Western Railroad Discussion > Not For Humans

Caught this tank car while it was being flat switched/kicked at Gibson yard, Omaha. Was this impromptu labelling in response to some accidental contamination?

WP

This is commonly stenciled on tanks assigned to animal fat service. First time I've seen one that's "hand lettered."

Here's one I shot at Brighton Park IL just before it closed. Also hand lettered.

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Probably a new regulation, so that the lettering isn't confusing. Some people may not realize that inedible tallow can't be used as human food. >:(

Or are they referring to the tank cars themselves?

Seriously, the lettering on these tallow cars changes from one to the other fairly often, including cars that previously carried inedible tallow, now edible. Yuck!

prionw Wrote:
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> Caught this tank car while it was being flat
> switched/kicked at Gibson yard, Omaha. Was this
> impromptu labelling in response to some accidental
> contamination?
>
> WP

Brings back nasty memories of some foul smells. I grew up near the Dakota City, NE IBP slaughter house (now Tyson Foods)and the CNW would drag about 5 tank cars a day of tallow out of there. Congealed globs would fall of the inlet areas on to the right of way and would putrefy in the summer heat. Trust me you would not want to eat what is in those cars. If those weren't bad enough the BN served the hide plant. You could smell those old 40' double door cars before you saw them. They where so bad that they where never locked with those freight tags, no one wanted to break in to them.

Just don't ask about the rendering plant or the gelatin plant. It took me years to figure out why the airport initials for Sioux City where SUX.

Lemme guess, liquid Wheat Glutin from China inside that tank car or...???