As a modeller, especially half a world away from the trains I model, what I find hardest to visualise is how freight car loading and unloading affects the design of a facility. One industry in particular has confounded me for some time: lumber.

Site 1: Kuiken Brothers Lumber Delivery by Rail

When I worked in Austin, TX back in the early late 1990s through late 2000 I was very close to the Vinson (Bergstrom) Lead.  A couple of mile long industrial track operated by the SP, and then the UP after the Merger our of New Braunfels yard. There was a large lumber dealer on the lead taking multiple centerbeam cars, but no boxcars that I ever saw in my time there.

Thankfully, Kuiken Brothers Lumber posted a video on YouTube back in 2011 showing exactly how the Morristown & Erie’s number 18 delivered the two cars into the facility before setting out the centerbeam and boxcar. Then they go on to show you how the boxcar is unloaded.

Take note of the appliances used to unload the cargo and the work done to unload by the work crew. Skidding the load around with the forks answered my question of how they made enough space to get into the car.

Enjoy.