About half a mile down the tracks from these photos, heading west, were several Wholesale Grocers.  I think a Fruit company is still there today.  I don't know if that ties in with the Old Duck reefers or not.  But I was interest to see how narrow the ice or brine hatches appear to be.



George Courtney

On Sep 29, 2020, at 11:05 PM, Thomas Evans via groups.io <tomkevans@...> wrote:

It looks like these 60' B&M flatcars date back to at least 1901 (but probably not 1897) according to the on-line ORER/OREG's,
however they are mixed in with a number of shorter "special flat cars,' so we don't know how many there were nor their specific numbers at that time.

Tom E.

On Sep 30, 2020, at 2:27 PM, Douglas Harding <iowacentralrr@...> wrote:

I’m starting a new thread for discussion of Cudahy.

The map I posted this morning, came from a Cudahy Year book, published I think in 1932. It shows, at that time, the slaughter houses, branch houses, produce houses and Dutch Cleanser facilities. I found the Cudahy Year Books in the Iowa State University Library (our state AG school), in their dusty old back room files. Ie feet on the ground research.

 

Cudahy Meat Packing and Cudahy Brothers (later known as Patrick Cudahy), were two different and separate meat packing concerns. One was based in Omaha, started by Michael Cudahy and Philip Armour. The other was in Cudahy WIS and started by Patrick Cudahy (also connected to Armour). The founders were brothers, who both had connections to Armour via Plankinton, but they parted ways before the turn of the last century.

 

Cudahy Meat Packing had a reefer facility in Calumet Indiana. Reporting marks were CRLX. I cannot not address the paint/lettering schemes to a large extent. Attached is an image of a Cudahy car from the Yearbook, so this would be accurate for circa 1932. Cudahy also leased Mather Reefers (see ad), which also appears to be early 30s. Attached is a photo of South Omaha showing two Cudahy Dutch Cleanser reefers circa 1925-1928. All photos I have of Cudahy reefers after 1935 show the plain Jane lettering scheme that came into being after the 1934 “Billboard ban” law. P/L changed through the years, so era and photos are important.

 

Cudahy Brothers started and owned Northern Refrigerator Line, INC, also in Cudahy WIS. This included the Northern Refrigerator Car Co. Reporting Marks were NRC. Cudahy Bros sold their reefer company to Merchants Despatch Transportation in 1928. Reporting marks were MDT

 

As to the source of my information regarding the location of Cudahy facilities, the above mentioned Company Year Books are one source, as they contained photos of facilities and dates when acquired, along with the map. Much of the information was not on the internet, it required visiting libraries and digging through old files, books, documents and magazines. National Provisioner is a trade publication for the meat packing industry and can be found in some state Ag School libraries. Members of this group have provided information through the years. Of course the internet continues to surprise me. But you sometimes have to visit local libraries, local historical society websites, genealogy websites, and other places we do not normally think about when looking for information on railroads or industries.

 

As for the person walking in the train yard near the cars that started this conversation. In early years, before fences around tracks, many folks lived near the rail yards and often traversed them to get back and forth. Esp in the early years, like when the photos were taken. I can’t tell if it is a man or woman, they are just wearing a large flowing light colored coat or dress. 

 

Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org

 

Attachments:

• cudahy024.jpg
• CRLX 1225 Mather meat reefer.JPG
• no34hw4.jpg

----- Original Message -----

From: Bob Chaparro via groups.io

To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io

Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2020 12:48 PM

Subject: [RealSTMFC] Photo: ATSF (?) Boxcar 9260 With Pinto Bean Load (1914)

 

Photo: ATSF (?) Boxcar 9260 With Pinto Bean Load (1914)

A photo from the University of New Mexico:

https://econtent.unm.edu/digital/collection/gkcpc/id/26/rec/146

The photo can be enlarged.

Description:

"Train car shipped in November of 1914 with goods donated by Gross, Kelly & Co. to the Belgium Relief Commission, run by Herbert Hoover. Gross, Kelly & Co. was one of the pioneer wholesale and retail mercantile companies in the Southwest."

Do pinto beans go well with Belgium waffles?

Note the placard on the car reads "Explosives". (Don't go there, readers.)

I could not find a listing for this car, built in 1897, among my Santa Fe records but the end reporting marks appear to include "&SF". Perhaps this car was from a subsidiary road.

Bob Chaparro

Hemet, CA