State to buy Michigan line for Amtrak

[MSchwiebert]

From Yesterday's Toledo Blade

http://toledoblade.com/local/2011/07/21 ... mtrak.html

[Steve B]

The article is a nice summary of the situation, but unfortunately there isn't much new in there, beyond the line "we have a verbal commitment" and the mention of drafting timetable changes.

Ironically, if the state buys the line it will be a "back to the future" situation, since the state built and initially owned the Detroit-Kalamazoo stretch, completing it in 1846. There was no money to build further, though, and the "Central" line was sold to private interests which finished it to Chicago.

[John Ryan]

The graphic included with the article shows the line between Dearborn and Pontiac as part of the proposed track purchase. I don't think this is correct.

[redside20]

What other customers does NS have between Wayne and Battle Creek besides the cereal plant and the Wayne Ford plant. Don't they still have Jiffy Mix in Chelsea and a few customers in Jackson?

[astrofunk76]

Also noticed last week this column from Jack Lessenberry. It quotes Joe Schwarz as saying a deal has been struck. Keep fingers crossed...

http://www.michiganradio.org/post/impro ... ain-travel

[chapmaja]

What other customers does NS have between Wayne and Battle Creek besides the cereal plant and the Wayne Ford plant. Don't they still have Jiffy Mix in Chelsea and a few customers in Jackson?

From what I know going east to west they have: Ford in Wayne, previously had Triple Crown in Willow Run (not currently active), Chelsea Grain Company east of Chelsea, Jiffy in Chelsea, several businesses in Jackson, plus the JAIL interchange, then they go to Albion where they have a couple businesses they serve including a grain place IIRC, then its on to Battle Creek with Kellogs and I think a transload of some sort in the yard (used to see a bunch of tank cars that didn't look like corn syrup for the cereal plants.

[AARR]

What other customers does NS have between Wayne and Battle Creek besides the cereal plant and the Wayne Ford plant. Don't they still have Jiffy Mix in Chelsea and a few customers in Jackson?

From what I know going east to west they have: Ford in Wayne, previously had Triple Crown in Willow Run (not currently active), Chelsea Grain Company east of Chelsea, Jiffy in Chelsea, several businesses in Jackson, plus the JAIL interchange, then they go to Albion where they have a couple businesses they serve including a grain place IIRC, then its on to Battle Creek with Kellogs and I think a transload of some sort in the yard (used to see a bunch of tank cars that didn't look like corn syrup for the cereal plants.

they also have a large mill in Augusta. Traffic would be healthy for a short line but not for NS. Plus, NS has not amde a strong effort to develop business on the line either although I hear they recently gor Georgia Pacific in Albion to return to rail service.

[GP30M4216]

There are several businesses served by rail in Jackson, but few to none directly on the Michigan Line. The Andersons is the big place in Albion (ethanol and grain hoppers), there is also a plant up the old Lake Shore spur and the Georgia Pacific plant on the main line, and another spur immediately to the east of G-P that gets covered hoppers.

In addition to Kelloggs, there is also Post, and I think some place that gets lime slurry or something like that. Knappen Milling is the mill in Augusta. Used to be served from Kalamazoo pre-Grand Elk. Also, I believe NS still switches the LC Howard warehouse at the east end of Botsford Yard in Kalamazoo, off the north pass. That's as close to Kalamazoo (and NS' own BO Tower) as Norfolk Southern gets.

[GAP]

The L C Howard warehouse at the east end of Botsford hasn't been served by NS for over a year or more.

[GP30M4216]

GAP, does that mean Grand Elk is switching LC Howard on the North Pass, or has this warehouse stopped getting rail service? I used to enjoy watching Bozo-2 and then B-0-K haul one or two 50' boxcars through the View crossover to setoff or pickup at this plant......

[GAP]

No rail service to that L C Howard warehouse anymore. Grand Elk only uses the track #2 from BO to the switch into Botsford. They can't go onto track #1 at all. L C Howard still uses their warehouse on Factory Street (on the Upjohn line) but I haven't been there in a long time to know if GDLK or CN switches it. Both roads used to work it but I don't know anymore.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

NS is still controls BO tower, thats wierd when they dont run trains through Kalamazoo anymore.

[Scooterb]

Jackson customers.
JAIL interchange=coils,lumber,coal?,storage cars,grain? interchange with CN?, lumber
Way Bakery= loads of flour
Wolverine vinyl siding=plastic pellets
Omni Source= scrap iron
Dawn foods= flour, soon sugar by rail, silo is up track is tore up for unloader to be installed
Miller transportation= flat cars
Girard Mac Steel= covered hoppers for hazardous waste. may be getting a few gons of scap now.
Worthington Steel = coil cars
General Materials= lumber cars

[jimnorthwood]

From what I know going east to west they have: Ford in Wayne

In Wayne there is (was?) also the place that manufactures windshield wiper fluid, on Venoy Road. Can't ever recall their name. They get tank cars and covered hoppers, or at least they used to.

[GP30M4216]

Jim:

Cul-Mac is the place on Venoy. They usually have several cars on their siding, often a half dozen or more. I wonder what brands they make?

Aren't there one or two places just west of the Ford Plant in Wayne that get rail service on the doubletrack?

[bctrainfan]

Very little movement on NS between Battle Creek and Kalamzoo. They run their local switching from Hinman yard mostly late night/early morning. These are the NS customers in and around Batlle Creek as far as I can tell:

Kellogg's
Post Cereal
ADM Sweetner Terminal across from Kellogg's at the Hinman yard
Rock-Tenn paper
A team track/siding at Lafayette/Kendall near US Lumber that gets little use, but did recently have some heavy flat cars that were loaded with large machinery by a large mobile crane for someone.
Knappen Milling in Augusta

Nothing else I know of from Augusta west to Kalamazoo Botsford yard.

All in all it doesn't seem like enough traffic for NS, would think either JAIL or GDLK would be more suitable. I think NS is only hnging on to the track long enough to get a nice payday from state/Amtrak. Maybe the shortlines will get shot at the freight traffic if the Amtrak deal goes through.

CN on the other hand looks like its doing well, moving a lot of trains through Battle Creek, including quite a bit of foreign power from UP and BNSF.

[OwlCaboose2853]

City jumping through final hoops for rail station funding http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2 ... 895573.txt
Republicans in Congress looking to kill train projects

[OwlCaboose2853]

Don't they still have Jiffy Mix in Chelsea and a few customers in Jackson?

Jiffy Mix has still open tourists in plant but Amtrak won't stop at Chelsea not same like as Amtrak Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum Shelter reservation "flag stop" then next to Amtrak Dearborn Depot in Dearborn.

[ns8401]

Jim:

Cul-Mac is the place on Venoy. They usually have several cars on their siding, often a half dozen or more. I wonder what brands they make?

Aren't there one or two places just west of the Ford Plant in Wayne that get rail service on the doubletrack?

Willow Run (although not a business per se) still gets some movements through it for storage work mostly, an errant autorack and two gons were sitting tied together at the east end and I believe they occasionally store racks there still. There is also a place that receives steel coils down by the landfills west of Wayne, not sure if they get rail service anymore or not though..

[Buster Manning]

The place just west of Wayne gets coils of steel while the place out by Willow Run gets plate steel and girders.

Willow Run is filling up with racks right now, looks like there is at least 4 tracks full.