geographical location of this plant? I'd like to see the layout viewed from aerial photography.

this process continues until a pre-determined number

as theft deterrents.

As a matter of fact in the case of copper, it's both. Copper is expensive (remember when pennies were in short supply because the metal was WORTH more than a penny, and copper wire was being stolen from new construction sites?) and sensitive to weather - it corrodes easily. It certainly SHOULDN'T be shipped in an open car!

Why would anyone want to help someone with the attitude of "Don't know my name" with anything? His rude and abusive remarks defy all rules of common courtesy and manners. I am blocking messages from this barbarian and suggest others do the same.

Paul McGraw

So interesting to watch the folks really interested in the group "voting" about the juvenile jerk "Don't know".

-- Jim McLaughlin

Please don't just hit the reply key. Remove the obvious from the address to reply.

I remember reading about the guy who misunderstood the McD slogan and wrote "you deserve a brick today" on the paper he wrapped around an air mailed one.

Thanks for the great information!

Regards

Len