Track Scales

I've seen "track scale" tracks on some old maps of LIRR yards. Were scales present in all yards? When was the scale used? I'm assuming that commodities like coal were weighed. I see a scale track on a map of Holban and thought that anything that was required to be weighed would have been done when the LIRR took posession at the LIC floats or Fresh Pond and not at Holban. Was weighing done as part of a normal yard switching job or was there a special job just to weigh cars? I know, a lot of questions, just wanted to give you an idea of what I was curious about. Thanks in advance.

There was, at one time, a scale track at Manorville as well. It was incorporated into the north passing siding, west of the junction.

Maybe on account of the many potato cars. You could weigh potatoes by the bushel but you'd have to weigh each and every bushel. Multiply that by each and every car that was loaded with them and you've dumped quite a bit of work on the part of the express clerk/agent.

Much more effective if you weighed the entire car, then subtracted the empty weight of the car, then charged the customer by the car-load weight.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I thought the scales only existed in the yards. I never thought about commodity originating points like the east end. I'm still curious about where incoming cars, like coal, were weighed.

That would be a question for a freight man like JJ Earl.

I'm sure that incoming coal cars were weighed in the LIRR's rail yards. Coal was a MAJOR business. There were private coal yards all over the island.

The various scale locations had to be quite busy at one time.

Dave

And I just had a recollection:

Patchogue also had a scale track. I have a number of old messages in my archive from the agent at Patchogue to the daily freight crew to spot specific cars onto or remove them from the scale track.

DK

Manorville would have been the logical spot for the scale, as most of the crops were harvested east of there.

The only shipments of loads originating out that way now is Gershow, and they have their own scale.

The only problem with a customer scale however is there is no way to verify the actual weights. Since the shipments are generally charged by weight, you're at the mercy of the shipper's honesty at times. I know Susquehanna has been having a problem recently with their C&D shipments, and have recently installed a scale to verify the weights of their cars.

Jay

Dave has good recollections! Patchogue map:

http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/patcho ... ch1958.gif

and other stuff, Emery maps, etc:

http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/patcho ... chogue.htm

Enjoy

For the most part, incoming cars, such as coal or stone, ar any other commodity for that matter, were not weighed. Weight was charged as noted on the bill of lading.
Cars that had stopped off en-route to have a partial load taken would have to be weighed upon entry.
Originating carloadings, of course, needed to be weighed.
There was a scale in Bushwick on Varick Lead and one in Holban on the east end of Hillside yard.
The one at North Shore Yard was alongside 8th St. Team Yard. Don't forget those heavy carloads of chewing gum from Degnon. I know we don't generally think of the LIRR originating much outgoing freight but there was enough to keep these scales maintained.

Thanks to all for the info.