New Business for the Lake State

[AARR]

Duly noted...thanks for checking and love the pictures!

[Hugh]

Thanks, for the photo's

[Borderguy190]

Thanks for the pics and info. It is great stuff, and has given me alot to think about. Mostly about how I need the whole basement to do this justice!

[mrpilot88]

Do they ship gypsum out of tawas anymore?

[LSRC]

Do they ship gypsum out of tawas anymore?

Yes and no. Yes in that the Lake State still hauls gypsum from Michigan Gypsum, which is located North of Turtle, MI and South of National City, to the LaFarge plant in Alpena.

No, in that the Lake State no longer operates the short haul gypsum trains in the Tawas area (US and National Gypsum).

[JDavis21835]

Any info on the SBS customers? Also, I was interested in what the LSRC box cars are used for at Dow in Midland. Seems like there are 2-3 on every trip to and from Midland.

[AARR]

Any info on the SBS customers? Also, I was interested in what the LSRC box cars are used for at Dow in Midland. Seems like there are 2-3 on every trip to and from Midland.

I'm told those box cars are for spacing and not for a customer

For the newbies, this SBS Customer List is composited from mine and other railfans observations, magazine articles, railroad employees, etc. I have never seen, been shown, etc. actual numbers from official railroad documents. I estimate this list is around 75% accurate. As always, additions, corrections, or subtractions are greatly appreciated. RRFanAdmin, feel free to post to Wikki.
Saginaw – Star of the West Milling (team track):
• inbound (wheat)
• outbound (flour)
Saginaw – HESR: Interchange
Saginaw – Saginaw Steering Gear: inbound (round bar steel)
Bridgeport – Dixie Cut Stone: inbound (landscaping stone) possibly from Wallace Stone in Pigeon
Saginaw – Delphi Chassis: ???
Saginaw – Crop Production Services: inbound (ammonia, dry & liquid fertilizer) 20-wk during busy season
Saginaw – GM Gray Iron (SMCO):
• inbound (clay)
• inbound (coke) 3 per day
Saginaw – Rifkin Scrap & Metal: outbound (scrap metal)
Carrollton – Peavey: outbound (grain) builds units on multiple short sidings takes full shift
Bay City – Peavey: outbound (corn, oats, soybeans, & wheat) no room to build unit trains so switch in short blocks (6 cars???)
Bay City – LSRC: Interchange
Bay City – OmniSource: outbound (scrap metal)
Essexville – Essroc Materials: outbound (cement)
Essexville – Karn-Weadock: inbound (eastern coal) and (western coal - 6 months splits with HESR)
Freeland – Freeland Bean & Grain: outbound (grain) 3 car blocks Bean and Grain is about ready to start a project that will allow it to load 90-car unit trains. The guy I talked to said they're going to start with enough bins to hold 1.5 million bushels, with room for more if conditions warrant. He said the goal is to turn 4-5 trains in the first year of operation. Bean and Grain currently makes use of a track which has room for three, maybe four cars at a time -- the only thing I forgot to ask my contact was the number of cars they currently load per year, but I'm thinking it's in the 275-300 car range. I think some of the current business will remain at the current elevator, as Bean and Grain ships out a few boxcars of bagged beans each month.

The new operation will be located about a tenth of a mile north (timetable west) of the current elevator on the site of the now-abandoned Michigan Bean elevator (just across Freeland Rd.) The 50 or so storage coal hoppers that had been sitting in the Freeland pass for about four years (and directly in front of the old elevator) were hauled away last month. The grain employee tells me demolition is to start in January, the ground is to be leveled in late-winter, and construction is to start in April or May.

Midland – Dow Corning:
• inbound (chemicals)
• outbound (chemicals & plastic)
Midland – Matlack Bulk Transportation: inbound (plastic) ???
Midland – Dow Chemical:
• inbound (chemicals)
• outbound (chemicals & plastic)

[JDavis21835]

AARR, I believe your Grey Iron, SMCO list needs to be updated. As far as I know, they no longer have furnaces. All the melt is being done on Nodular drive by the aluminum smelter out there. Im sure that eliminates your coke loads. Not sure on the "clay"

[GTW6401]

Essroc seems to perfer going by ship when the lakes arent frozen over.

[GTW6401]

Auburn Bean and Grain is looking to expand and open a new facility in Standish next year, with rail service from LSRC.

The new plant will be able to load 90-car unit trains with a 40,000 bushel-per-hour load out capability.

http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michi ... nting.html

[lightning]

Yup...your list needs to be updated...CPS= doesnt take liquid fert. GREY IRON= doesn't do any busines with rail any more.....DELPHI(TRANSMISSION)= doesn't take rail any more....STEERING GEAR= now called NEXTEER...NODULAR= no longer there, rail ripped up to the asylum (museum)....DELTA TRUSS= gone Mershon siding GONE..And as far as the above post about the grain trains to Standish good for them i'm sure they welcome all the new business!!!

[AARR]

Yup...your list needs to be updated...CPS= doesnt take liquid fert. GREY IRON= doesn't do any busines with rail any more.....DELPHI(TRANSMISSION)= doesn't take rail any more....STEERING GEAR= now called NEXTEER...NODULAR= no longer there, rail ripped up to the asylum (museum)....DELTA TRUSS= gone Mershon siding GONE..And as far as the above post about the grain trains to Standish good for them i'm sure they welcome all the new business!!!

Thanks for the update. Is LSRC's business up or down in recent years?

[JDavis21835]

There may be some traffic returning to Grey Iron/SMCO in the future. Talking to several guys that work in the plant recently. It sounds like by the end of August they will shut down for a major retool. Sounds like this will include two new furnaces being installed. They will cast blocks, heads, and pistons. It also sounds like they will utilize unused space and build the engines in house. Sounds like this will line will fire up in early 2014

[AARR]

Auburn Bean and Grain is looking to expand and open a new facility in Standish next year, with rail service from LSRC.

The new plant will be able to load 90-car unit trains with a 40,000 bushel-per-hour load out capability.

http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michi ... nting.html

2,000,000 bushel of storage. Despite its fertile soil the uper half of the lower pensisula has never been as big on corn, soybean, and wheat as the lower. Perhaps that wil be changing.

[Standard Railfan]

Auburn Bean and Grain is looking to expand and open a new facility in Standish next year, with rail service from LSRC.

The new plant will be able to load 90-car unit trains with a 40,000 bushel-per-hour load out capability.

http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michi ... nting.html

2,000,000 bushel of storage. Despite its fertile soil the uper half of the lower pensisula has never been as big on corn, soybean, and wheat as the lower. Perhaps that wil be changing.

Nothing brings cropland into productio as fast as higher prices. Never say never. There is history of crop production in the north, although not in the covered hopper era.