News Briefs - March, 2002
Press <Ctrl>-Reload to Refresh your screen with the latest posting.
CCI shoots for April 12 Empire Mine opening...
PALMER - After being shut down for most of the winter, efforts to prepare the Empire Mine for operations are moving along. April 12 is the target reopening date. Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. announced earlier this month that operations at the Palmer-based mine will resume to produce about 3 million tons of iron ore pellets this year. However, the process of winterizing the mine must be reversed before operations can resume, said CCI spokesman Don Ryan. "Everything is progressing according to schedule," he said. "The target date to resume pellet production is April 12." About 295 hourly and 70 salaried employees have returned to work at the Empire, Ryan said. "We've called almost everyone back that is going to get called back," he said. Most of the Empire's 890 employees have been laid off since late November when LTV Corporation, a 25-percent owner of the Empire, ceased integrated steel making operations. The Empire Mine produced 5.7 million tons of pellets in 2001, according to information provided by CCI, which manages and is part owner of both the Empire and Tilden mines. In addition, about 140 hourly Empire Mine employees transferred to the Tilden Mine during the shutdown remain at the Tilden, Ryan said. "There is no change in the status of the employees that were transferred. There will be an effort to work out some of these situations on an individual basis," he said. "However, there is no overall plan to transfer these people back to the Empire." From the Mining Journal via Dave Schauer at OreRail.
Don't try to "Beet" The
Train...
Here's what happened (photo at right) when a beet farmer tried to beat the train in 1989 - literally! This photo was submitted by Michael Leon, who works for the MDOT.
The 2002 ore shipping season opened today (Sunday, 3/24) at the Missabe's Duluth Docks with the arrival of the CSL laker Frontenac from Thunder Bay to take on a load of EVTAC pellets for Nanticoke. Still some ice in the slip, but it is fairly thin. The Soo locks open tomorrow. From Dave Schauer at OreRail.
NS Good Friday operations...
Norfolk Southern will continue operations over the Good Friday holiday, March 29th. 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. Questions can be directed to the Customer Service center at 800-898-4296.
Michigan City crash involving a remote control locomotive...
A runaway train plowed
through NIPSCO’s Michigan City Generating Station Thursday morning,
hitting another locomotive before the second locomotive’s engineer
narrowly jumped to safety, according to the Michigan City News Dispatch.
The unmanned eastbound diesel-electric engine, known as Big Blue, was
pushing six coal cars when it approached the coal drop-off area at about
30 m.p.h. at 7:15 a.m., NIPSCO workers said. The train was operating
under a remote-controlled system that has been in place for less than a
year, they said.
But the train pushing well in excess of 1.5 million pounds, including
the coal, did not respond to radio controls and smashed through the
enclosed thaw shed and coal rotary dumper. Workers said the standard
procedure is for the coal trains to travel only 1 m.p.h. within the last
100 yards approaching the rotary dumper. “The remote control
wouldn’t respond. It went right through the rotary dumper and smashed
into the other train on the east end,” said an employee of Michigan
City’s Generating Station, who asked not to be identified. “He (the
engineer of the second locomotive) jumped off and ran away before it was
struck.”
The impact sent the second train, known as Old No. 12, about 200 feet,
crashing through a fence and uprooting a bumper post intended to halt
runaway trains. The wreck also ripped the track’s rails and dislodged
No. 12’s snow blade, similar to the old-style cow catchers. A
company official said the accident was caused by a malfunctioning
switch, making no reference to the remote control system.
“There was a switch malfunction that controls and stops the locomotive
that brings in coal,” explained NiSource spokesman Bill Keegan. NIPSCO
is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NiSource, based in Merrillville. “There
was minor damage to the locomotive. It did not affect our operations.
There were no injuries, and the appropriate parties are investigating
the situation.” Employees at the plant said they were
appalled by the accident, adding the remote-controlled system was not
designed for the current engines. They also said two other
accidents have occurred at the Michigan City Generating Station’s coal
handling department within the last two months. One remnant still is
visible, where a coal car is lying on its side.
Central Michigan uses Ex-BNSF 5175 for first time...
Jim Milnor reports that the Central Michigan has used their ex-BNSF 5175
for the first time today (March 20th) on their 702/701 (Bay City/Durand). 5175
is a six-axle C30-7,
the
only active six-axle locomotive on CM's roster. 5175 is still in
BNSF Heritage I colors with a unique CM logo replacing the BNSF letters.
[Jim Milnor photo].
City leaders want station renovated...
From the Michigan City
Dispatch: The City Council vowed Tuesday night to make the
renovation of the former South Shore station a top priority this
year, on the heels of a letter from Mayor Sheila Brillson asking
railroad officials to reinvest in the facility. In a letter dated
Tuesday, Brillson asked the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation
District, which owns the South Shore railroad, to refurbish the station
to build ridership and revitalize the city's north end. "I urge
you to recognize the potential of our great city along the shores of
Lake Michigan," Brillson said. "We want to work with you to continue
improving the communities we serve."
Local officials say the 11th Street station, and another one at Carroll
Avenue, have fallen into disrepair in recent years. The property at 114
E. 11th St. was sold to a private developer from Chicago four years ago,
and today the station consists of a commuter shelter in front of the
former beehive of activity.
"The current state of both Michigan City stations discourages tourists
from the areas east and west of our county, a situation that directly
impacts the economics of this community and of NICTD," Brillson wrote.
"Large investments have been made by NICTD in area communities, and the
results are commendable"
Last Minorca train loads on March 25th...
If you haven't taken pictures the Minorca Mine to Escanaba MI All-Rails train, time is running out. The last train is scheduled to load March 25th. Unfortunately the trains are more likely than before to run late afternoon to evening over the WC out of Superior to take advantage of the lull between CN traffic during that time of day. From Kent Rengo at OreRails.
To contact the governor about Amtrak, you can use the following link provided by Steve Williams. The link is:
New Defect Detector on Conrail Shared Assets...
Great news to those who live in or live near the Downriver Detroit area as Conrail crews at Wyandotte are almost done working the bugs on the new Dragging Equipment Detector W/axle counts (known on CR as a DEDAC)!! It features a new voice, unusual to the area. When turned on for service (utilizing a Motorola GM300 radio), the detector will transmit at a 8 watts. Not even powerful enough to reach Livernois' 40ft communication tower in Detroit (8 miles), so don't get your hopes up to be able to hear it from Rockwood as I used to be able to old Wyandotte DED which transmitted 23Watts ERP. The new recording will announce as follows. The X denotes a variable numeral. "Conrail Equipment Defect Detector Wyandotte Michigan. Track X no defects. Speed XX total axles XXX over." It follows a wording protocol similar to CSX. From Josh via MichiganRailroads@yahoogroups.com.
Update: The detector is on 160.08 Mhz, but is down temporarily until it is relocated. In its current location, they found that track circuits do not activate it in time to be functional. (The old detector is now back in use).
Kalamazoo Railfans to meet again...
Following the successful meeting last month at Vicksburg, the Kalamazoo railfans will meet again on Saturday, March 23rd at 3:00 p.m. in Portage. The get together will be at the offices of American Hydrogeology Corporation at 6869 Sprinke Road, Portage in the White building (an old farmhouse). Anyone is welcome to come and you are encouraged to bring slides, video's or pictures to show. For further information contact Mark Worrall (our host) at 616-323-5832 or email him at pmpews1@hotmail.com. We had about 12 people at our last meeting and we hope that the group grows!
History presentation planned...
"The Story of the Rapid Railway: Detroit to Port Huron on the Main Line" will be presented (with slides) by Ken and Jack Schramm on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the Roseville Public Library. The library is located one block south of Common (12 1/2 Mile Road) and two blocks west of Gratiot.
Norfolk Southern train 48J, operating between Elkhart and Jackson, derailed at Dearing Road in Sandstone Township west of Jackson at 4:12 am, Saturday, March 9th. Two engines and 5 cars of the 140 car train sustained damage and were awaiting repairs at Jackson Yard. The line has been reopened. No one was injured and no toxic or harmful chemicals were spilled. Unofficial reports said that the train may have had an air brake problem. According to Bob Freypan, NS engine 9076 sustained damage to its front rail system and nose. 3 lumber cars also were damaged. The route was reopened. There were reported delays to Amtrak and other freight trains using the line.
Cliffs to restart Empire mine...
Cleveland Cliffs announced today that they are restarting the Empire mine near Palmer, MI, in late March with about 360 employees to make about 3 million tons of pellets this year. This would indicate that they will be running about 1/3 to 1/2 of the plant and producing accordingly. From OreRail.
Lake State gets out the snow plow...
On Monday (3/4) the Lake State Railway operated a plow with engine 976 from Bay City to Grayling. The plow was brought back to Pinconning and tied up for the night. On Tuesday, the plow worked from Pinconning to Alpena. After arriving at Alpena, train 326 is then called to go south to Bay City. This is the result of a snow which was over 1 foot in places along the center and sunrise shore of the northern lower peninsula. From Jeremy Schrader via MichiganRailroads@yahoogroups.com.
New Norfolk Southern locomotive policy...
Norfolk Southern has instituted a "matched consist" policy requiring like locomotives to be run together to maximize overall performance. Norfolk Southern established six categories of locomotives that may be run together:
-
Group Y for yard switching units
-
Group 1 for 4 axle units used in yard, local or road service
-
Group 2 for 4 axle units used in merchandise and intermodal service
-
Group 3 for conventional 6 axle units
-
Group 4 for high-adhesion 6 axle units
-
Group 5 for alternating current SD80MAC units.
Each group includes specific locomotive models. Information courtesy of: Dave Mears via the Conrail Technical Society.
More UP locomotive moves...
Anthony Rzucidlo reports more UP engines coming through Detroit, enroute to the west. Three more UP locomotives were spotted in the CSX Rougemere Yard.
Michigan Railroad Memorabilia Show and Sale...
This coming Sunday, March 3, 2002 the annual Michigan Railroad Memorabilia Show & Sale will be held at St. Albert the Great located on Annapolis and Parker in Dearborn Heights. Show hours are from 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. This show features real railroad related items, but no toy trains. The Michigan Railroad Club will be having a table at this show. Stop by and see what the MRC has planned for its 65th anniversary year.