Q: I was wondering if you could provide me with information on what kind of
loads an oyster cannery sends and receives? — Markus Russ
A: I cast the net wide (pun fully intended) to help answer your question. I started internally. Trains magazine Associate Editor Bob Lettenberger wrote “Five mind-blowing facts — Stilwell Oyster Car” on Trains.com. In the article, Bob noted, “Tanks cars were tried, however, the internal temperature could not be controlled generally resulting in overheating the oysters. In 1866, the B&O constructed several special express cars to speed live oysters packed on ice to Wheeling, W.Va., Cincinnati, and Chicago. At the time, it took 50 hours to reach Chicago — far longer than oysters would stay fresh or alive on ice.”
Bob then went on to describe the Stilwell oyster car from the late 1890s. Though the car sounded like a good idea, it didn’t work out as planned. “The Stilwell Oyster Car was plagued with many of the problems that curtailed previous attempts,” Bob wrote. “Temperature control, rough handling, and transit time delivered dead oysters seriously lacking in freshness.” Conowingo Models produces the Stilwell oyster car kit in HO scale. The N Scale Architect offers a kit in 1:160.
Craig Wilson, a member of the operating crew at the late Jack Ozanich’s HO scale Atlantic Great Eastern, noted that bagged oyster shells were shipped in boxcars. The shells would then be ground up and used as an additive for animal feed, especially chicken feed. Some brands of poultry oyster shell found today include Manna Pro, Nutrena NatureWise, and Small Pet Select.
Based on practices at other food plants, it’s also possible that an oyster cannery could have received cans and labels in boxcars; canning equipment in boxcars, flatcars, or gondolas depending on the item; and propane or coal (for heating) in tank cars and hoppers, respectively.
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