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Today CN L950 went all the way up the Orion Branch to Orion. I believe they have a new customer up there. I am taking a guess at the company but it might be Powers Distributing. Looking at a Google Maps(which was recently updated) there is a track the leads up to loading docks at Powers Distributing in Lake Orion, Michigan. Does anyone have any more info on this? Thanks!

It would surprise me if Powers has resumed shipments by rail all these years after discontinuing service. And I don't think the GM plant is shipping anything yet. So it could be to grab some storage cars or something like that.

There's a scrap yard between Pontiac and Orion that still gets switched. Do they do all the way to Orion to run around their train?

Last I knew, the spur at Powers was ripped out. Haven't been up there in a while, this may call for a road trip.

Orion Assembly isn't back up and running yet, not until around April of 2011....November will make a whole year I've been off.

AARR wrote:It would surprise me if Powers has resumed shipments by rail all these years after discontinuing service. And I don't think the GM plant is shipping anything yet. So it could be to grab some storage cars or something like that.

There's a scrap yard between Pontiac and Orion that still gets switched. Do they do all the way to Orion to run around their train?

No, because for the past few years the Orion Branch had been out or service and no trains had been up the line in over a year. There are no stored cars in Orion or anyplace else on the branch other than were the line comes out of Pontiac. After I made this post the conductor or 950 told a train in Pontiac that they would be out of the yard and out of there way and that they were going to be at "Sam Adams" for another 30 minutes.

GTWChris wrote:

AARR wrote:It would surprise me if Powers has resumed shipments by rail all these years after discontinuing service. And I don't think the GM plant is shipping anything yet. So it could be to grab some storage cars or something like that.

There's a scrap yard between Pontiac and Orion that still gets switched. Do they do all the way to Orion to run around their train?

No, because for the past few years the Orion Branch had been out or service and no trains had been up the line in over a year. There are no stored cars in Orion or anyplace else on the branch other than were the line comes out of Pontiac. After I made this post the conductor or 950 told a train in Pontiac that they would be out of the yard and out of there way and that they were going to be at "Sam Adams" for another 30 minutes.

That's great if Powers is using rail service again!

GTWChris wrote:

AARR wrote:It would surprise me if Powers has resumed shipments by rail all these years after discontinuing service. And I don't think the GM plant is shipping anything yet. So it could be to grab some storage cars or something like that.

There's a scrap yard between Pontiac and Orion that still gets switched. Do they do all the way to Orion to run around their train?

No, because for the past few years the Orion Branch had been out or service and no trains had been up the line in over a year. There are no stored cars in Orion or anyplace else on the branch other than were the line comes out of Pontiac. After I made this post the conductor or 950 told a train in Pontiac that they would be out of the yard and out of there way and that they were going to be at "Sam Adams" for another 30 minutes.

I'm absolutely in shock if it's Powers

Well, Powers distributes Sam Adams beer so.... guess I may have to take a trip over that way

When Powers was in Sylvan Lake they received 9-12 cars a month. When the acquired Vic Wertz's outfit in the early 1990's their shipments doubled. When they moved to Orion they anticipated receiving 600 cars a year but issues with CN reduced that to 400 then nothing. Their spur holds 3 cars. So at 400 cars annually that's 8 a week so you'd think their spur would have cars in it more often than not but even when they were shipping by rail I didn't see cars in their spur very often. But, their GM gave me the numbers so I figured he would know but it never did add up to me

GTWChris wrote:

AARR wrote:It would surprise me if Powers has resumed shipments by rail all these years after discontinuing service. And I don't think the GM plant is shipping anything yet. So it could be to grab some storage cars or something like that.

There's a scrap yard between Pontiac and Orion that still gets switched. Do they do all the way to Orion to run around their train?

No, because for the past few years the Orion Branch had been out or service and no trains had been up the line in over a year. There are no stored cars in Orion or anyplace else on the branch other than were the line comes out of Pontiac. After I made this post the conductor or 950 told a train in Pontiac that they would be out of the yard and out of there way and that they were going to be at "Sam Adams" for another 30 minutes.

Part of last year's Barnum and Bailey's Circus train went up and parked in the yard up there last fall. They unloaded from a street that goes in front of the beer distributor over there.

The street is Giddings Rd. Powers main entrance runs off there just south of the crossing. I used to be on the fire dept. in Orion for almost 11 years and that was in my response district. I remember running on a guy trapped under a rail crane during the winter when they were building Powers and the spur line.

Sam Allen = Sam Allen Iron and Metal
Amazingly I'm not aware of a single beer distributer in MI that gets rail service

They're projecting 60,000 Volts in 2011. If 70% go by rail (which is the average) and 15 Volts per rail car that's 2,800 rail cars or about 11 per weekday.

They're also building the Europeen version of the Volt which they're projecting 90,000. 100% would be for export. At 15 per rail car that's 6,000 rail cars or 24 per week day.

We'll see what happens

It will be interesting whether GM and CN will play nice when Orion Assembly reopens. Before the BK the plant was trucking all production to a CSX reload from what I understand, due to issues between the companies. Perhaps after a change at the top at both GM and CN cooler heads have prevailed. It would be nice to see this piece of the old PO&N active again, should those racks start flowing into the plant.

Too bad Powers' switch was pulled, as adding a few boxcars into the mix would have made for some variety. Alas, it's gone now but at least the track was recently tamped and aligned - perhaps a good sign for outbound loads from GM Orion afterall.

Some say CN made a good decision to cut some of the GM traffic before GM went into bankruptcy.

For those who don't know when a company goes into bankruptcy vendors lose a minimum of one months revenue and could possibly lose more than that afterwards if it's determined the company can't pay all debt.

AARR wrote:They're projecting 60,000 Volts in 2011. If 70% go by rail (which is the average) and 15 Volts per rail car that's 2,800 rail cars or about 11 per weekday.

They're also building the Europeen version of the Volt which they're projecting 90,000. 100% would be for export. At 15 per rail car that's 6,000 rail cars or 24 per week day.

We'll see what happens

Don, the Volt isn't being built at Orion.....it's being built at Hamtramck. The Chevy Aveo and Buick Verano will be at Orion, and the Verano won't be out until 2012.

conrailmike wrote:

AARR wrote:They're projecting 60,000 Volts in 2011. If 70% go by rail (which is the average) and 15 Volts per rail car that's 2,800 rail cars or about 11 per weekday.

They're also building the Europeen version of the Volt which they're projecting 90,000. 100% would be for export. At 15 per rail car that's 6,000 rail cars or 24 per week day.

We'll see what happens

Don, the Volt isn't being built at Orion.....it's being built at Hamtramck. The Chevy Aveo and Buick Verano will be at Orion, and the Verano won't be out until 2012.

Ok - I got my plants mixed up then. Then the numbers I posted are for Detroit-Hamtramck.

The projected numbers for Orion are 100,000 vehicles. If 70% go by rail in racks holding 18 cars per rack the possible rail cars are 3,900 or about 15 per weekday.

AARR wrote:Sam Allen = Sam Allen Iron and Metal
Amazingly I'm not aware of a single beer distributer in MI that gets rail service

Eastown still does...
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=r21wc4 ... vl=2&sty=b


A friend ran the recyc there in the early 90's, helped him out a few times when he had labor issues, they shipped both clear (worth much more, for windshields) and green glass out in hoppers and got boxes in often. Too bad I did not have 'the bug' or a camera then.

They must have reconfigured things, I do not see the conveyor for glass loading...but I do not recall the exact track layout.

pfs wrote:

AARR wrote:Amazingly I'm not aware of a single beer distributer in MI that gets rail service

Eastown still does...
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=r21wc4 ... vl=2&sty=b

A friend ran the recyc there in the early 90's, helped him out a few times when he had labor issues, they shipped both clear (worth much more, for windshields) and green glass out in hoppers and got boxes in often. Too bad I did not have 'the bug' or a camera then.

They must have reconfigured things, I do not see the conveyor for glass loading...but I do not recall the exact track layout.

Eastwon received it's last load of beer 4-5 years ago and have blocked the dock doors where they unloaded box cars. Reason they stopped is CN raised rates so that it was cheaper to ship by truck.

I don't know about loading glass into hopper cars. I'll have to ask next time I'm there.

I didn't realize the sat/bing aerial photos were that stale.


I was there a few times in 91 and 92, they got hoppers in then.

I watched the loading process a few times.

AARR wrote:......
Eastwon received it's last load of beer 4-5 years ago and have blocked the dock doors where they unloaded box cars. Reason they stopped is CN raised rates so that it was cheaper to ship by truck. ....

I can totally understand the blocking of the doors...their product attracted a lot of indigenous nocturnal activity.

Cheaper by truck is just sad, beer weights a lot, you would think rail should kill road transport cost wise.

Thanks for the info btw, its appreciated.