Milk car

Cans of raw milk were transported in insulated cars with high-speed trucks.

Milk cars are a specialized type of railroad car intended to transport raw milk from collection points near dairy farms to a processing creamery. Some milk cars were intended for loading with multiple cans of milk, while others were designed with a single tank for bulk loading.

Origins

Milk has long been a staple food of agricultural societies. Fresh milk sours quickly if kept warm. Railways were used as early as 1840 to rapidly transport fresh milk from farms to cities. Early milk transport was in covered, tin-plated steel cans containing about 10 gallons (40 liters). Passenger trains typically offered the fastest service, so milk cans might have first been loaded into baggage cars. A farmer would adjust his herd milking schedule to have the milk cans filled shortly before scheduled arrival of the train. When multiple farmers required shipment, a separate car might be carried by the train specifically for milk cans; and that car could be delivered directly to the creamery to minimize time required for intermediate handling of the milk cans with other baggage. Once the handling advantages of a separate car were recognized, milk cars were built with insulation to reduce warming during transit and the milk cans might be packed in ice during warm weather.^[1] A few milk cars were built or retrofitted with mechanical refrigeration following World War II.

Tank cars for bulk loading

A milk tank car for bulk loading.

Increased availability of motor vehicles after World War I encouraged bulk transport of milk to minimize inefficient handling, washing and redistribution of milk cans. Milk tank cars were first made of glass-lined steel, and later of stainless steel. These tanks were often enclosed for insulation within a car body resembling a boxcar. These tank cars were usually filled with milk pre-cooled to 38° F (3° C) at a central collection point just prior to pickup by a milk train with a delivery schedule avoiding need for additional cooling during transit.^[1]

Peak use and decline

Large cities in the eastern United States encouraged nearby rural areas to specialize in production of milk. Railroads connecting these rural areas to cities scheduled daily milk trains (sometimes called milk runs) to pick up loaded milk cars from collection points along their route. These trains sometimes carried a mail car and a passenger car. These were often the last scheduled passenger trains serving those rural areas. Rail transport of milk peaked in the 1930s; and most milk was traveling in highway trucks by 1960.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Nehrich, John Model Railroader (January 1997) pp.100-103

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