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News Briefs - June, 2001 |
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NS in Grand Rapids. NS runs one train daily into its Hughart Yard which is parallel to northbound US 131 just south of Hall Street. The inbound (northbound) train arrives around 8:30 a.m., and the outbound (southbound) train usually leaves Hughart around 7:30 p.m., five days a week. From John Noonan on the RRMichigan list.
New (Used) Engines For Central Michigan. A list-serv post indicates that two new (used) engines have arrived on a side track at the Wenona Yard in Bay City. The units are BNSF 5175 (orange, yellow, and black) and 5075 (green). It is unknown if these units are for road service or parts.
More on this from Paul Cameron: Central Michigan has recently purchased three General Electrics from BNSF. Two C-30-7s and a B-30-7. The two C-30-7s were originally purchased to supply parts for their other GEs. It was also thought they would donate their cabs to be installed on two of cabless B-30-7ABs (4065, 2001, 2002) so they could be used as lead units. While C-30-7 #5075 Ex-BN looks like it will be used for this purpose there is some speculation #5175 Ex-Santa Fe may be returned to service. The unit has received a steam cleaning and mechanical work that has brought the FDL prime mover back to life. As for the third GE, CMGN purchased, B-30-7 #5492 ex-Frisco unit. This unit is to return to service and may already be in service as I write. This locomotive was in the same deadline with the others and supposedly had very little wrong with it. There has been some talk CMGN may be getting more new-used power in the form of GP-39-2s.
According to Frank Lovejoy: According to an engineer I talked to, the units will be put into service. BN(SF) deemed these units surplus and returned the to the leaser. As of two years ago (when I still worked on these units for BN) they were in good working order.
Upper Peninsula Tips. David Patch reports via MichiganRailroads@yahoogroups.com that he made a trip up to Escanaba this past weekend, and at least on Saturday and Sunday, traffic on the iron ore line was reduced to just the SORE-2 with the Algoma Steel business. There were jennies being unloaded at the dock, but it appeared that the mine hiatus has taken a significant bite out of train operations. The ore pile at Escanaba was quite substantial. On the other hand it appears that the SOFD and the GBSO meet fairly regularly at Powers, MI around 07:00 CDT, while the GBSO and OACTI have regularly met at Blaney around 15:30 EDT. In the evenings, the Gladstone "Tramp," the afternoon Quinnesec job, (and on days it's running) the Pembine Local all seem to congregate at Powers.
Kalamazoo to Niles Tips.
NS train "B1G" is the local that runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from
Kalamazoo west on the Amtrak line. Today it left after 9 o'clock
and went all the way to Niles. I saw it return just before 2
o'clock. It met Amtrak #353 near the WMU campus, near Kalamazoo.
It switched Niles and Dowagiac
TSBY Tips North of Cadillac. Greg also reports traveling south on US-131 yesterday and caught up with a TSBY freight around 1:30 p.m. just south of Kalkaska. Engines were 389 & 385. Consist was two "shorty" covered hoppers, GNAX and a BN boxcar. The train was traveling at 45 mph, and he enjoyed playing "leapfrog" with it at crossings along the way. "I waited for it at Manton, but it never came. It must have turned at Walton and headed for Traverse City".
Wayne Kuhl adds: There are a few tell-tale signs to know where the train is going (although the day job is always supposed to go to Traverse City. With slow speeds and the distance, I would imagine that would about tie up their entire day, but I digress): BNSF family (BN, ATSF, BNSF, etc) boxcars usually mean the train is taking a run to Traverse City. Also, every so often an SP boxcar will go to Grawn, or a center beam flat. Another tell-tale sign that the train is running to Traverse City is gondolas or old coal hoppers. The gons, usually CBNS gons, and hoppers, usually DJJX reportiny marks, carry scrap out of Traverse City. A plethora of TSBY 2 and 3 bay hoppers means the train is going to Yuma for sand. ACFX, PSPX, etc type hoppers means the train is taking a run towards Petoskey. Also, GNAX 2 bay hoppers is a sign the train is going up there (cement to Elmira).
Battle Creek Tips. NS and GT use joint trackage thru Battle Creek, known as the "corridor." The good news is that the Amtrak depot is on this piece of trackage, so that makes a convenient place to railfan. Amtrak runs 8 train per day thru Battle Creek. Pairs of them should come between 10-11 a.m. and another pair between 1-2 p.m. The other times are a little more "scattered" in late afternoon or evening. NS would seem to be more in the evening or early a.m. CN/GT is usually good in the morning. A few miles west of BC is Augusta with a 1923 concrete coaling tower over the NS line. That's a good photo shot. NS frequency is 160.800. I don't know the others offhand. Again, from Greg Peet.
TSBY Interchange Tips at Durand and Annpere. Bob Thatcher reports on the MichiganRailroads list that most if not all of T&SB's grain traffic is interchanged with CSX at Annpere. Durand is not a direct T&SB interchange point with Canadian National. Around 1975, Grand Trunk Western bought the Ann Arbor line between Durand and Owosso from the AA Trustee and later removed most of the track. New junctions were created at Pitt and San, and all AA trains ran over GTW between those points. When GTW sold its Grand Rapids Subdivision to Central Michigan Railway, AA (by then operated by T&SB) did not get rights to interchange directly with GTW at Durand. On those occasions when a car on T&SB has to go to CN (GTW), it is set out at the west end of Durand Yard. For a switching fee, CMR moves the car down to the CN interchange point at the east end of the yard. Such are the 'efficiencies" brought about by deregulation. Other than some interchange with Mid-Michigan RR at Alma and grain traffic at Annpere, I think most traffic is interchanged with the current Ann Arbor Railroad (former Michigan Interstate Railway) at Osmer.
Caboose Dedicated to DT&I Employees At Flat Rock. On Thursday (May 31st), DT&I caboose 140 (actually 145) was dedicated to the retirees of the DT&I. The caboose was freshly repainted at IC's Woodcrest shops and placed on a short section of track in front of the Flat Rock (Mich) yard office by the parking lot. Looks really sharp and is an afternoon photo shot. From Ken Borg via MichiganRailroads@yahoogroups.com.
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