Rochester, Argos and Northern Railroad (RAN)

[chapmaja]

The Rochester, Argos and Northern railroad will be spun off from the GLOR in the upcoming months. The RAN consists for the former Elkhart and Western Argos Branch, as well as the Rochester and Erie Railroad, which is being purchased in the comign weeks, pending regulartory approval.

The RAN will run from Walkerton, Indiana on the north end of the railroad, through Plymouth, and Argos to Rochester, Indiana. Interchange partners for the RAN will be the GLOR in Plymouth, Indiana and NS in Argos, Indiana.

Locomotive power for the railroad is expected to be

#1581 (GP15-1) - obtained as part of the Rochester and Erie Purchase.
#161 (GP16) -
#162 (GP16) -

These units will be lettered for the RAN, but will retain a GLOR corperate paint scheme.

GLOR #160 is expected to be shipped to the GLOR's Lima Shops in Novemeber to be either rehabilitated or stripped of parts and scrapped. This unit has been out of service for several years and is currently stored in Argos.

Customers on the RAN will include

Opta Minerals - Walkeron - covered hoppers
Viking Paper - Plymouth - boxcars
Pregis - Plymouth - covered hoppers
Argos Grain - Argos - covered hoppers / tank cars - very infrequent customer
Rochester Iron and Metal - Rochester - gondolas
Wilson's Fine Feeds - covered hoppers / tank cars - infrequent customer
Praire Mills - covered hoppers

Operations on the line will be strictly as needed.

The RAN trackage does cross CSX in Walkerton however there is not a connection between the lines and as of now, the GLOR and CSX have no interest in establsihing a connection in Walkerton. Any traffic from the RAN bound for CSX will utilize the GLOR connection in Plymouth before being interchanged in Lima.

[chapmaja]

As was posted on the GLOR page, the GLOR, parent company of the Rochester, Argos, and Northern, has reached an agreement to purchase Anacostia Rail Holdings, a multiple system rail holding company. Among Anacostia's companies are the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad. While the RAN currently does not directly connect with the CSS, the former NKP line from Walkerton to Stillwell is still largely in places, with certain areas cut for railroad crossings. GLOR management plans to purchase this line, and rehabilitate the line to provide an additional gateway to the Chicago area beyond the current trackage rights the Fort Wayne Division uses to access IHB's Blue Island Yard. The purchase of the CSS would give the RAN / GLOR access to BRC's Clearing Yard.

It is expected, if the deal is approved, that RAN would be granting GLOR trackage rights between the Fort Wayne Division in Plymouth and the connection to the CSS line in Stillwell.

[chapmaja]

There is additional news regarding the RAN. A former customer of the line, US Granules has expressed interest in possbily resuming rail service to the facility. They still have a switch to the mainline, so additional service would only require inspection of the spur and repair of any noted defects. A couple other companies also located in Plymouth have expressed interest in possibly resuming of using rail service, either directly or through a transload. Additionally, GLOR management, through their logistics arm, is looking at possibly acquiring a facility in Plymouth to serve as a warehousing hub. This location, which still retains rail access includes an indoor rail dock as well as storage space and truck docks. This would be serviced by the RAN as the tracks are still connected to the RAN mainline.

[chapmaja]

US Granules has had their spur inspected and have scheduled work to fix a couple minor issues. Currently their are two cars in transit to their facility, which will be held until the minor track defects can be fixed by contracted crews. It is expected that the work will be completed by the middle of this week, so the first cars will likely be spotted at the facility by the end of the week.

GLOR's parent company is in final negotiations for the warehouse / transload facility to be located in Plymouth.

[chapmaja]

Here is a quick update on the RAN. The locomotive power remains the same for the railroad, although the GP15-1 suffered a major mechanical issue and has been sent to Owosso for repairs. The railroad is currently operating with the two GP16 locomotives, which at this time is enough for the railroad to do what it needs to do. Traffic is slow on the line, with the average volume of cars currently sitting at about 18 cars per week across the system.

There has been some word on the GLOR's planned purchase of Anacostia Holdings, the owner of the Chicago South Shore. The STB is planning a hearing for later this spring to considered the purchase. If the agreement is approved, the RAN, as agent for the GLOR, will begin working to pull permits to rehabilitate the line from the north end of the line to the connection with the Chicago South Shore lines. As was previously announced this move would give the GLOR, via trackage rights over the RAN, access to the BRC and Clearing Yard.