Hi all,

I'm trying to find some information about the Hershey Chocolate factory, in particular what loads were regularly shipped via the Reading. I've decided to model the plant on my layout and need a little more information on the rail served side of it all.

I realise that Cocoa Beans would have been the biggest, but does anyone have any other information on what was shipped and quantities by rail? Ideally a manifest of some description would be ideal.

Thanks Jason.

Hi Jason,

I've been researching the operations of the Hershey Chocolate Factory for a while now, and haven't ever been able to find any records of actual numbers of cars in and out of the plant.

I've been searching eBay and other sources for anything that contains the word Hershey in relationship to Railroads and I was lucky enough to find the October 26th, 1959 copy of Railway Age (cover below) that has a story about the 11,000 cars a year the plant used.

Here's a brief recap of what the article mentions. Most of the raw materials arrive via the rail and there's a 50/50 chance that it was shipped that way as well.

What Comes In

Cocoa Beans - Imported (in order of importance) from Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, French Cameroons, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Haiti, the New Hebrides Sumatra and Java. The beans come in bags of about 140 lbs each, by ocean freighter about two thirds to Philadelphia, most of the rest to New York and then via rail to Hershey. More that three quarters of each year's supply is received from December through March.

Sugar - comes by ship, but mostly through Baltimore, from offshore refineries in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. It too moves by rail packed in 100 lb bags.

Milk - purchased through local farmers, and transferred to the plant via Hershey own tank trucks.

Corn syrup - received in Tank Cars from Illinois and Iowa.

Peanuts - come from the Southwest or by truck or rail from the South.

Almonds - reach Hershey by rail from southern California or come from foreign countries depending on the availability of supplies.

Coal - for factory power is bought in West Virginia and moves by Rail.

Packaging Materials - tin plate for cans, paper for wrappers, boxes, cartons, etc. are drawn from a variety of points throughout the East, reach Hershey mostly by rail but sometimes by truck.

Lumping it all together - coal, cocoa beans, sugar, tin and all the rest about 95% of Hershey's total receipts (by weight) come by rail.

What Goes Out

Hershey products include chocolate bars, cocoa, syrup, etc. for consumer use; cocoa powder, cocoa butter, fudge, chocolate coatings, and related items for home and industrial use.

Distribution covers the United States, but except on some shipments for government installations overseas, is confined to the United States including Alaska and Hawaii.

The traffic department routes about 50% of all outbound shipments by rail, mostly in the more than 250 insulated RB type box cars which Hershey leases from North American Car Corporation and which carry their own reporting symbol "HERX". This fleet is adequate for normal needs, but occasionally during peak shipping seasons, the railroads may be asked to furnish additional card.

Most outbound shipments either by rail or truck, go to 27 warehouse points scattered throughout the country in leased space or in public warehouses under supervision or a local Hershey distribution manager and clerical force.





Rob Hinkle

Magazine Cover

Thanks Rob, that is brilliant it gives me somewhere to start from and a few I didn't even think of.

Your right to it's hard to find anything on the plant, I've been lucky enough to find the track charts and some food reference photos to begin with. For reference I'm modelling the era from 1970 to around 1975.

If I do manage to find anything else I'll also let you know too. Jas...