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Saw that 398 is spotted outside the engine house this evening. Assuming a Saturday run into Cadillac yesterday and guessing 3 locomotives since 398 is outside. A long string of sand hoppers was brought in.

398, 396 and 392 left Cadillac for Clare at 1205 with 9 tie loads, 1 covered hopper, 4 pulp wood loads, 2 covered hoppers and 34 sand.

Great Lakes Central south through Mount Pleasant at 16:50

GLC 398 leading
GLC 397
GLC 395
GLC 399

5 plastics hoppers
1 empty centerbeam
3 empty pole flats
1 loaded centerbeam
6 empty tie gondolas
1 hopper
4 loaded pulpwood flatcars
2 feed hoppers
34 sand hoppers

57 total

AANscaleRunner wrote:398, 396 and 392 left Cadillac for Clare at 1205 with 9 tie loads, 1 covered hopper, 4 pulp wood loads, 2 covered hoppers and 34 sand.

They ran about 35 hoppers out to Wexford about 9ish and got back to Selma with 34 about 11:15. I got lucky with this trip!

Returned to Cadillac at 1820.

Wow 8 loads of coke. Nice and those look like cement loads near the back of the train springs look compressed nice diversification. And sand out of Yuma is steady. Good times for sure.

I'm throwing together a short video and was wondering if some of the more knowledgeable contributors here could give me some info about the line west of Cadillac?
Does the line have a name (old and/or new)?
How far did the line originally go?
When did they abandon the line beyond Yuma?
Has the line been stagnant since 2016?
Was 2016 when they last shipped sand, and was the old sand company Wexford?

Thank you!

396 and 392 leaving Cadillac for Clare at 1140 with 1 covered hopper, 3 tie loads, 6 covered hoppers, 9 tanks, 13 cement empties, 1 box and 13 tanks.

Todd_F wrote:I'm throwing together a short video and was wondering if some of the more knowledgeable contributors here could give me some info about the line west of Cadillac?
Does the line have a name (old and/or new)?
How far did the line originally go?
When did they abandon the line beyond Yuma?
Has the line been stagnant since 2016?
Was 2016 when they last shipped sand, and was the old sand company Wexford?

Thank you!

The line was mostly built by the Ann Arbor RR. NW out of Cadillac passing thru Yuma, Thompsonville, Benzonia, and on toward Frankfort. A small unfinished line, The Frankfort & South Eastern, was acquired by the AA getting the line into Elberta where the ferry docks were built for the cross Lake Michigan service would be. This was used as a shortcut avoiding the rail traffic congestion of Chicago for freight headed out west. Chicago traffic eased up over the years and the found more efficient ways to move the trains thru there reducing the need for the cross lake operation. I think it ended in the mid 1980's but I don't have the facts to back that up. (someone else maybe). The last train about that time went up to Elberta to rescue a string of hoppers stranded there on the ferry yard. They had mud squirting out from under the ties at some places and even had to cross a paved over parking lot. I have a video of this trip around the house I'll have to try and locate and put it up for others to see.
The sand co. at yuma has recently re-started operations and the tracks are back in use.

Todd_F, Google "Ann Arbor Railroad" and you'll find a lot more info. The carferries stopped running on 4/26/82. There remained one or two small freight customers in Frankfort for several more years. In fall 1985 Bluewater Michigan Chapter, NRHS, ran an excursion train to Frankfort. The cleanup train, retrieving the cars Pixl mentioned, ran in 1988. The track was removed from Thompsonville to Frankfort/Elberta around 1994, and Yuma to Thompsonville some years after that.

Pixl, it would be most appreciated by many people if you upload that clean-up run video to YouTube!

Fairmount Minerals operated the sand plant in Yuma and I believe still does

Thanks guys, I appreciate the insight! I'll google for more. I'd love to see that video too Pixl!

Returned to Cadillac at 1715.

AARR wrote:Fairmount Minerals operated the sand plant in Yuma and I believe still does

My good friend google says Sargent Sand now owns the Yuma pit. (I thought it was sold)

Here's the people doing the hiring,
maybe they own it


https://www.glassdoor.com/Jobs/Fairmoun ... 134603.htm

KC wrote:Here's the people doing the hiring,
maybe they own it


https://www.glassdoor.com/Jobs/Fairmoun ... 134603.htm

Fairmount still owns it. They bought it from Wexford Sand many years ago. Fairmount sign is back up since they reopened when I drove over there last week.

Fairmont Santrol may very well own it but don't claim it on their website. Digging around a bit, it appears Sargent owned an adjacent pit but the county records show all the land in and around the pit area is owned by Wexford Sand. So Fairmont it is

Raildudes dad wrote:Fairmont Santrol may very well own it but don't claim it on their website. Digging around a bit, it appears Sargent owned an adjacent pit but the county records show all the land in and around the pit area is owned by Wexford Sand. So Fairmont it is

Train into Cadillac today was 67 cars!

RDD- Sargent had a pit just beyond Yuma on the other side of Mesick. They may still own the property, as some equipment is still there.

Fairmount removed the Yuma site (actually technically Harrieta) when they closed it and just have not yet updated the website to say it's reopened.

Sargent opened a pit/plant a little east of Harlan around 1980 and operated it until about 1984-85. At its peak it shipped around 30-40 cars a week, about half of what Yuma was shipping. Although it hasn't been operated in 30+ years some of the equipment remains on the property. There's a thread on the board about Sargent's Harlan sand plant.

Raildudes dad wrote:it appears Sargent owned an adjacent pit

AARR wrote: There's a thread on the board about Sargent's Harlan sand plant.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35638&p=392449&hili ... nt#p392375