Modern Creamery Ops...

Question for the group...

I'm not sure how many creameries still haul bulk milk by rail anymore, but I'm currious to know what type of cars they use these days.

The creameries here in SE MN mainly use trucks to haul milk: trucks go out to the farms and bring the milk to the creamery and semi tractor-trailers haul it out. The trucks that run to the farms and back are basically a Peterbilt with a stretched frame and a big, stainless-steel tank behind the cab and the semi-trucks that haul the processed milk out more or less look like oil tankers. So, am I safe in assuming that the modern method of hauling milk would be in insulated tank cars? Or, do they mostly ship milk by truck, and use refers to haul milk by-products (such as butter, cheese, etc.)? Just wondering.

There was a recent discussion about this on the RWMweb board (a British railway modeling board!) about current North American ('Overseas Prototypes' :p ) transport of bulk raw Milk by rail, and the consensus was...there is none currently. Even if there was, it would likely go via tank container - which kind of makes sense. I know of refrigerated containers, and tank containers, but don't recall seeing a refrigerated tank container - although bulk raw milk probably doesn't need to be refrigerated in transit if the tansport time is short enough.
No matter, apparently the dairy industry in the US/Canada has adapted 100% to road haul of raw milk shipments.

Don't dispair, as New Zealand has significant railway tranport of bulk raw Milk - here's an link to an image of an example milk train run for Fonterra co-op.