NS Lansing Spur 5-23-2008

[mikekmac]

With only two trains daily, Norfolk Southern's Lansing-to-Jackson spur does not reward sitting out by the tracks with a book and a camera (my favorite kind of railfanning). But just as I was leaving the vicinity of the East Lansing Amtrak station (where I caught Q335 and CN's 149 and 385), I heard a call to the CN dispatcher: "NS would like to go south at Cedar."

It being a bright clear day, and knowing that would be B30, the Lansing-to-Jackson local, I turned around and headed for C/a/r/p/e/n/t/e/r/ Cavanaugh Road. When I got there, I found convenient parking right by the tracks, right across from NS's C/a/r/p/e/n/t/e/r/ Cavanaugh Road yard (I don't know what -they- call it). There was a string of boxcars in the yard (first time I've seen anything there) longer than the approaching train.

B30 had three Geeps out front--a GP38 and two GP40s. The third one was still in bright Conrail blue. But there were only seven cars (three of which were gons full of scrap metal).

B30 crossed C/a/r/p/e/n/t/e/r/ Cavanaugh Road at 10:39am. Trains move so slowly on the ill-maintained Lansing Spur that I was able to catch it again at the Aurelius Road crossing at 10:46am.

Here's a view at C/a/r/p/e/n/t/e/r/ Cavanaugh:



And approaching Aurelius:

[J T]

Nice pics, Mike. But that would be Cavanaugh Rd.

[RailCanon]

That yard has two names. The historical name for it is Cavannaugh Yard, but today it is reffered to as South Yard.

[mikekmac]

Duh. Yeah. Carpenter Road is in Ann Arbor.

Pure brain fart, inasmuch as I used to live in Briarcliffe Apartments, which are sandwiched between Jolly and Cavanaugh.

[nsted1582]

Also on friday I saw a rare engine in the NS Saginaw Yard. It was MCM industrial service engine owned by the company that is tearing down GM lansing. If you wernt familar with this yard their are some tracks that run back into the plant. This engine takes gondolas back into the plant and loads them up with scrap metal. Then putts them into the yard for norfolk southern to take to Jackson on B30. In the yard their was that engine and new gondolas and a wood car (dont no what to call) (carys lumber)

I dont no how to get pictures on post yet

but if you go to this web site you can see it
http://nsted1582.googlepages.com/home
then go to the pictures page

[mikekmac]

There's another interesting piece of equipment on this line, operated by one of the NS customers. The big plant on Holloway in Delhi Technology Park--I think it's RSDC, but I'm not 100% certain--has a Whiting Trackmobile it uses to spot cars on its own sidings and move them into and out of its covered loading bay.

If you don't know Trackmobiles, they're the original road-to-rail industrial locomotive; the (older) smaller models like the 2TM and 5TM had their road wheels at 90 degrees to the rail wheels, so you'd pull up, straddle the tracks, drop the machine on the rails, and scoot off (sideways). You could do it anywhere, didn't need a grade crossing. The (newer) bigger models are inline, like a track car (except the rail wheels are powered, not just guides). I think the RSDC Trackmobile is an 11TM or 13TM.

My father's company (in New Jersey) sold Trackmobiles, and a long time ago, I was a junior mechanic's assistant helping rebuild 2TM, 5TM, and 7TM machines which had been beaten to hell by Dupont and other owners.. So I was really tickled to see a Trackmobile at work, and I wondered at the time if there were any others in the area.

-Mike

[Hogger1225]

The correct name for the Yard at Cavanaugh Rd. is "Lansing Yard". Was always referred to as "South Yard" but the timetable name is "Lansing Yard". Sometimes it is referred to as "Cavanaugh Yard" but the correct name is "Lansing Yard"