Post 35 6/22/2017
Unit trains on my Layout
A unit train is a freight train carrying the same type of commodity, from origin to destination. Railroads usually chose 105 as the minimum number of cars that qualified a train for the unit train rate. The locomotives pulling the train will usually stay connected from origin to destination and return with empty cars.
I was familiar with unit trains as Alcoa used them from my childhood company town, to transport alumina from the alumina refinery in Point Comfort, TX to the aluminum smelter in Rockdale, TX. We loaded and shipped 25-30, 100 ton covered hopper cars each day, 365 d/y by unit train.
I thought it would be neat to have a unit trains for common commodities on my railroad layout. So I made and collected some covered hopper cars used for alumina and they can be run on the layout even though I do not have an alumina refinery to load them.
The Alumina cars are from right to left, White Ormet car from Burnside, LA, two Alcoa Silver cars from Point Comfort, TX or Bauxite, AR, and a Blue Reynolds Metals car from Sherwin, TX or Bauxite, AR. The Ormet car was homemade, the second Alcoa had a homemade individual 8 covers, and the Reynolds car has homemade cover with three hatch covers. I have worked for these three companies (Alcoa bought Reynolds) and also Kaiser Aluminum in Baton Rouge and plant in Gramercy,LA. I need to make a Kaiser Alumina car to complete my Alumina Unit Train.
Unit trains give an operator another reason to seek and collect rolling stock.
I have a coal mine so coal cars are needed and are shipped in a unit train. So I started collecting 3 or 4 dumping coal cars, so I can load them at my coal mine loading station and unload them into one of those Lionel coal bin/trays.
I have 3 or 4 oil tank cars, chemical tank cars, gondolas, boxcars, flat cars, log cars, milk cars, cattle cars, etc. to make unit trains for each type car.
Oil Tank cars
Milk cars
Pictured here are 4 auto loaders operating as a unit train. I have to be careful with these when using heaver metal cars as they are top heavy on curves. I picked up a box of red metal 57 Chevy convertibles but plastic ones are better for auto loaders
So you can see unit trains add interest and fun to the layout and operation.
Charlie
