Soybean Processing Plant:Part 2

 A while back I operated on a layout that had a Soybean Processing plant. As it turned out it was an excellent industry. One of those industries that appears to have been designed for model railroads.

Now this plant, on the model railroad, was referred to as a “Swift” bean plant. Hearing this I naturally assumed there would be Swift cars in attendance, but alas no. 

Then the other day I noticed a metal sign in our laundry room. My Wife and I decorate our laundry with a lot of different items, antique wash boards, metal signs, an antique drying rack, which we use daily.

One of these antique signs advertises “Swift’s Borax Soap”. Now what do you need to make soap? Three things: A fat, lye, and distilled water.

Remember Grannie making her famous Lye soap on the Beverly Hillbillies?

So knowing this it makes total sense that Swift would be in the soap business, since they are probably the biggest source of tallow in the nation, AT THAT TIME. How easy it would be to utilize an excess bi-product and with the addition of one item, make soap. Lye or caustic soda is far too harsh to allow contact with bare skin, but Borax is a far milder version. The only thing you need, at the commercial level it to add some smelly stuff to make housewives like it more.

So, and I’m coming at this completely blind, but I’m assuming one could simulate a soap producing facility, call it “Swift’s Borax Soap” and hit the ground running. Could it receive tallow in tank cars

 -AND- 

Swift reefers?

This needs some investigation.

I already have the graphics for the sign over the building on the layout, it’s in my laundry room.


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