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They switch an engine plant (3-4 cars a week) and plastic recycling plant (4-5 cars per week) in Dundee

ConrailDetr​oit wrote:AA 1337 & 2373 switching Dundee.

Piggyback on this thread. What all does the AA serve?

Other than the two I mentioned above all their other customers are in Toledo at this time. I'll post them later unless someone does it first.

Waddy wrote:Piggyback on this thread. What all does the AA serve?

FCA (Jeep) from Ottawa Yard. Libbey Glass on one of the two leased NS (former W&LE) lines gets raw material for glass production. The alfalfa mill and one or two other warehouses (paper when the Toledo Blade was printed in Toledo; not sure what is there now) on the north bank of the Maumee River are served on the other leased NS (former Pennsy) track. AA also has trackage rights on the CSX "Backside", but I believe their only customer today is the team track in front of the Smucker's plant. There are usually one or two (I saw three recently) tank cars on this team track. I don't know if the tank cars are Smucker's related, or something else. Once in a while you will see some other kind of oddball load (lumber, a transformer, etc) on this team track. When General Mills, General Motors and 84 Lumber used rail service Ottawa Yard, while not exactly the definition of busy, at least saw some use. AA made a morning run to Ottawa Yard every day in those years, or maybe five mornings out of seven anyway. General Mills is now Smucker's, and I don't believe they use rail. GM Hyrdamatic is all truck now, too I'm pretty sure. 84 Lumber, at the far northern end of the line just south of where the track formerly crossed Alexis Road, has been closed and the property marked "For Sale" for a long, long time.The only sign of any activity I've seen in Ottawa Yard in recent years was some substance, someone called it "fluff" but I don't know what "fluff" is, being loaded into what appeared to be hi top gondolas. I don't know what if anything Ottawa Yard is used for today. It is cool that the former DT&I tower and engine house are both still hanging on at the entrance to the yard. Both are visible from Laskey Road.

These are the AA Toledo customers that I know. There may well be others that I am not aware of.

Google maps (4/16) shows hoppers parked at the tracks on the smuckers property. So maybe they still get stuff? Also looks like there is an Omni Source and Perstorp Polyols gets tanks.

I don't think AA switches Omni or Perstorp but maybe I'm wrong. I've never seen them in the AART&HA customer lists.

In addition to what jimnorthwood posted there's also Arc Terminal (inbound fuels) and Hansen Mueller (inbound fertilizer and outbound grain) on the NS track.

AA services two other automotive mixing centers. The one by Manhattan Blvd. is for Ford and the one east of Ottawa Yard is for GM.

Viking Paper might get box cars too but I can't confirm that.

Thanks, Waddy. Good to know that Smucker's is still getting product.

Thanks, AARR. I didn't know AA switched the Ford mixing center. I thought CSX had that one.

Perstorp is switched by NS, via a spur from the Detroit line that crosses Matzinger Road and then goes into the plant.

OmniSource is switched by CSX, which still owns the BackSide. OmniSource has been the only CSX customer on the Backside for quite a few years. AA has trackage rights, but no customers until they cross Laskey Road.

Thanks fellas, the backside seems like an odd setup, maybe someday it will all be handed over to the AA.

the backside seems like an odd setup...

Backside ownership is still part CSX and part NS. CSX ownership ends where the switch on the south side of Laskey Road was located. West of the switch, NS owned the Backside. NS used the Backside to access the Anderson's facility in Maumee. Their long and slow grain trains tied up many grade crossings in West Toledo. In July, 2000 the last NS train ran on the Backside. They re-routed their trains to the Anderson's via the long dormant but re-opened Toledo Belt in East Toledo. Most of NS owned part of the Backside then sat unused for a number of years. It was recently formally abandoned, and the right of way converted into a trail. One small stretch of the Backside in South Toledo is still owned by NS, and is used to serve a couple of customers. CSX still owns the Backside from where it begins, to some point before the entrance to Ottawa Yard. I'm not sure where CSX ownership ends, and AA begins. CSX uses the Backside to serve OmniSource, and to switch auto racks. AA uses their trackage rights on the Backside to access Ottawa Yard, as mentioned previously. I don't disagree that an eventual sale or lease to AA would seem the logical future for the Backside someday.

I think what is referred to as the "backside" is former Toledo Terminal trackage that a CSX predecessor acquired.

AA's Temperance Yard used to extend to Peterson MI and beyond to the old main near Dundee.

Over the years sales between railroads changed things to how they look today. Perhaps that's why the arrangement looks strange now.

Anyone know how often the AA runs to the riverfront in Toldeo?

I've heard they service this line three days a week. But with Toledo Blade moving it's production to Sterling Heights I don't know if that's still the schedule.

ConrailDetr​oit wrote:Anyone know how often the AA runs to the riverfront in Toldeo?

AA's Temperance Yard...

Yes, Temperance Yard is what I meant. Ottawa Yard is AA's main yard, next to FCA Jeep. As I get older I swear I would forget my name if people didn't use it so often

The history of Toledo railroading is a complex one. AARR is right on with what he notes.

There are always cars on the riverfront track, but I've never seen a locomotive there.

GMTX 2230 ran lite to the transload on the Riverfront in Toledo. Heading back to Ottawa Yard now with 1 Covered Hopper.

A consist of SULX? gons sitting on the siding north of State St in Ann Arbor.

ConrailDetr​oit wrote:A consist of SULX? gons sitting on the siding north of State St in Ann Arbor.

Been there for a while now. I first noted them over in the Shortline updates thread.

peter

They have loaded construction debris here in the past. I don't know if that's what those gons are there for, though.

PerRock wrote:

ConrailDetr​oit wrote:A consist of SULX? gons sitting on the siding north of State St in Ann Arbor.

Been there for a while now. I first noted them over in the Shortline updates thread.

peter