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I heard HESR's Bay City to Durand train 702 isn't running on weekends any more due to lack of traffic. Anyone know?

701 came into Durand with 38 cars and headed North with 19 cars.

701 operates on Saturday and 702 on Sunday or has that changed?

Don Simon wrote:701 operates on Saturday and 702 on Sunday or has that changed?

No, no, no......

702 is southbound from Tuesday to Friday, with the crew usually taxied down to Durand Monday to bring 701 back.
701 is the northbound from Durand Monday to Friday.

The Saturday job was usually a 770 symbol if I remember correctly. Things should change too much except 702 running a short train down to Durand Monday mornings now.

701 came into Durand with 38 cars and headed North with 19 cars.

I noticed how short trains had become coming into Bay City the last time I visited my parents. I thought maybe everything was being setout at Genesee Yard on the way up, but I guess not. 740 had 1 car coming from Saginaw when I saw it back in mid-September.

What time does 702 usually leave Bay City?

Usually about 10am, but it might be closer to 9:30 now if its a shorter train.

Its around 9am for 740 to depart Wenona Yard, Monday to Friday.

I was at Durand on Saturday and Central Michigan's train from Bay City never came. A few people said that they stopped running on Saturday.

I never saw a train from Central Michigan so I believe it.

wow, times change. Before I moved from Durand in April the normal train was over 70 cars and often 100+.

Jim

hobojim wrote:wow, times change. Before I moved from Durand in April the normal train was over 70 cars and often 100+.

Jim

There are hardly more than 50 cars these days on the train into Durand. I don't know if they're handling less traffic or if more cars are interchanged in Saginaw

If cars were interchanged in Saginaw they would go north to Bay City on 740, then down to Durand on the next run of 702. Quite a bit of traffic also comes off the HESR from points in the thumb, so that also might be down.

Another possibility is that a lot of the cars that formerly ran up on the HESR for points up north have shifted to an SBS/LSRC routing. SBS is already 4 years ago and might be providing a lower rate to shippers if contracts were re-bid.

Conrail Jon wrote:What time does 702 usually leave Bay City?

GTW6401 wrote:Usually about 10am, but it might be closer to 9:30 now if its a shorter train.

Its around 9am for 740 to depart Wenona Yard, Monday to Friday.

They hold this schedule pretty tightly as I hear them rolling through town just after 10 AM all the time, I was surprised to see something in the yard Monday morning on the way home from work and caught them headed south with 36 cars. The train counts might go up a little with sugar beet season in.