Silver Bullet by Rail: From Hops to Finished Product, Coors Beer Takes the Train

This article profiles the transportation operations for the Coors Brewing company in Golden, Colorado. It gives an overview of how a fleet of 316 tank cars are used to move batches of beer from the brewing plant in Golden to a second brewery in Memphis, Tennessee, and a packaging plant in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Coors also ships close to 250 boxcars of beer a week in bottles, can, barrels, or kegs for nationwide distribution. The tank beer, however, arrives more quickly than the boxcar shipments. This is due partly to the fact that Coors pays premium rates for the tank-car shipments. Trains are used not only to transport beer out of the brewery, but also to bring in most of Coors’ raw commodities, including rice and barley. Coal used to feed Coors’ on-site power plant arrives by rail as well. While Coors relies on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) to transport its beer nationwide, the article relates that Coors runs its own private railroad for in-plant operations.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/6163876
• Authors:
  • Danneman, Mike
• Publication Date: 2006-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Maps; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 40-47
• Serial:
  • Trains
  • Volume: 66
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Kalmbach Publishing Company
  • ISSN: 0041-0934
  • Serial URL: http://trainsmag.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcoholic beverages; Grain; Tank cars
• Uncontrolled Terms: Beer
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01020960
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 3 2006 7:35AM