Industry ideas...

[TwinDad]

I was looking at my layout, thinking of businesses to serve, and realized that there's a handful that are virtually ubiquitous, but my mind was failing me for something new, clever, or unique.

I thought we might have a thread where we share ideas for industries to be used on layouts... some prototypical, some seriously reasonable, and maybe even a few fun or silly industries.

So here's the rules

• Must be a rail-served business
• Please specify the types of cars that would serve the business too.
• Need not be real, but ought to be at least plausible... naah. Silly is OK too.
• If you want, you can give a name, but that's not required, either.
• If you have a picture, we like 'em, but they're not required.
• Can be a supplier or a consumer (rail can deliver raw materials, haul away finished product, or both).

I'll knock out the "old standards"

• Passenger station
• Freight house
• Coal mine or power plant.
• Gravel pit
• Grain elevator or feed mill
• Scrap yard
• Lumber yard or mill
• Auto plant or distribution center
• Intermodal transfer yard

So the above are off-limits, unless you want to share a clever business name, or a unique twist on that industry (say, a coal barge transfer facility).

Frankly, the only unique one I have right now is the "Loscher Marble Co., LLC." maker of fine marbles in all sizes, both mass-market and artisan quailty. They take silica in covered hoppers and other supplies and materials in small quantities in either covered hoppers or boxcars, and ship finished, packaged product in boxcars. There may also be the occasional special product shipped on a flat, if necessary.

What do you have? What sort of unique ideas for rail-served businesses do you have?

[aussie]

What era? That will make a big difference in what the rolling stock and the building(s) look like. Is this going to be a long established company in an older building, an old company in a new building or some start up in swanky new digs?

How about LePew Perfumes? Tank cars, hoppers come in and tank cars, hoppers and containers/box cars go out.

O.D. Trocous & Sons chemicals? Tanks, hoppers, box cars, containers in - similar out.

Watt & Zamatta engineering? Hoppers, containers, box cars, flat cars, gondolas in - containers, box cars, flat cars, gondolas out.

I always thought something like the "Michael Mansell Cultural Centre and Artifact Co-Operative" would one day wind up on my layout as a homage to a fellow part-aboriginal who doesn't look aboriginal. (I wonder how many are now googling Mike and getting all peeved at me. At least Gadaffi never paid for my "cultural exchanges".) Such a facility would of course house a factory capable of turning out aboriginal "artifacts" at a prodigious rate for the Chinese/Japanese tourist trade. Bulk supplies of clay, wood, paint, glazes, dies, fabrics, adhesives and any number of other raw materials would come in and boxes/crates of finished "authentic" artifacts would ship out by the box car and/or container load.

[musicman]

Well, I am not very unigue and having a very small layout all I have is a passenger station, feed mill and a freight company. Box cars in and out for freight, covered hoppers in and out as well as the occasional box car out for the feed mill. I will have a small seafood plant but no rail service, trucks only.

As for unique names: my downtown centre will be Acadia Square. I thought I might call the taxi company Yera Cab. (Patrons at the local diner/bar have often been heard to say to the bar-keep, "Call me a cab," to which he invariable will reply, "Yera Cab?")

[TwinDad]

What era? That will make a big difference in what the rolling stock and the building(s) look like. Is this going to be a long established company in an older building, an old company in a new building or some start up in swanky new digs?

Any era, any location. But please do specify, if needed to convey your idea. This is just a collection of ideas, from which folks can draw inspiration. And a "water cooler" topic, as it were. Not necessarily for me or my layout.

Good ideas, BTW. Reminded me of my other thought, which was to have an ACME Products factory. it would take just about anything in, and ship just about anything out. An homage to Wile E. Coyote, of course.

[TwinDad]

MM, the Seafood plant certainly qualifies as an uncommon business idea. And I love the cab company name!

ALL: Keep in mind, that while we can have lots of fun with this, it's also a place for "serious" but not-so-common-as-the-town-freight-house business ideas. MM's seafood plant would be an example.

[musicman]

...

ALL: Keep in mind, that while we can have lots of fun with this, it's also a place for "serious" but not-so-common-as-the-town-freight-house business ideas. MM's seafood plant would be an example.

I think Aussie's aboriginal artifacts factory was a brilliant idea too. I like the humor in that!

[TwinDad]

I think Aussie's aboriginal artifacts factory was a brilliant idea too. I like the humor in that!

Yes. It could easily be adapted to making genuine Handcrafed Native American artifacts as well.

[epumph]

I'll steal one from Art Curran's book - Perry Shibbel - fruits, veggies, meat packing, or other perishable items.
and Old Polskie Sausage co. "Our Wurst is the Best"

[TwinDad]

Redd Family Seafood? specializing in Herring?

I can't think of a clever name, but how about a factory that makes plastic skeletons and other anatomical models for doctor's offices and schools?

Or Halloween supplies?
Somebody has to make all those Christmas trees and lights and or aments and such ....

Maybe a Miles Kimball or Sharper Image distribution center?

[ChicagoNW]

Art supply company.
IN
Tankcars (Oils, Thinners and other Chemicals), Boxcars (Packaging, Metal, Bundles of Brush Fiber, Chemicals in bags, rolls of Paper, Cardboard, Plastic Sheet and Finished Wood) Covered Hoppers (Kaolin, Plastic Pellets, Graphite Powder and Pigments), Flatcars (Bulk Wood)
OUT
Boxcars (Finished Packaged Art Supplies) Tankcars (Liquid Waste) Hoppers (Sawdust, Metal Scrap and other Solid Waste)

[ChicagoNW]

Model Train Company
IN
Covered Hopper (Plastic pellets) Gondola (Metal Sheet and Wire) Boxcar (Paper{for packaging}, Inks, Paints, Wire and Electronic Components)
OUT
Boxcar (Finished Packaged Goods {Trainsets, Locomotives, Cars, Track and Details}) Gondolas (Scrap Metal)

[XF-15DCC]

A brewery, the name game for one could be quite clever. One of my favorite brews is call Arogant Bastard. Then you need grain,(hoppers) and some storage, maybe water,(tank) a bottle factory (box & gondola), fuel to heat (tank) the water to make the wort. Then the necture that is produced needs to be delivered. (Box)

[russtrnmn]

I am planning a small shipyard. Vessels no larger than 250'. I have the buildings bought and will most likely have to scartch build a crane or two. Steel brought in by flat car and gondola. Large equipment such as generators can be shipped in by deppressed centered flat cars. Timbers used for scafollding can be brought in by cenetrbeam or just plain flat cars. An occassional boxcar would not be out of the question. Covered hoppers for sand blasting material.

[MooseID]

Firearms manufacturor.

Gun powder and/or fireworks plant.

Smelter.

Charcoal plant

Steel mill

Prefabricated log home manufacturor

Mobile home manufacturor

Recreation vehicle manufacturor

Motor home/travel trailer builder

Bass boat builder

Stock car race track

Horse racing track

Live stock auction yard

Lumber mill/lumber yard

Boiler factory

Winery

Fertilizer plant/distributor

Pesticide plant/distributor

Ethanol plant

Charcoal briquet plant

Wooden No. 2 pencil manufacturor

Toothpick manufacturor

Glass artifact plant

Plate glass plant

Ceramics plant

silverware/flatware plant

paint plant

Cardboard box plant

Aluminum can plant

Bottle plant

Soft drink bottling/canning plant

Paper cups and plates plant

plastic products plant

Custom cars and limos builder

Oil refinery

Oil field and pipeline


(I really like to do free association stuff. But, it makes my head hurt and I get dizzy.)

[TwinDad]

Very good list, Moose! Have a sit there for a minute, lest you fall.

One serious example - there's three light bulb plants and a peanut butter plant in my town. One could have other plants for other household goods, too. Jelly, detergent, mops and brooms, etc.

[MooseID]

Right on, Bro!

[ChicagoNW]

Candy Factories
Bakeries

You can buy covered and open hoppers for Brach's Candies. Walther's sells the seed of the factory. Put three or more together to make a proper sized plant.

Somewhere along I-290 outside Chicago is Entenmann's Bakery on one side and M&M Mars on the other. What a drive! There are tracks parallel to it. Closer to the Loop is the Ferarro Pan Candy company. On the Southwest side near the Chicago Belt Line Clearing Yard is Tootsie Roll. Cracker Jack was on the other side. Next to the B&OCT tracks (Now used by CTA and Amtrak) is the Holsum Bread Bakery. In LaGrange is an Interstate Bakeries (Wonder Bread) which is the size of an auto plant. All cool places to experiment with scented oils or flavored smokes.

Food Processing Plants make great plants for railroads

The Argo Corn Starch plant looks like a refinery crossed with a standard plant.
Campbell's Soups building complex near I-55 was almost two square blocks the main building was at least five stories tall and almost half a block wide. During tomato harvest the truck would be backed up in front of the exits at least a half a mile on both sides of I-55.

[TwinDad]

Good stuff, Chicago!

My daughter wants a bakery on the layout and my son wants a GameStop. I think they'll both be shops in town served by the freight house. The local feed mill got bumped out by the marble factory.

[Komata]

FWIWA Freezing Works (Meat packers plant?): All sorts of possibilities - animals (several varieties), packaging materials, coal, etc, etcA Tyre Manufacturers (such as Firestone was in the US, when it was associated with Henry Ford): Steel, Raw Latex, Sulphur, coal etc, etc.A Dairy Factory (variously Cheese, butter, Casein, Whey Protein - or a combination of them all) Empty wagons in (both flats and boxes), containers in and out, bulk milk in tanks, coal, packaging materials, engineering materials (drums of oil etc), pallets, wooden boxes, or lengths of wood (Depending on the era).A bulk food products manufacturer (such as Kraft): tank cars of tallow or palm oil in, finished products out.A soap and cleaning products manufacturers (Johnson and Johnson as an example): Chemicals and oils in, finished products out.An aircraft manufacturer (think Boeing)An armaments manufacturer: Flats and boxes of materials inbound, manufactured items (Tanks, APCs etc) outboundA Boiler Maker - Foundry: Steel etc inbound on flats and in god's, over gauge loads outboundA Locomotive manufacturer (Both steam and diesel-electric): Endless possibilities . . .As I said, FWIW. It's an interesting topic

[aussie]

I got dibs on "Miracle Products"! If it's useful it's a Miracle!!