Western Railroad Discussion > San Francisco Bay Railroad Switches Rendering Plant

I drove past SFBR's Pier 96 yard along Cargo Way this noon hour and caught the Alco #23 heritage unit spotting a tallow tanker car at nearby Darling Int'l. It was a short trip all practically in the shadow of the old Pier 94 grain elevator. Meanwhile, the heavy machinery of the transload operation was dumping and reseating containers on trucks.

In pic 1 the #23 is scooting out the yard toward 3rd street after spotting three loaded tankers on a storage track. It has just spotted one tallow tanker to the Darling spur as shown in pic 3.

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#23 has to use the lead into the yard to move between tracks. In pic 4 they are doing some switching before heading to the rendering plant a few hundred feet down the lead that is shown in pic 5, which shows #23 pulling tankers out off the spur after leaving the rearmost tanker at the plant. The tank cars are they pushed down a track on the north of the yard before, as shown in pic 6, #23 pulls back to the throat of the yard to get on the track it will tie down on. Container crane in background and maybe an aggregate conveyor of some kind?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/14 23:51 by sliderslider.

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The Alco is biodiesel and puts out a pretty smoke plume when it starts moving. In pic 8 it's pulling tank cars out the yard entrance. And in pic 9 it's headed back to tie down near the main gate of yard along Cargo Way.

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Where does 23 sleep when it is not being used?

Along Cargo Way.
-- e.b.

just to the left of the main entrance to yard--2/3 down Cargo Way.

Prior to the construction of Muni's T-Third line, Darling was switched via a street-running spur that went down Amador St. from Cargo Way. You can still see scars in the pavement where the spur was. UP's South City Switcher used to do Darling's pull-and-spot after they dropped off their dirty dirt cars.

Darling, International Rendering Plant.

I used to do truck deliveries to that plant on occasion, mostly chemicals and supplies. It was always very gross. Dump trucks full of dead cows, pigs, chickens and sheep would come in, back up to the pit, and dump the stinking, bloated carcasses out into the trough. These are animals that either died on some farm, or at a slaughterhouse, and thus are consigned to a rendering plant. Then an auger screw moved the animals downhill to the giant auger screw. Once that grabbed hold, it would start to twist the animals bodies, straining, sometimes stalling, then suddenly the animal's body gave way and blew apart, pieces flying everywhere, blood and guts spewing. The stench was unreal. Seagulls were always present, flying and screaming their call overhead, then land to quickly and indiscriminately gobble up any available part they could find. Sometimes the part would get stuck in their throats, and they'd run around on their skinny yellow legs trying to swallow stinking, fetid body parts. Then I'd start gagging, praying they'd come unload my truck ASAP.

What blew my mind was when a door to the plant inside opened up, and a worker came out, eating a sandwich. The smell of that entire place was unbearable, and he was INSIDE where the smell was WORSE. I asked him "How can you stand being in there??!!?!" He said "You get used to it."

Meanwhile, up in the office, the women clerks keep the windows closed tight, and also kept lots and lots of flowers and nice smelling scents going. It was like going from hell to heaven when I went to get my papers signed before leaving.

By the way, the ladies told me the Top 3 customers for their product (animal grease) are: Japanese candy companies, U.S. women's cosmetics companies, and soap manufacturers. To this day, whenever I see make up on a lady, it reminds me. And some soaps in the store smell almost exactly like the rendering plant, just much softer, with a scent added. What a place.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/14 21:38 by coach.

wow. very vivid post coach.

Evan, I saw some cool pics from 08 of South City Switcher working down Amador St. It looks like some of the tracks still there under pavement and it's amazing they were in use such a short time ago.

coach Wrote:
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> Darling, International Rendering Plant.
>
> I used to do truck deliveries to that plant on
> occasion, mostly chemicals and supplies. It was
> always very gross. Dump trucks full of dead cows,
> pigs, chickens and sheep would come in, back up to
> the pit, and dump the stinking, bloated carcasses
> out into the trough. These are animals that
> either died on some farm, or at a slaughterhouse,
> and thus are consigned to a rendering plant. Then
> an auger screw moved the animals downhill to the
> giant auger screw. Once that grabbed hold, it
> would start to twist the animals bodies,
> straining, sometimes stalling, then suddenly the
> animal's body gave way and blew apart, pieces
> flying everywhere, blood and guts spewing. The
> stench was unreal. Seagulls were always present,
> flying and screaming their call overhead, then
> land to quickly and indiscriminately gobble up any
> available part they could find. Sometimes the
> part would get stuck in their throats, and they'd
> run around on their skinny yellow legs trying to
> swallow stinking, fetid body parts. Then I'd
> start gagging, praying they'd come unload my truck
> ASAP.
>
> What blew my mind was when a door to the plant
> inside opened up, and a worker came out, eating a
> sandwich. The smell of that entire place was
> unbearable, and he was INSIDE where the smell was
> WORSE. I asked him "How can you stand being in
> there??!!?!" He said "You get used to it."
>
> Meanwhile, up in the office, the women clerks keep
> the windows closed tight, and also kept lots and
> lots of flowers and nice smelling scents going.
> It was like going from hell to heaven when I went
> to get my papers signed before leaving.
>
> By the way, the ladies told me the Top 3 customers
> for their product (animal grease) are: Japanese
> candy companies, U.S. women's cosmetics companies,
> and soap manufacturers. To this day, whenever I
> see make up on a lady, it reminds me. And some
> soaps in the store smell almost exactly like the
> rendering plant, just much softer, with a scent
> added. What a place.

I know exactly what you mean, I switch a customer right next to a rendering plant. To make the smell worse, is the customer I switch handles fish meal, combine that smell with rendering plant, let's just say a few switch men have tossed their cookies a time or two. It's also close to our yard, that when the wind blows it wafts the smell right over the lead.....Yuck!

Close to 30 years ago, I had a client that was a rendering company near Hobart Yard. Visit there enough times and you DO get used to the smell (I later worked by a trash transfer station, and that smell is much more pleasant).

RayH Wrote:
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> Close to 30 years ago, I had a client that was a
> rendering company near Hobart Yard. Visit there
> enough times and you DO get used to the smell (I
> later worked by a trash transfer station, and that
> smell is much more pleasant).

Sounds like Baker Commodities on Bandini Blvd.

mapboy

I am so surprised the wacko enviers in SF have not shut it down. But then even they need soap...

Is there any set schedule for operation?

Reminds me of a fellow OERMember who worked for the phone company. For a while he was working out of their Bakersfield facility and the territory included a rendering plant. Nasty place! He told me about going back to the motel after a job at that plant and taking two or three showers before feeling somewhat clean.

CPRR Wrote:
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> I am so surprised the wacko enviers in SF have not
> shut it down. But then even they need soap...

Why would they? It's "all natural".
Ain't no Prop 65 warning on critter guts.

Is this the same rendering plant/slaughter house which used to be near Evans and 3rd? The air around that place used to get so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Now that we have finished "Renderingorders.com" I have a train question.

When does the belt RR interchange the tank cars with UP, and UP takes cars to/from SSFO?

Only pix I have ever seen on quint st lead are dirty dirt cars.