TSB/GLC is probably wondering once again when they will get their cars delivered. Sunday nights D709-11 had eight cars for them but a lack of time to finish their work prevented the delivery. Then, Monday nights D709-12 had to turn at Fowlerville and not switch anyone east of there after having to wait several hours for three coal trains at Q334. Last nights D709-13, after setting off seven cars at Ogihara and picking up six, went by me at 3:55am with now, 19 cars for TSB/GLC along with four International Paper loads. Once again, being short on time, and, because it takes twice as long to do a TSB/GLC pickup and set out as it does I.P. they bypassed the AnnPere set off once again in lieu of giving International Paper a switch
While the majority of the 19 cars were grain or plastics for GLC, there were three utility pole loads and another of the many (of late) pipe loads, (where ever they are going) Every night dawns a new chance of getting a delivery, even though several times since the new start up times began, GLC has gotten but one switch a week.
As Don Simon mentioned in my yesterdays Ogihara report, and I was about to say so myself, having little to no business at Ogihara soon will help GLC as well at International Paper on getting switched more often.
It still amazes me why they won't give occasionally give this job a recrew, unlike D708 who seems to get one everynight.
I was in Durand on Tuesday at about 11:30 am when a NB GLC train came past the station. 394 was on the point, 1977, 392, 394, and 385, towing one procor tank and one NDYX covered hopper.
D709-14 got out of the yard quite early on Wednesday evening, but Tammy "Stickem" the RN Disp, did just that by putting them into the Williamston pass at 934pm to meet Q327-14 who was very late out of Detroit due to no power for the train. 327s entire consist were all for Ensel (36 cars) but did have a couple to pick up. Exactly one hour later after 327 finally arrived, D-709 proceded east at 1034pm to begin their first work assignment of the night at Webberville grain.
This is the last I knew (as I turned off the scanner) intill D709-14 went by me eastbound at 3:33am, only 22 minutes earlier than the night before, with 19 cars in his train. The 19 cars included 3 Ogi pick up cars, and 3 more International Paper loads but NO GLC cars in his train what so ever. I'll guess with you on where all the Ann Pere set off cars they have been carrying with them all week went to, and who knows how many more in Ensel.
90 minutes later, at 503am, D709 blasted westbound by me after running around their train and picking up 17 GLC cars, 4 loads and 13 empties, and taking the three I.P. loads back to Ensel with them. Perhaps later today on the "last day of the week" for this job, they will have GLC's cars on board again and giving them their once a week set off of late. Also, it will now be one week to the day since the last Century Truss lumber empty as been sitting at Green Oak waiting to be picked up. It will also complete another week of no recrews for this job since the new times started.
Last edited by BL2-1843 on Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It was evidently "all in the plan" when D709-14 left behind all 19 GLC cars at Ensel Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon, they ran a D909-15 out of Ensel, an ALL GLC train, which would you believe,, consisted of 68 CARS. That would 6-8 as in Sixty Eight. They tucked them all into the Howell passing siding and are there for GLC to pick up at their leisure.
Just happend to catch a southbound GLC train at 1110am in Howell with a grain train in tow. He had units 392-391-385-2681 in that order. Unfortuantly, 1977 was not with it, as I had heard earlier in the week was in town and made a road trip south thru Howell. To bad too, for I have not seen 1977 since 1-13-03. After seeing the 68 car GLC set off train this afternoon, I thought for sure GLC was here waiting for it after returning north from Osmer. So far, I guess not.
What is surprising about todays 68 car AnnPere train, was that nearly half of it were large LPG tank cars, heading to ???? Last two cars in the train were UTLX 98589 and GATX 25611. I have been seeing LPG tank cars on 327 all week in the midst of other "known" Ensel set off cars and could not figure where they were going. Now I know, or at least partially, as they are going to Ann Pere and then north.
Even though todays 68 car GLC special came as a D909 train, I am not counting this as a recrew (to continue the streak going) as they did no other work except bring the GLC cars to AnnPere and return engines light.
Hello BOB M, I wonder if some of those LPG tanks might be headed to northwest energy in Breckenridge on MMR I go by there some times when i am working. but there hasn't been anything in their in a while I talked to somebody thier and they said that they only use rail for large quantity orders. they mostly use trucks.
I am hoping someone can trace those car numbers to find out for sure seeing there are so many and not having seen this large amount of tank cars going to GLC before. Could very well be Breckenridge. Always nice to see GLC getting new business. The cars are in three long groups and not all laced together in order.
GLC has not picked them up yet so maybe they will sit here overnight and get them on Friday mornings train. If they do, 709 will have to run to Brighton tonight to run around their train causing another delay for them. If they are early enough, it would be a good night to go pick up that Century Truss empty at South Lyon.
I thought Northwest Energy in Breckenridge had closed. Glad to hear it's still open and occassionally doing rail business.
It would be nice if those GLC LPG tankers are being loaded at Kalkaska. The natural gas refinery there has never done the rail business it could since it opened in the late 1970's. It has 8-10 loading spots. Last customer I am aware of were loads that went from Kalkaska to the refinery at Alma. That business ended in 1997 when the refinery in Alma closed.
Another possible destination for the LPG tankers is the dealer in Petoskey. Now operated by Amerigas, that place used to receive a lot of LPG tankers until service there ended in the early 1990's. They have three unloading spots.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...
GLC was Westbound on CSX out of Howell shortly after 1pm this Friday afternoon, albeit for only a mile, with the 68 cars the D909-15 brought for them on Thursday afternoon. I walked the consist this morning on the parallel gas company road to find that 38 of the 68 were LPG tanks, along with 25 grain or plastics cars, 3 pole loads and a car of pipe. They should be Owosso bound out of Howell soon, so keep your eyes out guys for where these LPG cars wind up. For some reason, they are still here as of 315pm (some two hours after the pick up off the Howell passing siding was made) and can hear them switching. "Perhaps" they are getting all of those LPG cars into one long group. When CSX delivered them, there were in three groups of 16,12 and 10 with other cars in between.
Made it to AnnPere just as the southbound arrived from Owosso with 392-391 but minus the 394 Don Simon said was with the consist when they left Clare last night heading south. They sat 7 cars off for CSX before going on to Osmer with 11 other cars, but there were still 4 cars in the run around track that the transfer track could not hold when D709 made their once a week pick up Wednesday morning. Unfortuatly, while two were lumber car empties plus a coke empty, one was a Cherry Growers Load, which who knows how long ago that was set off. One of the 7 today was another Cherry Growers load so the two will leave together, on Monday morning if D709 makes it that far, for a now total of 11 cars in the transfer. IF, GLC would have spotted those four cars in the run around into the transfer on their northbound run Thursday afternoon, D709 would have had ample to time to pick them up heading west this morning.
Speaking of,,, (D709) they were out eastbound out of Ogihara this morning at 1:25am (pretty decent) and by me with 20 cars which included five Ogi pick ups, 3 Century Truss Loads and 7 International Paper loads, (4 new ones and three left overs from the night before) A combination of many factors, all good, took them to South Lyon and back in two hours, arriving back at International Paper by 3:30am with the one Century Truss empty in tow that had been there for a week and giving them their three new loads. I.P. got four fresh loads spotted in the plant, leaving three on the spur for the weekend, the first "weekend" cars sitting on the spur in quite some time. 709 was out of IP heading west with 15 cars BEFORE the clock struck four.
When it comes right down to it, it turned out to the lack of power for Q327-14 out of Detroit that caused I.P. not to get all their cars this week. Because Q327 was delayed six hours at Roughmere for power, it in turn caused D709-14 to sit and wait for them for an hour at Willimaston, just long enough that it was to late to give them a switch on thier westbound run back to Ensel.
IF, however D709-18 can get its work completed next Sunday night, those 3 remaining loads will still be in the plant for Monday AM unloading anyway.
Howell YM
Just happened to see that Don Simon (thank you Don) had posted the above LPG tank car info to the Shortline Message Board which generated some responses. One asked if they were loads or empties. I was trying to determine that myself this morning when I walked the consist. While its obvious in most cases how far the springs are recessed if they are loads or empties, these seemed to be somewhere right in between. Sometimes when checking out GLC set off cars for CSX at AnnPere, I have taken a stick to wack the side of grain and plastics cars (while looking at the springs) to see if it echoes or not to determine if a car is loaded or empty. Tank cars however are so well insulated, you wouldnt get get a echo out of it regardless of which it was.
in lieu of giving International Paper a switch 
Perhaps later today on the "last day of the week" for this job, they will have GLC's cars on board again and giving them their once a week set off of late. Also, it will now be one week to the day since the last Century Truss lumber empty as been sitting at Green Oak waiting to be picked up. It will also complete another week of no recrews for this job since the new times started.