GLC Northern Division survey

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GP30M4216
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GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

I recently accepted an invitation for my fiance and I to attend a wedding in Charlevoix this coming October. The airfare from Connecticut is cheapest into Detroit Metro, so we'll be looking at a car ride both ways up to Michigan's scenic north country. If I navigate correctly, we should be able to spend a fair portion of our trip there and/or back not all that far away from a GLC line, one of my favorite non-class 1's in Michigan. I searched on this forum for "glc north end" and wound up with 657 pages worth of hits that somehow reference at least one of those words.......don't have that kind of time! :D So, barring the fact that one already exists, which I don't recall ever bumping into, I'd like to start this GLC Northern Division survey, to sort of lay out a concise description of things like operations, customers, carloads and commodities, for the portion of their trackage north of their base in Owosso.

Obviously, me being in Connecticut makes it difficult to add much to this right away, so I'll sum up a little history and a few things I do know and let the Michigan experts do the rest. I know I'm not the only fan of the GLC, and so hopefully this survey will be useful to others as well!

The GLC operates over the former Ann Arbor Railroad mainline from Osmer (north of Ann Arbor, through Owosso up to Cadillac. Here, the remaining portion of the Ann Arbor route continues to the large sand operation at Yuma, MI. At Cadillac, the "main" line becomes the former GR&I/PRR route, which originally was a segment of the route leading from northern Indiana to Mackinaw City. This line remains in place and in service as far as Petoskey, which is the current end of track. Branching off this PRR line at Walton Jct. is the old PRR branchline to Traverse City. At Traverse City, the line branches out onto a former C&O line which at once time stretched from Grand Rapids to Harbor Springs. This segment remains in place from Grawn (SW of Traverse City) to Bates (east of Traverse City), but only the portion to the east is currently in service, for the Amerihart lumberyard which receives inbound loads on centerbeams (a couple times per week?). This is the only active customer on the entire Traverse City branch.

So I guess my questions are:

What operations are based in Cadillac? Obviously a road train southbound to Owosso, and then service going up the various branches to the north.....on alternating days?

What customers are active north of Owosso?

What do they ship or receive?

What does GLC interchange with the Mid Michigan at Alma?

Which of the GLC's GP35s are still running?

And finally....
Where are your favorite photo locations along these stretches of lines??

Let's see what we can come up with! :)

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SD80MAC
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by SD80MAC »

For the GP35's, I think (but can't totally confirm) that 385, 390, 391 and 392 are still active. 389, 393, and 394 are stored or in need of work as far as I know.
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GLC 392
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by GLC 392 »

Just about everything minus the 389 and one of the blue 35's i think 391 were back up and running. Also the 1977 was running earlier this week.

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AARR
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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Ill post what I show as the customer list later and what they ship. then others can jump in with corrections.
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AARR
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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GP30M4216 wrote:So, barring the fact that one already exists, which I don't recall ever bumping into, I'd like to start this GLC Northern Division survey, to sort of lay out a concise description of things like operations, customers, carloads and commodities, for the portion of their trackage north of their base in Owosso.
Oakley Branch
Henderson - MAC: inbound fertilizer and outbound grain (15 car blocks)
Oakley - Auburn Bean and Grain: (2 locations) outbound unit grain
Oakley - CFI: inbound fertilizer (small shipper)

Middleton Branch
Middleton - MAC: inbound fertilizer and outbound unit grain (expansion in 2012

Clare Sub
Ashley - Liquid Fertilizer: inbound feedstock and outbound liquid fertilizer (major expansion in 2011)
Alma - MMRR: inbound asphalt, fertilizer, lumber and outbound grain (15-25 car blocks)
Alma - Consumers: inbound transformers
Shepherd - out bound grain (builds units with Rosebush)
Rosebush - Superior Fertilizer: inbound fertilizer
Rosebush - Rosebush Feed and Grain: inbound fertilizer and out bound grain (builds units with Shepherd)
Clare - PolyTerm: inbound plastic pellets and resin
Clare - ???: inbound lumber
Farwell - Renosol: inbound chemicals
McBain - Falmouth Coop: inbound fertilizer
McBain - Hydrolake: inbound poles for utility poles
Cadillac - Coke and frac sand transload
Yuma - Fairmount Minerals: outbound casting sand

Petoskey & Traverse City
Manton - Transload: outbound wood poles
Kalkaska - Transload: inbound well drilling chemicals and bagged drilling sand
Mancelona - Transload: inbound plastic pellets
Petoskey - Transload: inbound plastic pellets
Bates - Amerihart: inbound lumber
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HSO 1307
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by HSO 1307 »

393 has been running,seen it acouple times last few weeks.389 has been moved somewhere,dont see it sitting outside anymore.I swear I saw one of 35's sitting ouside today all sand plasted getting ready for paint,394 maybe? Wonder what they want to use 1977 for,loading sand in Yuma?

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GLC 392
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by GLC 392 »

I have heard a couple rumors on the 1977, and one of them is for the sand plant in Yuma.

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AARR
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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If GLC did not comment on the GLC customer list it must be somewhat accurate :)
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GLC 392
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by GLC 392 »

:) The only thing i have to adjust is the sand coming out of Yuma is Mainly fracing sand anymore if not entirely.

GP30M4216
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

Wow, already a good condensed source of information here! That's exciting news about the 1977 being back in service and I wasn't aware so many of the old GP35 were still plugging along after the addition of the five new GP38-2s. Sounds like business is doing well!

Couple questions:

What, if anything, is currently being serviced to the east of the AA diamond on the old C&O in Clare?

Are the transloads in Cadillac done in Selma Yard or elsewhere? I'm assuming the coke which is transloaded here is the stuff that arrives in the black hoppers interchanged with the CSX at AnnPere?

Do the Petoskey and Traverse City lines going north out of Cadillac tend to be served by the same job on the same days, or do they alternate one leg one day, the other the next?

Besides as-required unit grain train moves, what, if anything, moves on the weekend?

Somewhere I have a photo from 2009 of one of the TSBY painted GLC Geep 35's rolling through Traverse City with an empty lumber car from Amerihart's predecessor and a couple reefers for Cherry Growers, I think. I believe this is the last summer either of those locations were served. And then Amerihart came online sometime in 2010, I believe, right?

TCtrainguy17
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by TCtrainguy17 »

The Petosky and Traverse City lines are unpredictable when it comes to where they go. Some days they will run up the Petosky line only, others it's only the Traverse City line. And sometimes they run up both lines. It really depends on what loads arrive in Cadillac and when they arrive there. Yes Amerhart came online sometime in 2010, although I can't remember what time of the year it was.

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AARR
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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GP30M4216 wrote:What, if anything, is currently being serviced to the east of the AA diamond on the old C&O in Clare?

Are the transloads in Cadillac done in Selma Yard or elsewhere? I'm assuming the coke which is transloaded here is the stuff that arrives in the black hoppers interchanged with the CSX at AnnPere?

Besides as-required unit grain train moves, what, if anything, moves on the weekend?
There is a truss company to the east of the diamond in Clare on the ex-C&O. I don't know if they still receive rail service or not.

I am told both coke and frac sand is transloaded in Selma Yard. Although there used to be a drilling sand transload in North Yard on the outside track and I dont know if it is still there or not. BTW - some coke comes into Toledo from New York.

There has been one or two frac sand trains on weekends.
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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There was a train though Mt Plesant early Saturday afternoon.Was tubing down the Chippawa and heard it,sounded like it was north bound.

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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by Pie39 »

TCtrainguy17 wrote:The Petosky and Traverse City lines are unpredictable when it comes to where they go. Some days they will run up the Petosky line only, others it's only the Traverse City line. And sometimes they run up both lines. It really depends on what loads arrive in Cadillac and when they arrive there. Yes Amerhart came online sometime in 2010, although I can't remember what time of the year it was.
Does this mean that there are more than 3 trains a week or so on that line? I really want to see one, but I'll only wait if there's a chance of seeing something.
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AARR
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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Pie39 wrote:
TCtrainguy17 wrote:The Petosky and Traverse City lines are unpredictable when it comes to where they go. Some days they will run up the Petosky line only, others it's only the Traverse City line. And sometimes they run up both lines. It really depends on what loads arrive in Cadillac and when they arrive there. Yes Amerhart came online sometime in 2010, although I can't remember what time of the year it was.
Does this mean that there are more than 3 trains a week or so on that line? I really want to see one, but I'll only wait if there's a chance of seeing something.
Once a week is average (Usually Tuesdays with departing time from Cadillac between 8-9am) and rarely twice a week do they go north of Cadillac to Traverse City and/or Petoskey.
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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Look what appeared in Traverse City (posted with permission from TC John)
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by Saturnalia »

Was this a W899? that CSX ran from Plymouth to Ensel? I wonder if they dropped it off at AnnPere. What are the reporting marks?
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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MQT3001 wrote:Was this a W899? that CSX ran from Plymouth to Ensel? I wonder if they dropped it off at AnnPere. What are the reporting marks?
Ask and you shall receive courtesy of TC John
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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

Unread post by CSX_CO »

MQT3001 wrote:Was this a W899? that CSX ran from Plymouth to Ensel? I wonder if they dropped it off at AnnPere. What are the reporting marks?
Didn't come via CSX. Besides, if it had, no reason a load of that size couldn't have just moved in regular freight/local service back and forth. We move them all the time on the head end of regularly scheduled freight trains with clearance messages.

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Re: GLC Northern Division survey

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What is dat ting?
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