Q&A

 John Barry, 

What you are describing is a “stop off car”*. This was used for a myriad of different commodities. What we were discussing was how a shipper could avoid LCL rates by creating regional distribution centers. John Deere would ship a car load of tractors the first 1000 miles to one of their distribution centers, then at that center the LCL lots were loaded and shipped, only costing the RR the LCL rate for the last 150 miles, instead of the LCL rate for 1150 miles.

What does this mean for modelers? The modeler needs to build a John Deere distribution center on his layout. This center receives car loads from staging (Representing loads from the John Deere Factory). These might include loads in end door 50’ Automobile boxcars that need to be spotted for end unloading, as well as flat cars of equipment, and car loads of spare parts (The distribution center is also a parts warehouse).

Then MTY cars need to be spotted for loading of the LCL shipments going to individual customers or local dealers. 

So instead of one car coming on your layout, either going to a local farm equipment dealer, or a stop off car going from team track to team track. You have an industry that receives car load lots from the factory, and then ships the LCL loads out to dealers, or it originates the stop off car from that point. It’s an industry that receives car loads, requires MTY cars, and ships out cars.

These regional distribution centers need not only be farm equipment. They can be ANY commodity. Automobiles is one that comes to mind. A contemporary modeler might build a yard that receives auto racks. These racks are then unloaded, and the cars are then reloaded into the mix of models requested by dealers in areas serviced by this distribution centers. On my layout I have “the Auto Ramp”. This industry receives loaded 50’ automobile boxcars. Some of the automobiles unloaded are bound for dealerships in town, but the majority get reloaded and shipped to team tracks in small towns for consignee dealerships. This is the 1950’s version, stolen from Chuck Hitchcock, of the auto distribution centers. You are limited only by your imagination.

It’s a massive traffic multiplier.


* I described the process of the “Stop off Car” at two points in my post about far equipment, but did not refer to it by that name. Stop off cars might be a car load of 2x4 lumber moving from small lumber yard to lumber yard or building material supplier. As it arrives at each stop the receiver unloads the part of the shipment consigned to them. It’s sort of on the honor system, and I can see the two or three initial receivers picking through the car load for only the straightest boards, leaving the last consignee with a pile of bent, “Boat wood”. I have heard of Produce stop off cars, and meat stop off cars, and I’m sure every commodity in between.

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