The Ann Arbor Railroad

[redside20]

Welcome to the board. And these Ann Arbor reports are awesome, keep up the good work. How is the plant down in Milan faring, are they still getting in shipments of plastic?

[TrainWatcher]

Welcome aboard Conner. Glad to see we have someone who is a bit more in touch with the Annie and movements. Look forward to seeing and hearing more.

[Racer]

It's really nice to see reports of the Ann Arbor Railroad. I'm on the bandwagon, too regarding wanting to catch the AA through downtown Ann Arbor. Aside from Ford in Saline and Jeep/ Chrysler in Toledo, what other online customers does AA have?

[cfriedri]

First of all, welcome to the board! From 2008 until early 2011, I used to live not all that far away from you, in eastern Pittsfield Twp., near US-12 and 94. Now I live in Connecticut, so I'm a bit farther, but I'm glad there's another fan in the area to check up on the Ann Arbor! I used to run into them occasionally and have some photos on the Annie and their northern neighbor the Great Lakes Central in my Michigan Shortlines photo gallery here: http://railroadfan.com/gallery/thumbnai ... age-1.html

Such as:


Anyhow, from what I witnessed while living in the area: They would come north from Toledo usually 4-5 days during the week. Often this was an evening trip northbound (daylight in the summer) and an early morning trip southbound (again, could be daylight during the longest days of the year), but a grain train or important shipment could change this schedule from the norm. I often would go down to Milan or beyond and wait for them to come north, then chase them till the light ran out. Often they would die around Pittsfield Jct., or while they were switching the Saline branch, so they would come into AA proper well into the wee hours. This would result in a morning southbound run, again, in daylight during the longest days of the years, and I'd see them in Milan after sunup on a few occasions. My girlfriend lived in an apartment right next to Argo Dam and I recall Sunday and Thursday late nights were pretty reliable for hearing them come up to do an interchange at Osmer, with at least a couple other nights as well.

Thanks for sharing your photos! While I'm sad to see that the orange Annie colors may at last be retired after almost FIFTY years, that they motive power now matches again is nice from a photographic angle, and I'm glad to see they are working to apply the new Annie logo to their new acquisitions. I also took some videos of Ann Arbor action (often if I would see the train after the sun set and still photos wouldn't cut it). Check out my page here and keep scrolling down to find several Annie videos intermixed with some other things: http://www.youtube.com/user/GP30M?feature=mhee

Thanks a lot for this information - thoroughly helpful! You have some great photos and some cool videos!

[cfriedri]

It's really nice to see reports of the Ann Arbor Railroad. I'm on the bandwagon, too regarding wanting to catch the AA through downtown Ann Arbor. Aside from Ford in Saline and Jeep/ Chrysler in Toledo, what other online customers does AA have?

I think there is still a siding somewhere in Ann Arbor, but the railroad doesn't serve the business anymore. As far as auto parts go - you're right about the Jeep/Chrysler operation; Saline's plant is now Faurecia. I believe there is an operation outside of Dundee that ships auto parts as well.

[redside20]

The Ann Arbor serves Clean Tech plastics at Dundee, the grain elevator, and loads sand from the quarry north of Dundee. They also exchange traffic with NS at Milan and I&ORY at Diann.

[wagnew0923]

What is the story behind the line that crosses AARR in Pittsfield. What was that part of and what is the history.

[Ypsi]

What is the story behind the line that crosses AARR in Pittsfield. What was that part of and what is the history.

that is the hilsdale branch and it went from ypsilanti to hilsdale michigan, it was the lake shore and michigan southern rr, then NYC who cut it back from ypsi to pittsfield. then it went to PC and now AA.

here is some info for the first part of the branch, i was asking the same question some time ago
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23293

[AARR]

What is the story behind the line that crosses AARR in Pittsfield. What was that part of and what is the history.

that is the hilsdale branch and it went from ypsilanti to hilsdale michigan, it was the lake shore and michigan southern rr, then NYC who cut it back from ypsi to pittsfield. then it went to PC and now AA.

here is some info for the first part of the branch, i was asking the same question some time ago
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23293

When the state widened US23(?) around 1968 PC was going to discontinue service on the branch. AA picked it up from a point about 1 mile east of Pittsfield Jct to the end of the line in Saline. Originally it served about 6 customers. AA used the Ferry Yard (Ann Arbor) switcher to head down the Saline Branch 2x per day to switch customers. Over the years business has dwindled but remains healthy with auto parts being the only commodity being shipped, about 12 cars each to Miinepolis and Kansas City.

[JANGAJONGA]

There is 1 remaining siding for fingerle lumber in Ann Arbor, otherwise there is the passing track and that's it.

[AARR]

The Ann Arbor serves Clean Tech plastics at Dundee, the grain elevator, and loads sand from the quarry north of Dundee. They also exchange traffic with NS at Milan and I&ORY at Diann.

Elevator has not shipped in many years that I know of.

The loads of sand is actually a cement plant that closed a few years ago. I hear it is still used as a distribution terminal for inbound cement from a plant out west but I have not seen it with my own eyes.

There is a very small lumber company in Ann Arbor that still gets a carload a year. The larger lumber company has a spur still connected but nothing by rail in years.

The "parts" plant in Dundee is an engine plant that ships out some by rail.

In Toledo they have the Chrsler Jeep loading ramps, along the river an alphalpha processor, and on the old DT&I Temperance Yard track they switch Smuckers (inbound sweeteners) and load construction debris into hi-top open top hoppers.

[GP30M4216]

Holcim is the stone/sand place on the north side of Dundee. Much of their operation did shut down there but apparently as was said some kind of inbound distribution still takes place. GEMA is the engine plant also on the north side of Dundee. They get 86' boxcars. There's a nice crossing on their spur making it easy to watch them get switched out. Lots (if not all) of the outbound autoparts from Saline get interchanged to the NS at Milan. But some 86' boxcars do come up and go back toward Toledo - this may be GEMA traffic, or empties for Saline, or maybe some loads go the Toledo route, too. Does anything still happen on the Saline Team Track?

AA has active interchanges with the GLC at Osmer, NS at Milan, and I&O at Diann, in addition to the CN and CSX at Toledo (and maybe the W&LE, too?) Pretty good connections for a road only 40 some miles in length! Remember, any traffic going north from Pittsfield Jct. is for the GLC interchange at Osmer, unless it is Toledo-bound traffic which was picked up and is just along for the ride. Likewise, a GLC train spied north of Osmer will be AA interchange traffic unless there are pickup or setoff cars which just need to go the other direction on their own road.

I hope this helps fill in a few gaps....

[Ypsi]

Ok my million dollar questions are: when did the auto part shipments (re?)start for Saline, I though they were not doing that anymore, and What times do they do the 2 trains a day?

[midland sub]

Ford shut down the Twin Cities assembly plant back in December.

here is some info for the first part of the branch, i was asking the same question some time ago
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23293[/quote]
When the state widened US23(?) around 1968 PC was going to discontinue service on the branch. AA picked it up from a point about 1 mile east of Pittsfield Jct to the end of the line in Saline. Originally it served about 6 customers. AA used the Ferry Yard (Ann Arbor) switcher to head down the Saline Branch 2x per day to switch customers. Over the years business has dwindled but remains healthy with auto parts being the only commodity being shipped, about 12 cars each to Miinepolis and Kansas City.[/quote]

[chapmaja]

I work occassionally with a security employee at the plant in Saline. What he has told me is that they get nightly (weekday) switches at the plant, totally 6 to 8 cars per night.

The operation to Saline is a rather interesting deal. They will generally pull north with the train (all cars including for the GLC), stop short of the junction, cut off the rest of the train, pull around thr wye and back into Saline. When I have caught them in Saline they normally spend about an hour in Saline working.

The plant contains two sidings. The recent ariel photographs that I have seen only show cars on the second (westerly) track. I know at one time they used to get inbound products into the plant, but they haven't had that traffic in years. It appears, from the photographs, that the second siding is used but I don't know what for.

The plant is the only active shipper on the line, which terminates just down from the plant before crossing Maple. There is an old AA boxcar at the end of the line which I think is used as a supply shed for the railroad. That property is for sale (was the Saline PD). Given it's location maybe there is a change it could be purchased by a company wanting rail use (unlikely, but possible).

[AARR]

The plant contains two sidings. The recent ariel photographs that I have seen only show cars on the second (westerly) track. I know at one time they used to get inbound products into the plant, but they haven't had that traffic in years. It appears, from the photographs, that the second siding is used but I don't know what for.

Inbound plastic pellets years ago. 2-4 per day. Ford discontinued inbound raw materials by rail at many locations years ago.