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Trains and tractors


to dealers across North America and all over the world. Trade treaties between the U.S.A. and Canada allowed the free movement of tractors over the border, and tax incentives sent Canadian farm- ers on a tractor buying binge in the late 1970’s. It was common to see eight to ten OTTX flats filled with huge four- wheel drive


Traction-King tractors


heading north to the prairie provinces. They were routed on the C&NW to East Minneapolis and transferred to the BN for movement to a connection with Canadian National. Another popular route to the Northwest was C&NW to East Minneapolis, then the Soo Line to Portal, North Dakota, for transfer to CP Rail at the border.


Some loads heading southwest or northwest were handed over to the Milwaukee Road at Racine Junction. Case’s Traffic Department determined the route and carriers for


all ship-


ments. They worked closely with the C&NW yardmaster to


schedule the


day’s switching work, which included ordering empty cars for upcoming ship- ments, spotting cars at the correct loca- tions, pulling cars from docks and weighing outbound loads, expediting movements, and keeping all of the pa- perwork straight.


Overseas export tractors were usually crated and placed in gondolas or loaded on flat cars in order to make it easy to


This Association of American Railroads (AAR) loading diagram (right) illustrates the accepted method for loading row crop and conventional tractors on flat cars, ei- ther lengthwise or diagonally. The size and shape of the wooden blocking was speci- fied, along with the size of the nails, cable or strapping and the positioning of the ma- chinery. C&NW GP7 4206 (below) moves three flat car loads of Magnum tractors at the Racine Junction yard at 23rd Street.


BOB BAKER: RACINE, WI; MAY 10, 1988


hoist the tractors on to ships. Loads leav- ing Racine for international ports were timed to match the steamship compa- nies’ schedules. Large orders heading overseas were held at the factory while the order was being completed, then the order left for the port as one big block of cars. Sometimes twenty or more loads of tractors would arrive dockside to meet a ship. Open loads of tractors were consid- ered hot loads, and they were not left sit- ting around in rail yards or docks where they were susceptible to pilferage and vandalism.


As overseas plants were opened, pro- duction for export dropped off, and as highway transportation facilities im- proved, tractors and parts from the Racine plant which were previously shipped by rail were moved by trucks. Nevertheless, in the late-1970’s, J.


78 FEBRUARY 2012


I.


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