ADM grannery for Three Rivers

[Super Chief]

Anybody heard anymore on what's going on with this project? Last I heard the township board sent ADM's drawings back to them and said they couldn't read them. Probably pissed ADM off. Could it be the grannery is the one that will be going up at Milford Jct. in Indiana? Anybody with Grand Elk connections that can maybe shed some light on where it stands? Grand Elk's 302 yesterday was an 80 car train, all 4124 and 4125 could do to pull it. Lots of interesting cars on it also. Last time I was in White Piegon there were 3 log cars at the transload next to US-131. That brings to mind the question anybody know where the logs are being shipped? Next time I see an auto there I'll stop in and ask.

[berkmeister]

The fertilzer and grain facility near Milford Junction will be owned by a company called CGB, which is headquartered down in Louisiana. No relation to ADM. An eighty car freight on 302 is a long one; must be getting more business up that way! Is Grand Elk running trains more regularly on Sunday lately? Like to see that railroad become a 24/7 operation, like a Class 1!!!!! Berkmeister

[AARR]

Last time I was in White Piegon there were 3 log cars at the transload next to US-131. That brings to mind the question anybody know where the logs are being shipped? Next time I see an auto there I'll stop in and ask.

IIRC they are destined for Besse Lumber in the UP or WI

[Super Chief]

Besse Lumber website says they are Escanaba Lumber, Baraga Lumber and Newberry Lumber. Also have a sawmill in Ladysmith Wi. Thanks AARR for the info. Did not know lumber cars were heading south to north. Thats different.

[AARR]

Besse Lumber website says they are Escanaba Lumber, Baraga Lumber and Newberry Lumber. Also have a sawmill in Ladysmith Wi. Thanks AARR for the info. Did not know lumber cars were heading south to north. Thats different.

There are a few loading points on GDLK and IIRC on MQT that ship out logs now and then to Besse. RD'sD knows the scoop.

[GAP]

When this project was first announced there was a crop in the field where it was to be built. After the harvest this past fall I expected to see something begin to happen. I've driven past there a few times this winter expecting to see some surveyor's stakes or something, but have been disappointed. I hope it is still a "go." The newly-built grainary in Decatur is now in trouble with the banks.I I wonder if ADM might have their eye on that as an alternative.

[Raildudes dad]

Besse Lumber website says they are Escanaba Lumber, Baraga Lumber and Newberry Lumber. Also have a sawmill in Ladysmith Wi. Thanks AARR for the info. Did not know lumber cars were heading south to north. Thats different.

There are a few loading points on GDLK and IIRC on MQT that ship out logs now and then to Besse. RD'sD knows the scoop.

Property is owned by Tracy Export Inc, exporters of hardwood veneer logs

http://www.tracyexportinc.com/about-us

Besse doesn't maintain any yards that I know in the LP.

[AARR]

The newly-built grainary in Decatur is now in trouble with the banks.I I wonder if ADM might have their eye on that as an alternative.

North Star Grain IIRC. They recently laid some new long tracks so they can load unit trains. Before that I think they could only load 8 car blocks at a time.

[MSchwiebert]

CGB also has the new facility just west of Defiance OH on the CSX.


http://www.cgb.com/News/tabid/287/ArtMI ... -Ohio.aspx

The fertilzer and grain facility near Milford Junction will be owned by a company called CGB, which is headquartered down in Louisiana. No relation to ADM. An eighty car freight on 302 is a long one; must be getting more business up that way! Is Grand Elk running trains more regularly on Sunday lately? Like to see that railroad become a 24/7 operation, like a Class 1!!!!! Berkmeister

[Super Chief]

Filllmore's closed their John Deere dealership up in Paw Paw yesterday. Told all the employees the store wasn't paying it's way. I thought farming was going better than that in Van Buren county? No wonder Pioneer want's to run only to Lawrence. Must be more grapes than corn.

[Super Chief]

You are right AARR, 8 cars was about all they could get on those sidings without fouling up Amtrak. The longer ones should help. That's as far east as the Burns Harbor job switches unless they call for grain specials like for the Anderson's in White Piegon. I wondered if they would extend those tracks as it was a really cramped.

[AARR]

That's as far east as the Burns Harbor job switches unless they call for grain specials like for the Anderson's in White Piegon. I wondered if they would extend those tracks as it was a really cramped.

The Burns Harbor job will work as far as Mattawan (sp) and switch the juice plant as needed.

White Pigeon is on GDLK and switched by a Kalamazoo crew although I think occasionally a crew will pick up NS engines in Elkhart, go to White Pigeon and switch The Anderson's, then head back to elkhart with their unit grain train.

[bctrainfan]

Besse Lumber website says they are Escanaba Lumber, Baraga Lumber and Newberry Lumber. Also have a sawmill in Ladysmith Wi. Thanks AARR for the info. Did not know lumber cars were heading south to north. Thats different.

There are a few loading points on GDLK and IIRC on MQT that ship out logs now and then to Besse. RD'sD knows the scoop.

Property is owned by Tracy Export Inc, exporters of hardwood veneer logs

http://www.tracyexportinc.com/about-us

Besse doesn't maintain any yards that I know in the LP.

I am guessing this is the same outfit that is transloading logs onto CN at the Battle Creek yard. They have been pretty active for a few months, and the logging company driver I spoke to said they were also working down in the White Pigeon/Three Rivers area. He said most of the logs going to CN are coming from Kalamazoo area.

[Raildudes dad]

I would guess Tracy has been there many years. No name has ever been on the building but they own the land. Sometimes there's logs there, sometimes it's empty. never have seen a railcar there. Besse loads on team tracks or private sidings, usually if not always onto Besse cars.

[Super Chief]

White Piegon just got the business. All summer they were loading in Sturgis by Abbott Labs. Pioneer 907 was parked there for awhile and 1616 stayed in White Piegon. Now it looks as though all the trucks are bringing the logs to WP to load. Noticed that GDLK had a few MQT cars on the 80 car train north the other day. Do they interchange directly with
MQT or do they haul to CSX then MQT gets them? There was talk of an obscure track in Grand Rapids that would interchange direct between the two but CSX might have objected. Just curious how it turned out.

[Saturnalia]

Per contract, all cars to/from MQT must go via CSXT Wyoming. For the "fine", they may as well go to CSX to get shuffled.

Now there was at one point a "plan" for GDLK to interchange directly with MQT. To understand it, one must go back to before the 1980s? when the West Side trackage was re-arranged. Up to that point, the old GR&I paralleled the PM until Comstock Park, just as it had for so many years. What they did was take out the old GR&I from Lake Michigan Drive/Pearl St up to Ann St. C&O/CSX got ownership of the remaining track, and Conrail/NS/GDLK got trackage rights on that remaining segment.

However, there are 2 pieces of the GR&I left. First, is the bit by Watson St in GR. That is backdoor access to Padnos. I wanna say the GDLK/NS has that all to themselves, but I'm not 100% sure. You can see where the main used to cross Lake Michigan Dr heading north, but has been cut-off.

Second, is the bit left of Ann St at Fuller Diamond. CSX has their Main & Run-around, but 2 tracks split off to the west. These were once the old GR&I mains (There are remnants of the Bridge over Indian Mill Creek Too). These were also conveyed to the GDLK as part of the lease. The tricky part comes where that track ends. The White Pine Trail (Gov't Ownership) of the old GR&I ends at Comstock Park. NORFOLK SOUTHERN STILL OWNS EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, and is not leased to the GDLK.

So this is where the GDLK wanted to re-install a portion of the Gr&I north from Fuller and across Turner, and establish a direct connection to the MQT there. Under any interchange plan, the GDLK would utilize it's trackage rights on CSX up to Fuller, then resume running on it's own tracks up to Turner.

Now the rest of the story is kinda murky from there in my memory, so I'll refrain from telling it. Raildudesdad knows a lot more, I'll let him chime in if he wants to on his own accord.

[Super Chief]

Thanks a lot. I was just curious.

[Raildudes dad]

OK, here we go

Super Chief, we are talking about 2 different locations. You are referring to the old Hager Lumber distribution center on US 131. I've never seen logs there. I am referring to the log yard on Miller Drive just west of the new engine house Gordy Morris built and his stone yard. Tracy Export's website has a picture of the yard and their office. I also notice it says the logs are loaded in containers for shipment overseas. That would explain why no rail cars. The 131 operation sounds like a Besse operation, using a private siding after using one in Sturgis. They load close to where they are logging.

MQT3001 has it mostly right. The GR&I/PRR and the PM/C&O had separate lines up the West Side only a few feet apart from Fulton Street to Comstock Park. The Westside Rail Consolidation plan of 1984 removed the GR&I/PRR/Conrail line up to Ann Street with them getting trackage rights over the PM/C&O/CSX up to Ann Street. A connection was made just north of Ann to the old North Yard which served as the interchange with the MIGN as well as the yard for the GM traffic out of the Alpine Ave plant.

With the demise of the MIGN, the rails were pulled from the North Yard north. The yard was eventually reduced from 5 tracks to 2 tracks. Conrail/NS had kept ownership to the old grocery store in Comstock Park. That was deliberate to keep MIGN from interchanging with CSX in CP. NS has since sold the ROW from the grocery store to Mill Creek Ave.to the CP DDA for a White Pine trail extension. NS retains ownership from Mill Creek Ave to Ann Street. It is in the lease to GDLK if they want to utilize the property.

In the mean time, CSX leased from Turner Ave north to MQT/RA/G&W. While it is physically possible to put the connection from the North Yard across Turner to MQT, the reality is the lease says all traffic will go to CSX .

[DLM]

I was in White Pigeon last week. They were putting logs into two 40' containers with a bobcat. I did not see any railcars to handle logs.

Veneer logs are loaded into refrigerated 40' containers on the west side of St. Johns, MI. They load them wet and keep them cold so they do not split.

Seems like they is a lot of kiln dried oak and maple going to Estonia in 40's containers.

[Super Chief]

Thanks for the history lesson as I could'nt recall exactly what transpired back in the 80's? As for the log cars it's hit and miss when they are there. I've seen 1 and then I've seen 3 and then the containers. Yep, two different outfits to be sure are there as you say.