Search found 233 matches
- Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:23 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: New siding-business in Traverse City???
- Replies: 32
- Views: 1573
Re: New siding-business in Traverse City???
I can see empty 20' and 40' containers coming in on standard 89' flatcars depending on where they are purchased from. I do not expect to see finished containers shipping via rail due volume, damage potential (graffiti), and trucks being needed to deliver to the end users site. The only exception wou...
- Sun Mar 17, 2024 9:26 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: The port of monroe-containers?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 1464
Re: The port of monroe-containers?
Barge service to and from Montreal makes the project realistic. The hard part is developing the inbound traffic that then supplies empties for the outbound traffic. Export traffic is generally controlled in the US. Import traffic is generally controlled somewhere overseas.
- Sun Sep 17, 2023 9:53 am
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Hamilton Northwestern Railroad Co.
- Replies: 208
- Views: 1564167
Re: Hamilton Northwestern Railroad Co.
Warehouses use boxcars. The boxcar business has been in a slow decline for awhile. Their new business will come from trans-loading bulk materials. Think Darling Ingredients loading tank cars. Think ag products. Think lumber. Think commodities that only require land to load or unload. That's where th...
- Tue Apr 25, 2023 8:36 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: CN joins UP and Ferromex for new I/M Service
- Replies: 15
- Views: 6004
Re: CN joins UP and Ferromex for new I/M Service
The train will come into UP's Global 4 Chicago ramp. I do not think this is a train from Mexico going direct to the CN. I expect the CN containers will be removed from the train at UP G4 and trucked to the CN Chicago Harvey ramp. I do not think UP will do a steel wheel interchange with CN. CN will t...
- Sun Sep 04, 2022 9:45 am
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Michigan Rail business news redux
- Replies: 85
- Views: 71625
Re: Michigan Rail business news redux
They make food grade plastic packaging. I have moved many intermodal loads for them when the transit time fits with their customers production schedule. They will never ship finished product via boxcar due to transit time and customers not having sidings. The plastic pellets come from the Grand Elk ...
- Wed Aug 31, 2022 5:02 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Cherry Growers in Grawn
- Replies: 33
- Views: 16162
Re: Cherry Growers in Grawn
Inbound packaging and raw food ingredients are trucked in. Apples are trucked in from Michigan along with NY and WA as needed. I have done apples on containers from Washington to Ludington to be made into sauce. We did it in the early spring to avoid hot or freezing weather. But intermodal service h...
- Tue Aug 30, 2022 3:55 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Cherry Growers in Grawn
- Replies: 33
- Views: 16162
Re: Cherry Growers in Grawn
There is basically a zero chance Materne will ever use rail. As packaged, Go Go Squeeze will not ride well on a boxcar. Materne was also not willing to use intermodal. Last time I called on them, all the finished product was trucked to a warehouse in Grand Rapids. The trucks returned north with raw ...
- Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:05 pm
- Forum: Historical Q & A
- Topic: Hall "Banjo" Signals on the PMRR
- Replies: 14
- Views: 8517
Re: Hall "Banjo" Signals on the PMRR
The postcard shows a grade and a curve. The Hamilton branch has curves close to 8th Street in Holland and a grade with no curves coming into Hamilton. There are no grades north or east of Holland. That leads me to think of the grade with curves between New Richmond and East Saugatuck.
- Wed Apr 20, 2022 5:14 pm
- Forum: Historical Q & A
- Topic: Hall "Banjo" Signals on the PMRR
- Replies: 14
- Views: 8517
Re: Hall "Banjo" Signals on the PMRR
Reminds me of the hill coming north from the New Richmond bridge over the Kalamazoo River. The train in the postcard could be headed down to the bridge.
- Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:32 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Study Time....again - A2TC commuter rail project
- Replies: 213
- Views: 109821
Re: Study Time....again - A2TC commuter rail project
Unemployed or working as a consultant. Either way, he is living off the government. At least he provides us with an evening of useless reading. Maybe in his next proposal he can electrify the line and have it powered by windmills and solar.
- Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:01 pm
- Forum: Train Location Updates / Heads Ups
- Topic: CSX Train Location Updates - November 2021
- Replies: 1053
- Views: 164432
Re: CSX Train Location Updates - November 2021
If I did it correctly, two photos of the CSX derailment east of Grandville should be on this post.......
- Fri Oct 22, 2021 7:07 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Cal-Chlor, Ludington
- Replies: 8
- Views: 6774
Re: Cal-Chlor, Ludington
Calchlor was a customer of mine for 25 until I retired earlier this year. They shipped domestic loads of calcium chloride with me in 40' containers to California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Texas, and Florida. They ship all over the world. The new building is suppose to be a fully automated process...
- Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:00 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Ford Motor Vehicle Train Deliveries from Oakville, Ontario
- Replies: 18
- Views: 10441
Re: Ford Motor Vehicle Train Deliveries from Oakville, Ontario
In the year 1993, did auto racks fit through the CN Port Huron or CP Detroit tunnels? If no, the train might have crossed the bridge into Buffalo, NY to avoid the tunnels. I can't imagine it would have gone to western Canada and then turned south. My guess would be the CN running a dedicated auto ra...
- Tue Dec 29, 2020 3:19 pm
- Forum: Historical Q & A
- Topic: Pere Marquette Berkshires
- Replies: 9
- Views: 10130
Re: Pere Marquette Berkshires
Somewhere in my basement, I have the original AFE on the purchase of these locomotives. I obtained it with many other boxes of AFE's and accident files before the Wyoming Storehouse was torn down. Long ago, I gave him a copy of the file to Bill Berkompas to take back to Owosso. Bill was shocked by t...
- Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:01 am
- Forum: Historical Q & A
- Topic: Grand Rapids Holland Interurban
- Replies: 8
- Views: 11140
Re: Grand Rapids Holland Interurban
Donald Van Reken wrote a book with lots of photos of this line about 30 years ago. I have it at home. You can still see where the tracks ran many years ago in Wyoming, Grandville, Jamestown, Holland, and Laketown Township. Sure wish we had it now to ride.
- Tue Oct 06, 2020 3:16 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: New Amazon DC at CN Moterm (State Fairground Site)
- Replies: 35
- Views: 26305
Re: New Amazon DC at CN Moterm (State Fairground Site)
What you might see is warehouse restocking on 53' Amazon containers coming from Los Angeles on the BNSF to CSX North Baltimore. This train runs on a 127 hour schedule 6 days per week. It is actually a large block of cars off the LA to Logistics Park train that BNSF hires CSX to run as a BNSF dedicat...
- Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:44 am
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: New Amazon DC at CN Moterm (State Fairground Site)
- Replies: 35
- Views: 26305
Re: New Amazon DC at CN Moterm (State Fairground Site)
Saturnalia and Redcrumbox nailed it. Take it off the train in Chicago and deliver in about 6 hours. Or rubber tire it across Chicago to an eastern railroad for a slow train to Detroit and a rubber tire delivery to Amazon. The slower plan actually costs more than the faster plan. I have been selling ...
- Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:12 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Go Go Squeeze email stating rail service starting
- Replies: 16
- Views: 8649
Re: Go Go Squeeze email stating rail service starting
For awhile, all finished product was moved to a warehouse in Grand Rapids due to the shortage of trucks in Grawn. From there, it was trucked to their customers. Not sure who has the warehouse contract currently. They ran daily trucks with packaging/manufacturing items north and applesauce south. Che...
- Fri Sep 18, 2020 2:04 pm
- Forum: Michigan Talk
- Topic: Spartan Motors in Charlotte
- Replies: 14
- Views: 8599
Re: Spartan Motors in Charlotte
They assembly trucks for Isuzu at the Charlotte plant. Many of the parts come in on 40' containers over the BNSF and UP ramps near Chicago. All leave via OTR. They also make motor home chassis.
- Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:36 pm
- Forum: Historical Q & A
- Topic: GTW Grand Rapids Sub Tonnage Ratings
- Replies: 7
- Views: 7425
Re: GTW Grand Rapids Sub Tonnage Ratings
I've been selling intermodal out of Western Michigan for 30 years. The only ramp I can recall was the C&O ramp on the east end of their yard which was long out of service by then. Amway never had a ramp to my knowledge. Amway invited me to a meeting about 25 years ago as they looked at building one....