# An interesting news story...



## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=14386882


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

On my way to Olean, NY last January to have lunch with Chas (Beef on Wick), i drove past about 10 miles of parked freight cars. On our regular route to CT, we drive up PA 61, paralleling the old Blue Mountain and Reading tourist train line. The last time, in December, it was still full of hopper cars, but not as many..


----------



## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Mark, 
All those covered Hoppers along I86 between Cuba NY and Olean are gone or are you talking about the hoppers along Rt 16 coming south from Buffalo? They are all gone too. The container well cars parked south of Buffalo visible from I90 are all gone now too. I agree it is a sign that either they are using the cars, or are they scrapping them. 

Chas


----------



## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Mark- "Beef on WECK" (not wick!!) Yer killin' me! Ha HA HA!!!


----------



## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

From the Beef N Barrel http://beefnbarrel.com/


----------



## jgallaway81 (Jan 5, 2009)

Man its been a LONG time since I ate there!!!!!

Mark, you were only about 40 minutes form the Arcade & Attica... should have stopped over. 
@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


----------



## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Mark- "Beef on WECK" (not wick!!) 

I didn't want to be the first to bring it up. All my grandparents came over from the German part of Poland, or was it the Polish part of Germany? The name of the salt-topped Kaiser roll is Kümmelweck (u-umlaut). 

To me, the worst thing I ever saw done to Beef on Weck was at the Wegman's in Scranton. A plastic-wrapped "Beef on Wick" with lettuce and tomato. Yucchhhh. (While you're at it, slap on some mayo, too.) 

JackM 

Anybody know where to get REAL horseradish - the "blow the top of your head off" type? Even what I got at the Broadway Market last summer wasn't all that strong. Or am I the only person who puts horseradish on a ham on rye, too?


----------



## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

I can remember there being a 1.5 mile long string of parked locomotives at UPs Colton yard about 2 years ago. Most have been reactivated by now. 

Beef on Weck? must be an easty coasty thingy


----------



## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Jack- Try 'Miller Horseradish." Ground fresh at the Broadway market. Also available at Sloan meat market. -Kevin.


----------



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, the best beef on weck used to be at Schwable's in West Seneca (a Buffalo suburb), but the Schwable kids sold the business to an employee (or so I was told) and frankly, the last time I had my favorite (with a bottle of Jenny Cream Ale), I was disappointed. Or maybe I was having an off day. 

One thing for sure, the best ice cream in America is at Antoinette's in Cheektowaga and West Seneca (Buffalo suburbs). It's been in the family (Greek, of course, as we all know that your Eye-talians run pizza parlors and the Germans have beer gardens and once made some great beer before lite and all that junk came along) since the 1920s. Fresh everything. So much butterfat ya can't lick it off the roof of your mouth. Prolly does a great job for your cholesterol too, but ya can't live forever. They make their own chocolate stuff too and it's a treat to go there at Easter (bunnies and eggs) and Christmas (Santas). 

As for horseradish, when ya live in LA, that, plus beef on weck and real kielbasa don't exist. My mom, rest her soul, used to bring me kielbasa when she would visit. Wonder what TSA would think? Oh, if ya like horseradish, wasabi is a real tear jerker. But I think green would clash with the red of the meat if ya put it on beef.


----------



## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By vsmith on 17 Feb 2011 04:34 PM 

Beef on Weck? must be an easty coasty thingy 



A veeeeerrrrryyy tiny portion of the East..not really the coast though.
From what I have seen, the primary Beef on Weck zone does not extend much more than a 40 mile radius from downtown Buffalo, NY.
its almost entirely containted to the Buffalo region..
I live in Rochester, 70 miles (one hour drive) east of Buffalo, and its out here, in a few restaurants, but its very uncommon..almost no one knows about it,
and I have never heard of anyone in Rochester actually ordering or eating it.

I grew up in the Southern Tier of NY, (Waverly, NY) about 3 hours from Buffalo..no one there has ever even heard of it.

it simply does not exist that far away from Buffalo..
I have lived in NY state my entire life, and I had never heard of it until I married a Buffalo native 5 years ago! 


Scot


----------



## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Yeah, it's impossible to find good horseradish, my family comes from Pennsylvania Deutsch stock, we ate an awful lot of horseradish when I was a kid... 

About the article, there are an awful lot of freight cars that get stored "seasonally." Especially covered hoppers (no grain moving in Feburary, Winter wheat is done, spring wheat isn't planted yet), tank cars (ethanol, see last comment), and intermodal. More cheap junk from China (Oh, sorry "consumer goods" gets moved in November (Christmas) and spring (Summer stuff.) I work in transportation (trucking) and it's interesting to see national patterns of movements of commodities during the year. For instance, bananas. California raises port fees, they go to Galvaston instead, Produce starts in Northern California, moves to Southern California late in the season, and finally to Nogales and Yuma (Mexican imports.) The slowdown of the economy hit intermodal the hardest, but food commodities tend to be far less elastic and far more seasonal. 

Thanks! Robert


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

I love it. I mention a sammich and look at all the replies!! Sorry, beef on WECK. You know, we don't have that down here in PA dutch country. We do have horseradish, though. 

Funny kielbasa story: My uncle was in the air force in the late 1960s in Okinowa. He wrote to my grandmother that he'd love it if he could get some real kielbasa for Christmas, so she put a couple in the regular mail to him. About 3 months later, he opened a package from her that contained the kielbasa, which had turned green. Rather than throw them out, he cleaned off the green growth, and cooked and ate them with a fellow airman! Yikes! 

My kielbasa story: a month ago, I was in Poland and had a chance to visit some family. They stuffed me stupid with food. They brought plate after plate of stuff. One of the plates had what I'd call kielbasa and what I'd call beef jerky. I asked my cousin which was kielbasa. She looked at me kind of puzzled and said, "Both". Duh. The Polish word for sausage is kielbasa. And we think Poles are dumb. DOH!


----------



## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Scot & everyone, 
Beef on Weck is mostly a Buffalo NY thing BUT you can get good to decent Beef on Weck in several areas in Western NY. As has been noted it's the Kummelweck rolls that are the difficulty...and the key. Most bakeries could make them but only a few specialty ones do it. Here in the Southern tier of NY (Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, & Allegany Counties) along with McKean, & Potter Counties in Pennsylvania you can get Decent Beef on Weck sandwiches with good horseradish usually. A good German style potato salad as a side with a big pickle slice for garnish wtih your German Brew of choice. That there is a good meal. This is based on having a good polish bakery locally that supplies to those counties! Swatt's Baking company. 

Chas


----------



## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Horseradish.. if you want 'bite' don't get a sauce, that's for whimps, get ground horseradish a good one can make you hoarse-radishy. 

John


----------



## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

I should've mentioned the radio station named for our second favorite meat product (after kielbasa) - WECK. I grew up practically under its flashing red light when it was known as something else, like the "rockin' ranch house". 

Yeah, the last bottle of Miller's Horseradish I got at Tops was reasonably powerful, but the three previous attempts were mediocre at best. I suspect the month-long dog sled trip from Bflo to Roch allows some of the potency to osmose thru the bottle cap. 

FYI to the locals - there's a Polish deli just off Ridge Rd. in Irondequoit (Polska Chata) that carries a couple different types of Kielbasa. Kieshka (sp?), too. 

John - by "sauce" you mean like the "horsey" sauce at Arby's? How sad. 

I wonder why Ted's Hot Dogs does sell Beef on Weck at their Tempe restaurant. Admittedly, it's not what their known for, but with all the WNY transplants down their, you'd think..... God knows, my brother would be the first guy in line if they did. 

JackM


----------



## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Correction - I meant why Ted's doesn't....


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Anyone going to the ECLSTS that likes fresh horseradish should do themselves a favor and stop at Lancaster's Central Market on Friday or Saturday morning and go to the stand that sells fresh horseradish. Your sinuses will be cleared out from 50 feet away. Not kidding!


----------



## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

Personally, I am very happy to learn that many of the empty raill cars are being pressed into service again. Within a mile of my house, however, are numerous tank cars that have been in storage for quite a while. I believe they are intended to hold corn syrup for food processing related industries. I hope they get back to work soon.

Meanwhile, I don't know anything about that beef on a stick stuff, but having been born in Philly and raised in New Jersey, I have a genetic predisposition to love and tolerate the strongest horseradish. In this area we put it on Taylor's Pork Roll, a traditional food found in diners in the Delaware Valley and along any South Jersey Boardwalk. See the link below:

All you want to know about Taylor Pork Roll


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill,

Sadly there are only a few beef on a stick items: Limited mostly to corn dogs and shishkabobs. 

Do you put horseradish on scrapple? I've never had scrapple, which is why I remain under 200lbs.


----------



## jmill24 (Jan 11, 2008)

Mark, my dad eats limberger cheese sandwiches topped with horseradish. Keeps the bugs away and humans............Jim


----------



## jgallaway81 (Jan 5, 2009)

Went back to WNY for the family reunion last year (and an excuse for me to railfan the A&A.... again).

While up there, I went and visited my friend, the proprietor of Modern Rails, formerly a producer of custom large scale decals, or as I coined "G-Cals". Offered a small cook out, my wife a got a taste of Weber's horseradish. She then proceeded to DEMAND we get a supply to take back with us large enough to last until the next time we journeied north of the Commonwealth border.

Now, if you want a truely exotic taste, hunt down Aunt Rosie's Loganberry Juice. I had to go back three years to find a portion of the loganberry article at wikipedia that has apparently been deleted. Quoted here:

A use common to Southern Ontario, Canada, and Western New York, USA, is Loganberry Juice. While the Loganberry is primarily harvested in the Western United States, growers there were unaware that a niche market existed for a Loganberry-derived drink to the east. According to local lore, the loganberry drink was developed by entrepreneurs in the late 1800s at Crystal Beach, a local summertime resort, and one time amusement park, in Southern Ontario. The drink continued to be served at the amusement park and is still produced there. The most popular commercial version is 'Aunt Rosie's', which is commonly enjoyed in Western New York. 'Aunt Rosie's' is distributed by the local Pepsi-Cola bottling operation out of Buffalo, and is found in local restaurants and establishments. A smaller, more local version of Loganberry juice is available to locals in New York's Capital District, under the name of PJ's Crystal Beach Loganberry Juice, available in Sparkling and Diet. Loganberries may also be purchased in their syrup form in local supermarkets for use at home. Loganberry is now offered at Mighty Taco fast food restaurants in Western New York by Johnnie Ryan Beverages, a local pop maker from Niagara Falls, NY.

Imagine my surprise when I moved to Harrisburg and tried to find loganberry juice for a party!


----------



## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

Mark, I grew up on scrapple but do not get to eat a lot of it nowadays due to SWMBO. I almost hate to admit it in a public forum, but I like ketchup on my scrapple. It is also nice with warmed chunky apple sauce.


----------



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Whoa, this post has gone totally off track (ha, ha!) but since we're already derailed, here's some more local food lore. While Googling the name Sahlen to see if a guy named Joe Sahlen, who raced in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, was related to the hot dog empire family (actually, he's the owner), I came across a site (www.buffalofoods.com) that will UPS various Western New York dellicacies to your home, anywhere in the U.S. They have Loganberry Soda Pop, Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing sauce, and (among other things) Bocce Club Pizza. Now I love eating Bocce Club pizza when I'm in WNY, but having it hurled at my door in LA by UPS (see other posts about UPS), I dunno. 

Given all the attention to WNY food this thread has generated, maybe we should start a dedicated thread called: "N/T: Guys from WNY talkin' about local stuff that would bore the rest of the MLS community to tears."


----------



## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Joe's right, of course, but, as we Buffaloons* know: 
You can take the boy out of Buffalo, but you can't take Buffalo out of the boy. 

JackM 

* "Buffaloon" originated with Buffalo Evening News editorial cartoonist Bruce Shanks. Likewise "Kenmoron" and a few other digs at local suburbs.


----------



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Oh boy! Now you've done it Jack! About 25 years ago whenI was SCCA club racing, we were at a road course race track located in the boonies outside of Holtville, California. Because it was Thanksgiving weekend, Cal Club, the So Pacific division host, had a huge all-you-can eat dinner, where we were forced to share a table with an (ugh!) official , whose VW minivan's license plate read "Olafub." So I says, "Are you from Buffalo?" And he says, "Yeah, the East Side. My name is Ron Slominski." I said, "Are you any relation to Alfrieda, the councilwoman." Turns out it was his aunt and that his father was the church organist where my mother worshipped. Talk about your small world! Suffice to say, we became fast friends, all because of Bruce Shanks and his cartoons.


----------



## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Just read on the Internet that railroads are clearing out thousands of stored freight cars. It seems that the sudden increased demand for scrapple, pork roll, kielbasa and other assorted meats has strained the ability of the nations railroads to deliver these products.


----------



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

On my way back from Tucson Yesterday I noticed that the container trains are really loaded. Every car had two containers on it. There were no single. I also noticed a lot of piggy backs. 
I stopped at Picacho Peak road and had a hot fudge sunday while I watched trains wizz by


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

No Bull, John? A lot of Pig trains out there? 

I saw on the Trainfest website that the SF 3751 trip has been cancelled due to expected higher volumes on BNSF's transcon route they were planning to use to get to Rock Island. (there. it's train related, again)


----------



## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

woow, trains taking a wizz, now I've heard everything.


----------



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By NTCGRR on 21 Feb 2011 10:15 AM 
woow, trains taking a wizz, now I've heard everything. 
Hey...Everybody gots to get relief some time


----------



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Bill C. on 19 Feb 2011 05:59 AM 









Mark, I grew up on scrapple but do not get to eat a lot of it nowadays due to SWMBO. I almost hate to admit it in a public forum, but I like ketchup on my scrapple. It is also nice with warmed chunky apple sauce.
Ok I give up.....What is Scrapple?


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Back to the original topic. It was announced in Richmond, VA yesterday by Gov. Bob McDonnell that Norfolk Southern and FreightCar America had agreed to a deal to build 3,000 coal cars. This could add another 200 jobs to FreightCar America's facility in the former NS East End car shops in Roanoke, VA. Many of these openings will be for skilled workers, such as welders. This is good news for both Roanoke, and the rail industry. 

Thought you might like to know, 
David M.


----------



## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ, I'm sure you would enjoy it. Click below for more info:


SCRAPPLE


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Everything but the Oink! So....it is the stuff that doesn't make the cut for Hot Dogs.


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, since I can't steer this back on course ;>), let me ask a question. I remember eating a pork product called pudding as a child. Pudding was heated, then served on toast, usually topped with apple butter as well, at our house. It's more of a Pennsylvania Dutch dish, I think. Anybody know whether pork pudding is still made? 

I also had stuffed pig's stomach. Just once. It's not as bad as it sounds. 

My maternal grandfather also loved cooked hog's brains. This must be an old country boy thing, as I had a similer encounter with the craving many years later. I was riding the NW Track Geometry Car to observe practices so I could write a procedures manual for capturing the track data. I was told that we would have to leave about 5:00am so the car could fuel up in Boons Mill. I didn't understand what made the fuel at Boons Mill so special until we got there. It seems that several of the good ol' boys who worked the car wanted to get (hog's) brains & eggs for breakfast at the diner across the street from the fuel depot! 

True story, 
David Meashey


----------



## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

On the subject of an interesting news story...Maersk shipping just announced that they were going to build 10 1300 foot long container ships in Korea...with an option to buy 20 more ( Super sized container ships ). These things will each hold 18,000 containers when full...if laid end to end, that's 68 miles of containers. I'd say that the container ports and associated rail lines are gonna have to grow a bunch...and along with them, well car manufacturers. These ships are going to dramatically increase the amount of rail traffic. My prediction...140 mph container trains by 2020...REAL high speed rail. I recall reading that UP is now running some of their container trains across Arizona and New Mexico at speeds well above 79 mph...something I didn't think was allowed.

And...what this also means is that you'll see long lines of parked rail cars in the future...rail cars that don't carry containers...cause they're gonna get junked. It turns out that one function these new huge container ships were designed for...was to carry bulk cargo in containers. Think wheat and coal going west...and merchandise coming east.


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike,

Interesting. I can see a new business: container washing.

Dave, that sounds awful!!


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Mark; 

I guess that means that you have never heard of pork pudding, ain't not? As for the cooked hog's brains, I 'm not about to try them either. I got along without them for 65 years, and think I probably can continue to do so. 

Gutten Tag, 
David Meashey


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave,

No pork pudding here. Just regular pudding, like chocolate and vanilla. There is a huge debate, however, regarding the true origin of the Whoopie Pie.


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Mark; 

My daughter Laura prefers the Whoopie Pie. I prefer Shoofly, but with type II diabetes, I can only have a sliver. 

Best, 
David Meashey


----------



## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

Watched Mike Rowe make scrapple on Dirty Jobs last week. Can't say I'll be trying it any time soon.. Seems like if you just dropped the S at the beginning you'd know what it tastes like...


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Shad; 

It's probably a matter of individual tastes. Lots of people rave about catfish. The only time I ever had catfish (it was at a Bob Evans Restaurant), I thought the parsley garnishing on my plate had more flavor than the catfish. 

I wouldn't drop the s from scrapple, but for you it works. Anyway, still would like to hear from Bill C as to whether his pork supplier also makes pork pudding. Stuff probably has too much fat to survive in today's food market, but it was good when I was a kid. 

Yours, 
David Meashey


----------

