Livestock Operation: Part 6: Rest Stations

 I’ve written a great deal about livestock operations on the AIR but I do not think I have actually told you what my plans are and what I want to do. I intentionally chose not to model any slaughterhouse operation. I want to model a rest station.

In the movement of livestock by rail it was agreed upon, by the elements involved that livestock would not be confined inside a stock car for longer than 28 hours, but in the case of sheep or hogs, and only if the entire trip is concluded with in the time allotted

-AND-

The shipper agrees in writing, sheep and hogs my be confined 36 hours. This is therefore the “28/36 hour” rule, and is the basic impetus behind the nearly fanatical speed at which stock moves are carried out.

Now if a load of livestock cannot complete its trip within the allotted time, the stock must be unloaded, watered and fed. Railroads knew , generally, where these rest periods would fall, and they established “Rest Stations” in these locations.

Rest Stations had numerous pens for holding animals as well as segregating different loads, species, etc. cars were unloaded, cleaned, the bedding was changed. The animals were fed and given water. If the animals arrived at one roads rest station in the stock car of another  road, they were often reloaded into the home roads stock car. This allowed the owner of the rest station to capture some of the line haul revenue. The MTY stock cars were returned to their home roads.

On the model railroad this becomes part of the “Game”. The model of the rest station has stock pens, a receiving track and barn for feed, the bedding will be sand so gondolas of sand need to be delivered. There needs to be storage tracks for MTY stock cars waiting to load or reload. There needs to be a clean-out track; RIP track; Gondolas of manure to haul away.

The more you look at it the more complicated this becomes. Do you plan to model a function of livestock operations on your layout? Do you already model some features? If so what? How do you simulate the procedures?

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