Livestock Operations on Model Railroadswith an emphasis on the ATSFJanuary 25, 2012 |
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| An Analysis of Stock Movements at the Purcell, OK, Feeding Station, 1939 Stan Hall has provided me with 62 copies of Form 822-A which details the unloading and resting of stock at the Purcell, OK, feeding station. These forms are all dated between August 11 and September 21, 1939, a total of 42 days. They reveal some interesting analysis of stock traffic on the ATSF from Texas to eastern destinations. Purcell was a feeding station on the ATSF. In July, 1945, it had the capacity for livestock from 75 cars. It boasted 30 pens, hydrant, feed racks, 3 one car capacity pens with water in each, 3 double deck chutes, 2 single deck chutes, 16' x 127' sheep shed, and electric lights. There was also a hay barn on site. This station was far less extravagant than the Emporia feeding station. Click for photos and maps: Track Plan (feeding station was in the wye), stock yard distant photo, close up photo. (provided by Stan Hall) In these 42 days, assuming the records are complete, there were 62 (1.5 per day) switch jobs bringing stock into the feeding stations with a total of 281 cars (6.7 per day). The largest number of cars arriving in the same day was 24. 235 of the loads were of sheep (83%). These were labeled as ewes, lambs, and sheep. Five cars were labeled horse cattle (2%). The balance was cattle which also carried the labels of steers, calves (15%). This ratio may indicate that Purcell specialized in sheep or that the area it served primarily produced sheep, as these figures do not reflect the normal stock ratios of the time. No hog shipments were recorded. Of special interest is the number of animals in a car. The chart below demonstrates this variance.
(Because of blanks in the reports, the numbers do not always total 100%) Note in the above chart that of the 230 loads of sheep/lambs, 90 (40%) were single deck cars. Some additional ATSF sheets for 1952 have been examined by the author, specifically for hog loads. 16 car loads were examined. 15 were double deck cars. The average deck load was 57 hogs, with a high of 63 and a low of 46. The single deck car had 46 hogs. The record keeping on the hogs is the same as on other stock. Normally stock was
reloaded into the same car they arrived in. The major exception was stock that
arrived in foreign cars. 82 foreign cars were unloaded at Purcell and 51 of those
were sent home empty as the stock was transferred to ATSF cars. In at least one
case, two TNO cars of sheep were reloaded into one double deck ATSF car. In another
case, a TNO car was unloaded and the stock moved to ATSF, but they evidently ran
out of ATSF cars or needed to forward the TNO to a specific place so that a later
shipment went out in the TNO car.
Most of the stock arrived in the late afternoon, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Most were reloaded early the next morning, 1:00 - 4:00 a.m., after a 6-8 hour rest. Of the 281 car loads, only 13 stayed for most of a day or more. Not all stock arrived in good condition. Of the 51,606 livestock mentioned in the sheets, 33 sheep arrived dead and 73 were crippled. Evidently some cars received some rough shipment along the way, as these 106 injured or dead were in 41 cars. Crippled animals were treated and forwarded with the rest of the animals when reloaded. No point of origin or destination was stated for 152 (54%) of the loads. Below is a list of the known points of origin and destinations for stock handled through Purcell. Check here for a map showing points of origin (yellow) and destination (green).
The lists show the amount of hay consumed by the stock during their stay. A single deck stock car of sheep was allotted 2 bales of hay; a double deck received 4 bales. Calves and steers received a bale for every 10 head, which worked out to 6 bales for a car of calves and only 3 bales for a cars of steers. Those that stayed 24 hours consumed double these amounts. Cattle generally received prairie hay, while sheep received alfalfa. A total of 896 bales of hay were consumed during these 42 days by 51,606 animals. Three cars of cattle (100 head) also received 300 pounds of cotton hulls and 100 pounds of cotton meal. If the standard bale of hay is 4'x18"x18", a 40' box car would hold around 270 bales. A 50' car would hold 360. Assuming the 40' car would be the standard in hay service until the late 50s, one car load of hay would service 135 single deck or 68 single deck cars of sheep at a feeding station. If they stayed 24 hours, hay consumption would double. Cows would consume one third more per car than single deck sheep cars, therefore one box car of hay would feed 90 stock cars for resting or 45 cars for 24 hour service. Based on these estimates, Purcell would have required 2.25 box cars of hay per month for feed. Hogs were fed corn at $5 per hundred pounds. Each double deck car was allotted 300 pounds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
