Milk traffic in the Southern States

[Regularity]

In his book “Mid sized and manageable track plans”, Iain Rice has an interesting plan for a layout set in the Georgia/South Carolina border area, and includes a creamery as an on-line industry, with a comment to the effect that it was not just the North East that carried a lot of milk traffic, but no more is said than that!

 

Does anyone have any info on this? Were there dedicated milk cars, was this in churns, or were there bespoke milk cars containing class-lined steel tanks for the bulk transport of milk?

[k-59]

I'm not exactly an expert on the South but in general a lot will depend on the era. Before trucks came into use starting in 20s basically all milk traffic would go by trains (either steam roads or many cases interurban.) Trucks were able to compete effectively for the short haul and low destiny hauls, the interurban being first to lose out. But it was only in 20s (or maybe some early examples in the teens?) that the glass lined tank railcar came into use. Certainly, the traffic didn't disappear overnight and many contradicting examples can probably be found for how long it lasted in different places. 

[Tove]

Never really took much notice of milk traffic to be honest,and as a first thought i`d have thought that it was transport in REA/baggage cars in rural area`s like the south....?

Anyhow had a quick and came across this reply on the Trains mag site,which sort of backs this theroy up; (author named 'Sam'!)

 

"Not sure in what specific areas of the country these cars ran.   In this part of the world back at the turn of the century 20th there were a large number of dairy farms. Specifically, around the Parsons,Ks area on the railroads the MKT, SLSF, and the Interurban line to Cherryvale. The milk from the frarms were loaded into milk cans and taken to flag stops and stations where they were loaded in baggage cars and returned to Creameries located in the larger towns for consolidation. The milk was put in baggage cars or REA Cars for rail transport to the collection point. Major Dairy Plants were located in Cities like Joplin, Mo. Wichita, and Tulsa, OK. 

Creameries may have used some refrigerated cars to move it the longer distances to the major facilities. form their outlaying collection centers to the bigger packaging and processing plants.

The morning locals were used to get eggs from the farms to the plants, and other produce items for sale in the larger towns as well rode on the railroad."

 

 

And found this.

Probably not much use for what you want,as it seem`s to be mainly NE bias,but intresting non the less;

 

milktrains.pdf

 

 

Brian.

[Regularity]

Thanks, Brian - that seems to be a bit more inland than Georgia, but confirms what I was thinking: mostly cans in baggage or the combine. And yes, I have a copy of that document, also one of the RRM milk cars, hence the questions.

 

I wonder where Iain got the inspiration/idea for an on-line creamery on its own spur?

[Regularity]

Commercial scale milk production in Georgia didn’t really get going until the 1930s, it seems. (http://extension.uga.edu/topic-areas/animal-production/dairy.html)

I suspect that before then, milk and dairy products were largely distributed locally, save for a few shipments to larger centres, with trains picking up cans (=churns) en route.

And yet, when FDR arrived in Georgia in October 1924, he arrived on the milk train (info via google Books), and Tennessee Williams wrote a whole play called, “The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore”.

 

It is almost as if a whole part of North American railroad operations across large parts of the country (some areas, when the milk train remained long enough to be diesel hauled, seem to fare OK) has been wiped not only from memory but also from history!

[298]

Before trucks came into use starting in 20s basically all milk traffic would go by trains (either steam roads or many cases interurban.) 

 

Now that's what I'm talking about...

 

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by 298