News Briefs - August, 2001

Press <Ctrl>-Reload to Refresh your screen with the latest posting.

The Tale of the Michigan Shore Gondolas...

Kevin Wootton reports on the MichiganRailroads yahoo group an interesting story about CSX and the Michigan Shore Railroad in Muskegon.  "Several months ago, there was a lot of talk of the "Michigan Shore" gondolas that were showing up in Muskegon. It seemed true that they were owned by Michigan Shore, however, it is FALSE.  On Wednesday night I went to watch the "Cannonball" depart Muskegon, and talked to the conductor for several minutes, bringing up the "Michigan Shore" gons.  He mentioned they were not Michigan Shore, but rather a company out of New York.  The only reason that they were and are still floating in to Muskegon is because CSX dispatchers think the cars are owned by Michigan Shore.  As a result, they keep sending the cars into Muskegon, only to sit and head out east the next couple of days.  Farther east, dispatchers and yard masters think the same and the cars return to West Michigan.

NS Labor Day Operations

Norfolk Southern will continue operations over the Labor Day holiday, Monday, September 3rd, 2001 in order to protect service commitments, local customer requirements and specific customer production needs during this holiday period. Due to train consolidations or reduction of local and yard operations, in line with lighter than normal traffic volumes expected due to the holiday, customers may experience some delays. If you have any questions regarding service at your local facility, please contact Customer Service-Central Yard Operations at(800) 898-4296, or your Norfolk Southern Account Manager. The National Customer Service Center will provide coverage from 7 AM until to 3 PM EDT on Monday, September 3rd, 2001 and can be reached at (800) 635-5768.

CSXT Locomotive Fire

CSXT unit coal train U-918-25 departed Columbus, OH at 04:40 EDT this morning northbound (westbound by timetable direction) enroute to Toledo, OH. At Marion, OH, CSXT C40-8 locomotive 7616 became engulfed in flames.  The crew brought the 19,000 ton unit coal train to a safe stop at the west end of the former "MD" Cabin. The Marion, OH Fire Department was then summoned to the scene to extinguish the blaze, but not before the locomotive had suffered extensive fire damage. The other locomotive in the consist, SD40-2 8856 was not damaged in the incident and luckily, there were no reported injuries.

CTC Taken Out on West End of LS&I

The CTC signal system on the Lake Superior & Ishpeming/Wisconsin Central has been taken out of service west of Diamond Jct.  Signals have been turned sideways, and the railroad has begun the process of changing electric switch motors to conventional switches.  Track warrants are now used for train operations and are issued by the control operator at Eagle Mills.  CTC is still used on the tracks to the mines, and between Eagle Mills and the ore dock.  A fairly new Windows-based remote control system is used to control the switches and signals leaving Empire and Tilden mines.

News from the Michigan Railfan Magazine

Michigan Railfan, the excellent newsletter published by the Michigan Railroad Club, reported a number of news items of interest to Michigan railroad fans:

• CN GTW dispatcher TD-3 is now on radio channel AAR74, or 161.22 Mhz.  Yards previously using AAR74 are being switched to AAR38.  A new base station was also added at Imlay City.

• Conrail shared assets has again designated a #1 and #2 main track from Townline (Greenfield Road) to West Detroit.  Previously, the EB main had been downgraded to an "industrial track".  Train speeds on track #1 (formally the WB NYC main line) are 70 mph for passenger trains, 50 mph for freight trains.  Train speeds on track #2 (formally the EB NYC main line) are 30/30 between West Detroit and CP LOU (Wyoming Avenue) and 10/10 between CP Lou and CP Townline.

• CN has been granted permission to abandon a portion of the old main line in Flint, from Corunna Road to Grand Traverse.

For those of you that are not members of the Michigan Railroad Club, active membership is $16 per year, or $31 per two years for an Associate membership.  A trial membership is available for $5.  Their address is P. O. Box 586, Dearborn, Michigan  48121-0586.  Their newsletter is one of the best sources of information on railroads in Michigan.

First Move of former GTW 6325.

Dave Williamson, of the Blue Water Chapter NRHS, forwarded this picture (right) which is of the former Grand Trunk Western #6325, which has been rebuilt by the Ohio Central Railroad.  The #6325 sat in a static display for years in Battle Creek before the restoration project began.

CSX Labor Day Holiday Curtailment of Operations

CSXT will discontinue originating merchandise trains after 4 p.m. Sunday, September 2nd, unless the crew is going to their home terminal.  Merchandise train operations will resume at 11 p.m. Monday, September 3rd, 2001.

All major terminals will be closed from 7 a.m. Monday, September 3rd until 7 a.m. Tuesday, September 4th, except for terminals at major interchange points such as New Orleans, LA, Memphis, TN, St. Louis, MO, and Chicago, IL which will continue operations to maintain fluidity and ensure a smooth return to normal operations.  Link to CSX press release.

Bangor removes depot from endangered list (June, 2001)

BANGOR (from WWMT/NEWS 3) - The city of Bangor is now the owner of an old abandoned train depot. The deposit is set to be paid Tuesday morning.

The Bangor City Council voted unanimously Monday night to have the Downtown Development Authority purchase the old building from CSX Railroad for $75,000. The city has been after the depot for years. The railroad closed it down several years ago and it’s been completely abandoned since 1996. Since that time it’s been boarded up and Amtrak passengers now wait outside to catch the train.

The city manager says the DDA would like to restore the old landmark and make it a part of the city again. “It looks like heck, but when polished and renovated it’ll shine like a pearl again for the city of Bangor,” a smiling city manager Larry Nielsen said.

The council wants to make the depot a train station again. Other ideas include an art gallery or perhaps a restaurant. The depot is listed on the Top 10 Most Endangered Depots list across the country by a group that tries to save them.

The city should know by the end of the month if it qualifies for a $15,000 grant for restoration.
 

CN Roadrailer Stops Operating.

Tom Bowers reports on MichiganRailroads@yahoogroups.com that the CN Toronto-Chicago Roadrailer #144/#145 stops operating as of Saturday August 18, 2001.

Look hard, it's still there...

Dave Lemke, in an email on the AnnArborRR list-serv, points out that the turn table at the Ann Arbor Railroad Ferry Field Yard is still in place, but overgrown.  "If you go to the U of M garage and ask to go behind the bus tunnel, you can get a good view of it", he says.

Pere Marquette RR Historical Society Has New Web Address...

The Pere Marquette Railroad Historical Society announces their new e-mail address, which is http://www.pmhistsoc.org./.

Agency won't Punish CSX for Runaway Train

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP).  CSX Transportation broke no laws and shouldn't be punished for a runaway train that barreled 66 miles across Ohio without an engineer last spring, the Federal Railroad Administration has concluded.   The agency placed much of the blame on the engineer for making several errors that allowed the 47-car train carrying hazardous cargo to leave a rail yard on its own, but plans no action against him.

The train rolled through Ohio farm country for two hours on May 15 at speeds up to 47 mph, until it slowed enough that another CSX employee was able to leap on board and stop it.   The engineer had hopped off the train in a rail yard near Toledo to manually switch tracks while the train was still  moving, the agency said.  He thought he had set a braking system, but instead had accidentally turned up the throttle, a report said.

"That all of these actions were taken by an apparently well-qualified, fully rested employee with a good service record is simply incredible", D. R. Myers, the agency's regional administrator said in the report.  CSX has not identified the engineer.

The investigation focused on whether CSX violated safety procedures and looked at whether its equipment was operating properly.  The agency could have fined CSX if it had found any violations, but associate safety administrator George Gavalla said Tuesday that the investigation is over.  CSX would not comment on the report or say whether the engineer had been disciplined, said Bob Sullivan, a spokesman for the company based in Jacksonville, FL.  Ohio's Public Utilities Commission is conducting its own investigation.
 

West Olive Coal Trains on CSX. 

Jeff Knorek reports on the list-serv that the following coal trains now operate to Consumer's Energy steam plant at West Olive, Michigan (near Holland). 

N900 (Holden22 WV-West Olive MI)
N902 (Beth WV-West Olive MI)
N904 (Damron Fork KY-West Olive MI)
N905 (Buckeye1 KY-West Olive MI)
N906 (Fanco WV-West Olive MI)
N907 (Hutchinson WV-West Olive MI)
N909 (Sunknott KY-West Olive MI)
N912 (Toms fork WV-West Olive MI)
N913 (Ivel KY-West Olive MI)
N915 (Fola WV-West Olive MI)
N918 (Monclo WV-West Olive MI)
 

New Copper Range Railroad History Web Location

We have moved!  The Copper Range Railroad / Copper Country Historical Page and Painesdale Mine & Shaft are happy to announce their own domain at www.copperrange.org.  We are also pleased to now be hosted by Pasty.com in their support of local history on the Internet.  Please be sure to update your links and bookmarks to our new location and stop by, always trying to add new material.  From the author, Kevin E. Musser.

Amtrak Rail Improvements in Battle Creek

BATTLE CREEK (NEWS 3) - The groundwork for high-speed rail in West Michigan is being laid in Battle Creek. While the reality of 100 mph trains may be 50 years away, a $2 million project will provide the foundation.  The Amtrak rail line in Battle Creek will be expanded by 1.2 miles. The added line will cut 10 minutes off of Amtrak schedules through the city because trains would not have to switch over to different tracks, as they do now.  Battle Creek state senator John Schwarz worked to get the money in the state budget. “What this does, is it breaks up a bottleneck and makes passenger traffic through Battle Creek a lot easier, a lot more smooth,” said Schwarz, who helped streamline the city’s rail system back in 1981.  The Michigan Department of Transportation plans to begin construction in April. “It’s going to make access a little bit easier for both the cereal companies here in town and make transportation for the rail customers that much easier,” said spokesperson Stephanie Litaker.  Amtrak officials say eventually, they will use the added stretch of rail line to create a high-speed train corridor from Chicago to Detroit.  (From WWMT/News3, Battle Creek).  Submitted by David Isaacson.

Railroad Deaths - Accidents and Trespassers

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced on July 13th that trespassing deaths on railroad property rose to 142 in the first 4 months of this year, up 26% from the 113 in the first 4 months last year.  The FRA also announced that highway-rail grade crossing crash deaths numbered 140 in the first 4 months of this year, down slightly from the 142 in the first 4 months last year.

GTW 6325 Steams Forward...

It has been 41 years 9 months and 12 days since Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 went to sleep on display in a park in Battle Creek, Michigan.

On Tuesday, July 31, 2001, just before 3pm, the GTW #6325 moved under her own power at the Morgan Run Shop facility of the Ohio Central Railroad.  After a very extensive and complete overhaul of a little more than two and a half years, Jerry Jacobson, CEO of the Ohio Central Railroad pulled the throttle, and she crept forward without any assistance for the first time in more than 42 years. It was a great feeling of accomplishment.

On August 1, 2001, the 6325 ran a 30 mile round trip test run.  She performed very well and a few minor problems were discovered.  We have a little debugging to do before she will be ready to pull large trains. This was expected. After a long nap like that I would be a little fusy too.  She is going to be a very fine Locomotive!!

For the many who are wondering, no more test runs are planned for a little while.  We are going to make some repairs as well as do some work on other projects as well as a boiler wash on our #1551.  More testing is in the works.  Jason at Ohio Central.  [Forwarded by Ray Kammer].

Upper Peninsula Update...

Escanaba & Lake Superior.  A trip to the U.P. of Michigan revealed a great deal about rail operations north of the bridge.  The Escanaba & Lake Superior operates a number of routes on a daily basis.  Their former MILW line from Ontonagon east to Channing operates a daily round trip, serving a paper mill in Ontonagon and log loading facilities along the route.  The train has about 40 cars on a daily average.  That unit switches cars at Channing, and a daily round trip from Channing south to Crivitiz, WI takes the cars and other traffic south through Iron Mountain.  At Crivitiz, E&LS runs a turn about 4 times a week to Marinette, WI (opposite Menominee, MI).  Then another train goes south from Crivitiz to Green Bay where cars are interchanged in the Wisconsin Central RR yard.  The former MILW main line to Champion (now pulled up north of Republic) is inactive, as is the original E&LS main line between Wells (Escanaba) and Channing.  E&LS has trackage rights on the WC from Pembine to Wells when it needs to get to the Escanaba area.

E&LS tidbits...  The E&LS apparently is storing 2,500 rail cars on line for GE Capital.  They are present in many sidings, including about 500 cars stored on the former DSSA main line from Sidnaw, MI east towards Nestoria.  E&LS hosted a NARCOA rail car event last weekend.  27 motor cars proceeded on a two day excursion from Kingsford to Ontonagon and back, with stops at Channing and Sidnaw.  The group appreciated the railroad's cooperation and the track crew that accompanied the group was supurb!  The track between Kingsford and Channing was a bit rough, but the track west to Ontonagon was in good shape.  E&LS limits its trains to 25 mph, though much of their track could support somewhat higher speeds.

Wisconsin Central.  WC is reportedly running four round trip ore runs again from the Marquette range south.  Three terminate at Escanaba ore docks, and one travels east from Gladstone (Escanaba) through the Sault to Algoma Steel, just north of the international border.  Again, all are round trips.  WC runs one manifest freight train daily (round trip) from Gladstone to Sault Ste. Marie.  The Mead pulp wood transfer facility at Trout Lake has been closed and all operations have moved to Gulliver (east of Manistique) which is more central to current operations.  It is also reported that wood loading in the L'Anse/Baraga area has increased quite a bit.  South of Gladstone, WC is running at least one round trip from Neenah, WI to Quinnesec, MI (near Iron Mountain) via Powers.  The train interchanges in both directions at Powers with a local job which leaves Gladstone for this purpose.  WC also runs a train north from Wisconsin to Gladstone each day.  WC ran a welded rail train through Gladstone eastbound last Sunday.  We're not sure about the destination, but we are told that the WC continues to put money into the infrastructure of its U.P. lines, especially the Gladstone-Sault line.  There is some speculation that with the purchase of WC by CN/IC, the CN may close down its line north of Lake Superior and run transcontinental trains via Gladstone and Ladysmith, WI.  Just speculation, however.

Other WC tidbits... the former Soo Line main line from Hermansville to Escanaba has been removed (this may have happened sometime ago, but the line appears freshly removed.  Instead of a crossing, the town now has a junction switch.  WC continues to use Algoma Central GP40's which have been repainted in WC colors.

 

More News Briefs From July...

MichiganRailroads.com  |  News Menu  |  Last Month  |  Send News Tip