The Ann Arbor Railroad

[cfriedri]

Hey all! I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I've noticed that there have been a few questions recently about the Ann Arbor Railroad. I'm a resident of the area and I frequently visit the railroad. If you're one about just catching a train and you don't care about movement or not, the train is often tied down in Pittsfield on weekday evenings. If you're one more about railroad operation and movement, I've caught the train coming into Saline to deliver Auto Parts on Sunday around 2:00 p.m. For those who haven't heard, the railroad had a derailment last Saturday and they cleaned it up on Sunday. I talked to one of the managers and he said the train often comes through Pittsfield from the north around 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., although they don't have a set schedule. Anyway - to sum this up, I have a few photographs:

[Standard Railfan]

Welcome and thanks for some great photos!

[AARR]

Thanks for the good AA info Connor. Your first post was a very good one!

[Saturnalia]

Welcome!

Were those derailment shots at AnnPere?

[cfriedri]

Welcome!

Were those derailment shots at AnnPere?

Forgive my lack of knowing - but where is AnnPere? If AnnPere can also be referred to as Pittsfield Junction, then yes! I haven't seen any other posts on the internet about the derailment - so I might as well inform the community as to what happened. The boxcar seen off the track in my above photograph had a severely worn flange and when they pulled the car onto the spur, it just slipped off the track, taking the following boxcar with it. The side of the car was still close enough to the main track that it caught on the track and tore it out of place. The locomotives being used at the time were all of the GP39-2s (2368 was leading with 2373 then 2370 following), although none of them were derailed. Forgive the quality of the photographs, but I was running on low battery and just barely got these shots in:





And not to forget - thanks all for the pleasant welcome!

[AARR]

AnnPere is south of Howell on the GLC (same line further north different railroad)

[Ypsi]

Man I wish i had head that on the scanner! so it seems that you know a lot about the annie, so they are again taking auto parts into saline??? or just storage for NS? I am looking for chances to go catch them more and what you have so far said has been helpful!

[Saturnalia]

AnnPere is south of Howell on the GLC (same line further north different railroad)

I thought it was still AA up there

Anyway, Ann Pere is where the GLC crosses CSX's Plymouth Subdivision near Howell. The jct was named after the two railroads that met there, Pere Marquette (which later merged into the C&O which eventually ended up as part of CSX), and the Ann Arbor. Pere Marquette & Ann Arbor = AnnPere.

[AARR]

AnnPere is south of Howell on the GLC (same line further north different railroad)

I thought it was still AA up there

The AA/GLC division point is Osmer (few miles north of Ann Arbor).

[cfriedri]

Man I wish i had head that on the scanner! so it seems that you know a lot about the annie, so they are again taking auto parts into saline??? or just storage for NS? I am looking for chances to go catch them more and what you have so far said has been helpful!

I'd have to say that they are using the Auto Parts Boxcars for Auto Parts. They visit Saline once or twice a day and I'd think that is frequent enough to be more than storage movements - plus the fact there are occasional CSX Boxcars that show up. You may not have caught the derailment, but I'm sure glad you had the opportunity to catch the Ann Arbor Railroad come through Ann Arbor on Sunday.

[Saturnalia]

AnnPere is south of Howell on the GLC (same line further north different railroad)

I thought it was still AA up there

The AA/GLC division point is Osmer (few miles north of Ann Arbor).

I had the interchange point right, just not the location of the interchange point. (wow was that confusing). Anyway, I thought Osmer was NORTH of AnnPere.

Ahh well, live & learn.

[cfriedri]

Anyway, I thought Osmer was NORTH of AnnPere.

The Ann Arbor Railroad only crosses the Norfolk Southern between Pittsfield and Osmer. Come to think of it - I'm led to believe that the Ann Arbor Railroad, with its current trackage, doesn't cross CSX at all.

[wagnew0923]

I know i have asked this before but when is the best time to catch the AARR going through downtown Ann Arbor with Freight. Also when do they run on weekends

[Ypsi]

I know i have asked this before but when is the best time to catch the AARR going through downtown Ann Arbor with Freight. Also when do they run on weekends

If you have a scanner or can get one, the codes to the Ann Arbor Railroad are 161.4900 and 161.3550. one is for the yard and the other is for the road. Thats how I found them this weekend I heard them at pittsfield and headed into Ann Arbor. most of the time you can hear them getting orders (if your in range) to go either north from pittsfield junction to Osmer, or orders to go south from Osmer.

also you can watch the LSCR/HESR/GLC/AA updates

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=24919

this is for updates and finding them on your own... I dont really know the times well enough other then more evenings during the week and im not too sure about the weekends. i hope the some of this can help

[cfriedri]

I know i have asked this before but when is the best time to catch the AARR going through downtown Ann Arbor with Freight. Also when do they run on weekends

If you don't have a scanner, your best bet is anywhere from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. The train should be heading south at that time.

[GP-35]

Welcome Could you slide up to Osmer & give us reports on the GLC once in a while, GREAT pic's

[AARR]

I'd have to say that they are using the Auto Parts Boxcars for Auto Parts. They visit Saline once or twice a day and I'd think that is frequent enough to be more than storage movements - plus the fact there are occasional CSX Boxcars that show up. You may not have caught the derailment, but I'm sure glad you had the opportunity to catch the Ann Arbor Railroad come through Ann Arbor on Sunday.

They load plastic parts (dash boards, etc.) and ship them to Ford plants in Minneapolis and Kansas City. About 12 cars a week for each.

[AARR]

Anyway, I thought Osmer was NORTH of AnnPere.

The Ann Arbor Railroad only crosses the Norfolk Southern between Pittsfield and Osmer. Come to think of it - I'm led to believe that the Ann Arbor Railroad, with its current trackage, doesn't cross CSX at all.

The interchange with NS in downtown Ann Arbor has not been used in many years. The track is in place but disconnected, over grown, and paved over in spots.

AA's only interchange with CSX is in Toledo.

[cfriedri]

Welcome Could you slide up to Osmer & give us reports on the GLC once in a while, GREAT pic's

My budget is somewhat restricted - but if I got the chance, I'd love to photograph the GLC!

[GP30M4216]

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