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Was at ol' Amerhart again picking up stuff today. Looks like a train yard with three centerbeam flats (SOO #601430, BCOL #730981 & GTW #623499) sitting there. GLC gave them that day and the next (today) to unload them. Soo Line flat was carrying I-joist and beams with the other two hauling dimensional lumber. Now, GLC is returning thursday (tomorrow) to retrieve them AND they are bringing two (2) more lumber loads. It has been a long time since multiple cars have been switched there. The action would be quite visible from the new paved trail right there off M72. So, again here's a heads up for those of you who would like to see some switching action there at Amerhart as well as GLC run around the train in Williamsburg. Three outbounds-two inbounds! Almost feel spoiled up here now!

Great to hear! Hopefully this increase in traffic will be a sign of things to come!

Went back to Amerhart again just prior to 398 and 399 arriving today. I and another yard worker there helped get the SOO LINE flat ready for the trip back by securing the load lock cables which is no easy task. Hope some pictures roll in from the southbound two engined, five empties train from today.

Heres the two loaded centerbeams arriving at Amerhart today. Didn't have time to wait for them to unload and catch the whole train leaving town.......

398-399 arrive at the Amerhart yard in Bates with two loaded centerbeam lumber cars.


Heres a shot for MIGN-Todd, best I could do, shows both GP38-2's and all five centerbeams, just not together!



Again MIGN-Todd, Thanks for the heads up!
Kelly

Nice shots KC. I was hoping you would have got a shot of them using the north leg of the wye at Walton junction. Or did they just run around the cars again?

Love the TC Reports and Pics MIGN-Todd and KC. Keep 'em coming

C&O

We can always count on KC for the shots. The yards guys there predicted that they would split the locomotives. It keeps them from having to run around the train in Williamsburg and in Traverse also. I missed the whole thing yesterday. Left Amerhart just before they arrived then, was too far ahead of them later running down Keystone Road. My timing's off bigtime. Lovely to have all the traffic up here again though. Thanks KC!

Nice shots yesrerday, KC. What time did they show up? I had to take my wife to Menards( in this case, happy to).Went by Bates about 9:00a and followed the track thru TC all the way to Kingsley, Then back to Menards. Then headed towards home again following thru town and by Bates at 12:30p. Missed it every which way.
Thanks for the heads up MIGN Todd

KC wrote:Heres the two loaded centerbeams arriving at Amerhart today. Didn't have time to wait for them to unload and catch the whole train leaving town.......

398-399 arrive at the Amerhart yard in Bates with two loaded centerbeam lumber cars.


Heres a shot for MIGN-Todd, best I could do, shows both GP38-2's and all five centerbeams, just not together!



Again MIGN-Todd, Thanks for the heads up!
Kelly

Not sure how to say this but will try. Both engines come to the lumber yard leading the two lumber cars. How did they get the second unit and the lumber cars onto the spur BEHIND the lead unit and the three retrieved lumber cars? Did they go down to end of track about two miles and switch back to make this happen? Just confused how two units on a single track together were separated and then at opposite ends of the train heading back to TC.

C&O

C&O6088 wrote:Not sure how to say this but will try. Both engines come to the lumber yard leading the two lumber cars. How did they get the second unit and the lumber cars onto the spur BEHIND the lead unit and the three retrieved lumber cars? Did they go down to end of track about two miles and switch back to make this happen? Just confused how two units on a single track together were separated and then at opposite ends of the train heading back to TC.

C&O

They do not go to Williamsburg to run around their train. They move the engines individually back and forth between the main line and the spur until they have an engine on both sides of the train. Someone explained (KC?) exactly how they did it. I'll repost it here if I find it.

(1) Train pulls past the switch. Leading loco stays on the main. 2nd loco pushes the two in-bound cars onto the spur and ties on the to the out-bounds.

(2) Loco on the main backs past the switch. Loco on the spur pulls all 5 cars out of the spur and pushes to the loco on the main.

(3) The out-bounds are tied to the loco on the main, while the other loco returns to the spur with the in-bounds to spot them.

(4) After the in-bound cars are spotted the loco returns to the main an ties on the the end of the out-bounds.

(5) End result is a loco on both ends and the out-bounds in the middle.


I'm sure there is other ways to do it.

Seems to me that it would just be easier to take them to Williamsburg and use the run-around. Plus, it would be nice to see the rust ground off those rails out there. Been waiting for a chance to get a shot of a GLC locomotive at the end of the line there right at Elk Lake Rd. Have one that somebody posted from up in Petoskey and that is awesome yet sad also.

MIGN-Todd wrote:Seems to me that it would just be easier to take them to Williamsburg and use the run-around. Plus, it would be nice to see the rust ground off those rails out there. Been waiting for a chance to get a shot of a GLC locomotive at the end of the line there right at Elk Lake Rd. Have one that somebody posted from up in Petoskey and that is awesome yet sad also.

I agree MIGN-Todd. I thought they left that end around in there for this very reason. I wouldn't think it's a fuel issue as they already travel 40 miles to deliver 2-4 cars to a lumber yard. I wonder when the last time a Train has crossed the Highway there in Williamston....maybe traffic isn't used to trains up there and the presence would cause an accident and the RR would just as soon not travel to the end of the track. Anyway....it would be neat to see it at the end like you mentioned.

C&O

C&O6088 wrote:

MIGN-Todd wrote:Seems to me that it would just be easier to take them to Williamsburg and use the run-around. Plus, it would be nice to see the rust ground off those rails out there. Been waiting for a chance to get a shot of a GLC locomotive at the end of the line there right at Elk Lake Rd. Have one that somebody posted from up in Petoskey and that is awesome yet sad also.

I agree MIGN-Todd. I thought they left that end around in there for this very reason. I wouldn't think it's a fuel issue as they already travel 40 miles to deliver 2-4 cars to a lumber yard. I wonder when the last time a Train has crossed the Highway there in Williamston....maybe traffic isn't used to trains up there and the presence would cause an accident and the RR would just as soon not travel to the end of the track. Anyway....it would be neat to see it at the end like you mentioned.

C&O

Did you guys know there is a shed in Williamsburg that buttes up to the main line where a truck can back up to one side then a high-low can transfer packages into a rail car on the other side. Its just a tiny little shed. There are a few canning/processing plants that lost service when Chessie abandoned between Williamsburg and Charlevoix and the shed was built so they could transload and continue to use rail service. I don't know if it ever was used though.

Did you guys know there is a shed in Williamsburg that buttes up to the main line where a truck can back up to one side then a high-low can transfer packages into a rail car on the other side. Its just a tiny little shed. There are a few canning/processing plants that lost service when Chessie abandoned between Williamsburg and Charlevoix and the shed was built so they could transload and continue to use rail service. I don't know if it ever was used though.

Interesting tidbit AARR. I have seen this shed and wondered what it was ever used for if anything. I find this type of traffic interesting. Reminds me of the freight trans-load in South boardman. Saw one picture of a boxcar spotted there but it hasn't been used in years. Thanks for the info.

KVERBERK wrote:Interesting tidbit AARR. I have seen this shed and wondered what it was ever used for if anything. I find this type of traffic interesting. Reminds me of the freight trans-load in South boardman. Saw one picture of a boxcar spotted there but it hasn't been used in years. Thanks for the info.

That concrete platform was built in South Boardman and several box cars of bagged drilling sand were delivered. Another one was built in Kalkaska and that one saw box car traffic for many years up until a few years ago. Normally the drilling sand was delivered in BN or BNSF box cars.

I wondered if the customer changed the destination from South Boardman to Kalkaska, or if the railroad did, or if Kalkaska was a different customer than South Boardman.

KC may be able to answer for us

I know all about that shed in Williamsburg. I used to hop the MIGN when they came into town and run out there or Grawn. I was with Bud Zosso (sp?) on 1605 when we left a box there once. That was a busy day actually. We first dropped a covered hopper at the old plant near the airport (used to make clocks I think) then, lumber in Williamsburg and finally the car at that shed. Think it was a Frisco or a Railbox- box but I do not know what it contained. Haven't seen anything there since except a MOW car of TSBy's.

MIGN-Todd wrote:I know all about that shed in Williamsburg. I used to hop the MIGN when they came into town and run out there or Grawn. I was with Bud Zosso (sp?) on 1605 when we left a box there once. That was a busy day actually. We first dropped a covered hopper at the old plant near the airport (used to make clocks I think) then, lumber in Williamsburg and finally the car at that shed. Think it was a Frisco or a Railbox- box but I do not know what it contained. Haven't seen anything there since except a MOW car of TSBy's.

That would have been an AWESOME ride! Did you have other opportunities to ride or railfan MIGN and what do you remember?

I guess this is a little late, but better late than never. I live relatively close to the tracks in Acme, which is near Trverse City. Last Thursday after hearing the GLC sounding its horn in Williamsburg I grabbed my camera and had my mom drop me and my trusty bike (I don't have my drivers license yet) off at the Bunker Hill road crossing. I waited not more than a minute before two of GLC's blue geeps slowly crept around the corner.





After they crossed the road and I recovered from the shock of seeing five centerbeams in tow ( which allowed time for all the impatient traffic clear) I put my gear in my backpack and raced southward hoping to catch it where the tracks cross the local bike trail. Which is about a mile from the first and second photo. It's a good thing the entire line has a maximum speed of 10mph because I barely had time to drop my bike and pull out my camera to snap a few quick shots.





The next quality photo opportunnity was quite a bit farther down the line and I needed to save some energy to ride back home in the 80 degree weather so after one last shot I gave up pursuit and the GLC and I parted ways.



Hope at least one person gets some sort of enjoyment out of this.

I enjoyed your pics, TC17. Thanks for posting. You may be a little young to remember but around 10 years ago 5 cars a week from the lumber yard was normal and 10-15 car trains from Traverse City were alos common. That is when TSBY also had juice and scrap metal traffic.