AARR's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

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AARR
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Location: Washington, MI

AARR's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

Unread post by AARR »

Jackson, Charlotte & Grand Rapids 1980

Acquired ex-CR Charlotte Sub from Eaton to Grand Rapids (44th Street).

Started out with a pair of ex-CR GP7's. Operations centered out of Charlotte where train would operate 3-5 times per week going wherever needed. Interchanged with CR at Eaton and Grand Rapids and GTW in Charlotte.

Grain and Water Heaters were main commodities handled. Elevators are located at Eaton, Charlotte, Vermontville, and a pair in Caledonia. Water Heaters are shipped out in 86' hi-cube box cars from plant in Middleton amounting to 10-12 cars per week (spur holds 3 cars). There's a handful of other smaller customers handling fertilizer, building materials, and scrap metal.

Acquired track from Eaton to Rives Jct. in 1984 and picked up cardboard plant in Eaton which receives 8-10 cars per week.

In early 1990's scrapped GP7's and acquired three ex-CR/PC GP38's.

1999 interchange switched to NS at Rives Jct. and Grand Rapids and CN at Charlotte and acquired track from 44th Street to Burton Yard junction picking up cookie/cracker plant.

Over the years we've lost smaller customers but existing customers have grown. Card Board plant now receives about 12 cars per week. Elevators in Eaton (6 per year), Charlotte (3), Vermontville (3), and Caledonia (3) ship 50 car grain units which get delivered to NS. The water heater plant in Middleton continues to ships 10-12 cars per week. A silicon plant (no fake breast jokes, please :D receives a few cars each week. We also handle fertilizer for the elevators in Eaton and Vermontville. The elevator in Eaton also receives some fuel oil by rail. And the cookie/cracker plant in Grand Rapids receives 12-15 cars a week. NS handles all the unit train business, water heaters, and most of the cardboard business. CN gets some of the card board business, the silicon business, the smaller fertilizer shipments, and all of the flour business to Grand Rapids. We operate 4-5 days a week and sometimes 6 when loading unit grain trains.

2009 interchange changed to GDLK at Grand Rapids. At this time the only interchange done with GDLK are cars that are mistakenly routed over their track instead of the NS connection at Rives Jct.

Future business looks good. Green Valley will have a fertilizer plant come on line in 2010 that will receive 5-6 50-car units per year. We're in a good position to acquire NS's Lansing Secondary if/when they are ready to sell. And there's potential for the line in Grand Rapids between 44th Street and Burton Yard Jct.
Last edited by AARR on Mon Aug 16, 2010 2:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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GrandTrunkFan
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Re: Don Simon's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

Unread post by GrandTrunkFan »

Water Heaters are shipped out in 86' hi-cube box cars from plant in Middleton
MiddleVILLE, Don. :wink: My dad and me used to work at that plant. Boy there was sure opprotunity to be had for a railroad connected to that plant. You could also inculde inbound coil cars and outbound scrap gondolas. We went through A LOT of steel coils when I worked there. Probably had a dozen or so trucks unload just on my shift. That was and still is a 3 shift plant. And we made a lot of scrap metal parts from stamping. Could easily fill a gondola a day of scrap steel. They had just took the real rails out of the place when my dad started. Whats cool is you can see where the tracks used to run diagonally through the plant in the shipping area. Bardford White is a good size outfit. Its too bad the whole Kent Barry Eaton fiasco ran off that business. If Whites could have gotten reliable rail service, Im positive NS and GDLK would still be running out to Middleville. Theres also some business in Hastings you could include. Theres a large lumberyard, 3 factories, and a elevator in Hastings that can bump up your car count.
Nick

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AARR
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Re: Don Simon's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

Unread post by AARR »

GrandTrunkFan wrote:
Water Heaters are shipped out in 86' hi-cube box cars from plant in Middleton
MiddleVILLE, Don. :wink:
Oh, that's right :oops: In my brain I had it right but when I went to write it it came out wrong :) . I knen about the additional potential business in Middleville and Hastings but I try to create scenario's that make sense and I figure even my dream paper railroads can win all the business :wink:
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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GrandTrunkFan
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Re: Don Simon's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

Unread post by GrandTrunkFan »

Don Simon wrote:
GrandTrunkFan wrote:
Water Heaters are shipped out in 86' hi-cube box cars from plant in Middleton
MiddleVILLE, Don. :wink:
Oh, that's right :oops: In my brain I had it right but when I went to write it it came out wrong :) . I knen about the additional potential business in Middleville and Hastings but I try to create scenario's that make sense and I figure even my dream paper railroads can win all the business :wink:
I was just trying to help you out. :wink: Ive studied businesses and potential businesses along this line for quite some time, but only really foccusing on Caledonia, Middleville, Hastings, and Nashville. I just happened to find it a little odd that you didnt include any industries in Hastings in your scenerio. So I thought Id help out a bit! :lol:
Nick

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AARR
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Re: Don Simon's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

Unread post by AARR »

GrandTrunkFan wrote:I just happened to find it a little odd that you didnt include any industries in Hastings in your scenerio. So I thought Id help out a bit! :lol:
The silicon place is in Hastings. The elevator in Hastings is tiny. The lumber yards are not large enough to receive carload shipments so the truck everything in. The scrap metal place was a customer but was later bought out by Padnos and closed (for real...check out its history). Thanks for your input, Nick. I enjoy your ideas.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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AARR
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Posts: 37900
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: Don Simon's Paper Railroads (Ex CR Lines)

Unread post by AARR »

Grand Rapids Northern 1984

Acquired ex-MIGN ne-PC Charlotte Sub from Comstock Park to Cadillac(44th Street). Interchanged with CR in Grand Rapids, Chessie in Reed City, and TSBY in Cadillac.

Started out with a pair of ex-MIGN nee-AC GP7's. Operations centered out of Reed City where train would operate 3-5 times per week going wherever needed.

Ag-Lime is main commodity handled receiving 1 50 car unit per 6-weeks which we deliver to customer between Cedar Springs and Sand Lake. They can unload 12 cars at a time so it takes 5-6 switches to empty all cars and return to CR Grand Rapids. We also handle cardboard to Rockford Paperboard (4-5 cars per week of mostly scrap paer but also some Kaolin and coal), some chemicals to Wolverine in Rockford, Sweetner to Yoplait in Reed City (normally 3 but sometimes a 4th car per week) where we pick up from the Chessie interchange in Reed City and move a whole 1/4 mile to the plant, and pick up logs from Ashton (3-4 cars per week) which end up in Niles where a mill picks them up from a team track. There's a handful of smaller customers that receive feed, grain, lumber, and propane.

In 1989, when CSX abandoned Midland to Baldwin, we acquired Baldwin to Evart adding small wood pole yard in Reed City (1-2 cars per month), potash/salt company in Hersey (switched 3x per week picking up 3-4 cars per time of potash), plastics plant in Evart (switched 2x per week delivering 3 cars per switch but sometimes a 3rd switch with a single car is needed), and glass company in Evart (switched 2x per month with 4-5 cars each time of silica). Interchange with CSX changed to Baldwin.

In early 1990's most small customers had stopped rail service. Rockford Paperboard closed. We acquired a 3rd GP7 from the now defunct MIGN. Abandoned track from Ashton to Cadillac. However, picked up small truss builder in Cedar Springs.

1997 added 60 car unit per week of feed for recently expanded mill in Howard City. This mill serves rapidly growing western MI chicken, pig, and turkey farms.

1998 acquire 3 ex-CN, ne GTW, nee DT&I SD38's and scrap GP7's. GP7's served us well but ag-lime and feed unit trains operate smoother with 6-axle units. Due to 25mph speed restrictions additional horesepower of 40 series is not needed. The SD38's (built 1969) were sent to TSBY for complete rebuilding to -2 standards.

1999 Interchange at Fuller Jct. changed from CR to NS.

2005 Picked up cullet business at glass plant in Evart. Averages 3-6 cars every other week. Both cullet and silica is unloaded from team track as plant does not have direct spur.

2006 interchange with CSX changed to Grand Rapids where we now have trackage rights into Wyoming yard (to better facilitate unit feed trains). Interchange at Baldwin changed to MQT. Track from Reed City to Baldwin was promptly abandoned.

Potential new business includes salt from Hersey (while we get most of potash, all salt goes by truck). Some smaller businesses in Evart, Reed City, and Big Rapids. And growing industrial parks in the Grand Rapids and Rockford areas.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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