Holland/Waverly ops and info
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:08 am
In short order I'll be picking up from Connecticut and moving to Holland, just over a mile from Waverly Yard. I've been through Holland a few times years ago but am now trying to refresh myself on ops and the general setup. I went back and read through all 27 pages of the "GR Sub Signal Project: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11390" thread from a couple years ago, which provided some photos and helpful info, and now I'm trying to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. So here's my basic summary, please add in or correct items to help me out!
WAVERLY YARD:
Is the main base of operations at Holland, where the CSX mainline curves from east-west to north-south. It's also where the Fremont Subdivision joins the mainline at a wye ("Holland" wye? "Waverly" wye?). The yard has several through tracks and a few stub end tracks where RIP projects are performed. Holland is where Z627, the Michigan Shore interchange job, picks up and sets off cars, usually from the railroad-west end of the yard. Y121, the Holland local, is also based here, which does local switching on the Fremont Sub, spur tracks in Holland and the Hamilton Industrial track (still Thursdays only?). Z627 is currently on a M-W-F daylight schedule for their interchange turn job.
CSX D700, the GR-west local, runs 5(?) days a week to Holland, and a couple days long each week as far as needed, usually to Benton Harbor or Sawyer to switch local industries. They bring Holland area and MS interchange cars to Waverly Yard, where setoffs and pickups can sometimes be quite long. Which end of Waverly Yard do they tend to arrive and depart from?
CSX MAINLINE SETUP:
Single track CSX mainline with two adjoining passing sidings in town. Holland siding extends from the Amtrak Depot past the yard to just east of US-31 and is 4400 feet long, and Waverly siding extends from just west of 120th Ave. 4600 feet to 112th Avenue. Both are to the south of the main track and are linked together between 120th and 31 by a continuing second track, called...? I know there was some discussion of re-configuring the signals at this location during the big project a few years back to increase the efficiency of movements at this location, but I'm not sure what came of that. Is there still what is in effect a double crossover between 31 and 120th Avenue? If needed, will the dispatcher schedule meets using the mainline and both passing sidings?
West and east legs of the wye connect to the CSX Fremont Subdivision, which becomes the Michigan Shore line to Muskegon north of West Olive. Western coal trains use the west leg of the wye on their run from Chicago to West Olive and return, and Z627 uses it as well. I believe the wye is signalled...but I'm not sure what those signals are called?
TRAINS:
P370 and P371 run once each day and stop at the Amtrak Station - check. 326 and 327 run once each day with their various alphabet soup prefix letters. Does 335 still run west from GR to Chicago some days or did that extension end? D700, Z627 and Y121 were discussed above. Loaded western coal from the BNSF comes up from Porter and get helpers starting at Grand Junction(?) to grind up Saugatuck Hill. Do these trains always use symbol N903, or are others used as well? I know some local crews use D801, D802, etc. etc. in coal train service. Empty western trains head back west also via the west wye leg. Coal trains still run about 1 per day, on average, right? Do any eastern CSX coal trains still come to West Olive?
Do any of the coal service locomotives get serviced at the power plant, or are they all shuttled to Wyoming Yard for servicing and fuel using those D8xx symbols?
What are the names of the industrial tracks on the north and south sides of Lake Macatawa? Are they switched by Y121, or is there another job that does that work?
Looking forward to getting back on the local scene; thanks in advance for any help!
WAVERLY YARD:
Is the main base of operations at Holland, where the CSX mainline curves from east-west to north-south. It's also where the Fremont Subdivision joins the mainline at a wye ("Holland" wye? "Waverly" wye?). The yard has several through tracks and a few stub end tracks where RIP projects are performed. Holland is where Z627, the Michigan Shore interchange job, picks up and sets off cars, usually from the railroad-west end of the yard. Y121, the Holland local, is also based here, which does local switching on the Fremont Sub, spur tracks in Holland and the Hamilton Industrial track (still Thursdays only?). Z627 is currently on a M-W-F daylight schedule for their interchange turn job.
CSX D700, the GR-west local, runs 5(?) days a week to Holland, and a couple days long each week as far as needed, usually to Benton Harbor or Sawyer to switch local industries. They bring Holland area and MS interchange cars to Waverly Yard, where setoffs and pickups can sometimes be quite long. Which end of Waverly Yard do they tend to arrive and depart from?
CSX MAINLINE SETUP:
Single track CSX mainline with two adjoining passing sidings in town. Holland siding extends from the Amtrak Depot past the yard to just east of US-31 and is 4400 feet long, and Waverly siding extends from just west of 120th Ave. 4600 feet to 112th Avenue. Both are to the south of the main track and are linked together between 120th and 31 by a continuing second track, called...? I know there was some discussion of re-configuring the signals at this location during the big project a few years back to increase the efficiency of movements at this location, but I'm not sure what came of that. Is there still what is in effect a double crossover between 31 and 120th Avenue? If needed, will the dispatcher schedule meets using the mainline and both passing sidings?
West and east legs of the wye connect to the CSX Fremont Subdivision, which becomes the Michigan Shore line to Muskegon north of West Olive. Western coal trains use the west leg of the wye on their run from Chicago to West Olive and return, and Z627 uses it as well. I believe the wye is signalled...but I'm not sure what those signals are called?
TRAINS:
P370 and P371 run once each day and stop at the Amtrak Station - check. 326 and 327 run once each day with their various alphabet soup prefix letters. Does 335 still run west from GR to Chicago some days or did that extension end? D700, Z627 and Y121 were discussed above. Loaded western coal from the BNSF comes up from Porter and get helpers starting at Grand Junction(?) to grind up Saugatuck Hill. Do these trains always use symbol N903, or are others used as well? I know some local crews use D801, D802, etc. etc. in coal train service. Empty western trains head back west also via the west wye leg. Coal trains still run about 1 per day, on average, right? Do any eastern CSX coal trains still come to West Olive?
Do any of the coal service locomotives get serviced at the power plant, or are they all shuttled to Wyoming Yard for servicing and fuel using those D8xx symbols?
What are the names of the industrial tracks on the north and south sides of Lake Macatawa? Are they switched by Y121, or is there another job that does that work?
Looking forward to getting back on the local scene; thanks in advance for any help!