(erielack) Coal Trains to Portland Cement

["Richard Recordon" <recordor_@_panetwork.com>]

As an example of how completely trucks replaced railroad haulage of 
cement, during the summers of 1967-68 I was the inspector (and other odd 
jobs) for the automated concrete batch plant supporting the construction 
of the Route 17 Quickway between East of Appalachin to just West of 
Owego, NY.  This plant sat right in the middle of what is now the golf 
course on the North side of the Westbound lanes, west of Appalachin.

All the cement for the well over one million cubic yards (if memory 
serves) of concrete used in this contract was hauled by Lehman Chemical 
Tank Lines all the way from Portland on a daily basis once the pours 
began.  We had a "farm" of 5 or 6 stationary pneumatic trailers coupled 
to the silos serving the twin mixing drum plant.  There was a permanent 
"yard" man from Lehman who unloaded, kept the main silos full, and 
ordered the next day's loads based on the day's usage and the estimate 
for the next.  Sometimes when he over estimated, or a stopage slowed 
things up, he would feed the silos directly from a loaded truck so the 
driver could turnaround in time to meet his outlaw time.

One of my lesser tasks was breaking the seals on the trailers and 
collecting and recording the waybills.  In full swing we would get 6-8 
trucks a day or more, with arrivals begining shortly after 6:00 AM. 
Drivers used to tell me of maintaining 90+ MPH speeds on I-81 in the wee 
hours of the morning. At their request I always kept a cooler of soda by 
my lab trailer which ran on the honor system; they proved to be generous 
men. They also taught me to drive a semi on my lunch break.

I always found it ironic that trucks carried all the cement that buried 
forever the Lackawanna mainline in the Southern Tier.  I also found it 
ironic that I had a hand in this crime.  This project also buried some 
of the remains of the canal that proceeded the railroad. Well a boy has 
to pay for college somehow.

In recent years I have sensed that the trend has been reversed (traffic 
managers correct me if I am wrong).  It seems to me that cement is being 
shipped by rail to local distribution sites and then short hauled to the 
construction/mixing sites by truck.  I also believe Lehman Chemical Tank 
Lines is merged or gone, not having seen a truck for years.

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