IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

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DT&I
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IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

After the break up of Conrail in 1999, the PRR Chicago main went to CSX who used the line lightly for a few years from Crestline, OH to Chicago, IL. But CSX already having the Garrett Sub and Willard Sub no longer needed a secondary line such as the PRR. In 2004 it was sold to the IERY who did a decent job of generating traffic on the line. With 2 grain trains a day between Lima and Crestline and a few more road trains business went well. In 2010 the IERY was purchased by RailAmerica who sent most of the power away to other lines leaving the line underpowered and forced to use hard ridden CSX 4 axles for road power. After interchanging with the IORY began to decline in 2009 the IERY was given worn out CORP and TP&W power which constantly needed repaired. Crews mainly began to compain about the lack of 6 axle power for road trains, only 2 IERY SD40M-2's and 1 SD40-2 remained on IERY property and one of the SD40M-2's had major fire damage to the inside of the cab and nose and was OOS awaiting scrap or repair. As of 2010 the IERY had 4 GP38-2's, 5 GP40-2's, 5 GP50's, 1 SD40M-2, and 1 SD40-2 to operate with.
Out of the 5 GP50's 3 of them were almost always being repaired at one time or another while the other 2 worked mainly out of Chicago. Three of the GP38-2's and the SD40-2 were on the IORY almost everyday and were usually returned when the IERY ran a nocturnal transfer over to Sugar Street yard in Lima leaving just one SD40M-2 and the rest of the GP's to work everything between Central Indiana and Crestline. Finally in 2011, 3 GMTX SD60's arrived on a one year lease while RailAmerica figured out its power arrangement. GMTX #'s 9022, 9024, and 9030 served mainly on road trains and ran well. In early 2012 when the lease on the SD60's was up the lease was not extended and the SD60's left the system in the spring of that year. Once again the railroad was short on power after RailAmerica sent all 4 GP38-2's to the IORY to work out of Flat Rock and Lima North and South. Soon after talks of a G&W-RA merger were going around and the IERY leased 4 HLCX SD40-2's for 6 months in June of 2012. In August of 2012 SD40M-2 #8801 was repaired and back in road service at the same time as all 5 GP50's and for awhile CSX ran a Q543/544 pair over the line from Buffalo, NY to Lima, OH where they were handed to the IORY there in Lima.
G&W Takeover
In early 2013 G&W and CSX decided to anull the Q543/544 pair and also not to extend the lease on CSX 6044 and 6065 which were promptly returned to CSX. The 4 HLCX SD40-2's were sent back after their lease was up and IERY 8802(SD40-2) and IERY 3000-3003(GP38-2's) were given back to the IERY. With a new industrial park in Van Wert, OH being constructed the IERY purchased two NREX SD50's #'s 8696 and 5448. They became IERY 6000 and 6001. Major maintainance efforts were made also to replace jointed rail and old Pennsy signals on the line.
Current Roster:
IERY 3000-3003 GP38-2
IERY 8800-8803 SD40M-2
IERY 3004-3009 GP50
IERY 3010-3014 GP40-2
IERY 6000-6001 SD50
IERY 8804-8812 SD40-2

Trains:
Road Manifests
100 Chicago, IL,Ft. Wayne, IN
111 Ft. Wayne, IN,Chicago, IL
126 Chicago, IL-Lima,OH(IORY)
137 Lima, OH(IORY), Chicago, IL

Grain
201 Crestline,OH(CSX), Lima,OH
210 Lima,OH, Crestline,OH(CSX)
228 Chicago,IL(BNSF), Columbia City, IN
239 Columbia City, IN, Chicago,IL

Locals, Turns, and Transfers
301 Lima, OH, Van Wert, OH
302 Lima, OH, Crestline, OH
337 Ft. Wayne, IN, Columbia City, IN
338 Columbia City, IN, Ft. Wayne, IN
339 Ft. Wayne,IN, Warsaw,IN
340 Chicago,IL, Warsaw,IN

X - Extra
S - Second Section
K - Recrew
V - Alternate Schedule
G - Grain Recrew
A - Second Grain Section

Chicago District: Chicago,IL - Ft. Wayne, IN
Lima District: Ft. Wayne, IN - Lima, OH
Crestline District: Lima, OH - Crestline, OH

On occasion NS will reroute a roadrailer east out of Ft. Wayne onto CSX at Crestline and back onto NS at Berea.
These operate as:
262 Ft. Wayne, IN(NS), Crestline, OH(CSX)
261 Crestline, OH(CSX), Ft. Wayne, IN(NS)
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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

IERY 302 is working Cole St. yard in Lima about to shove 13 hoppers onto the IORY with IERY 3002(GP38-2). Talking to the LA dispatcher to get across at NS Tower.
Update: 302-14 clear eastbound at NS tower.

12K-13(Recrewed at Warsaw) getting a new crew at Ft. Wayne right now with IERY 6001(SD50), IERY 8800(SD40M-2), and IERY 6000(SD50) with 87 cars. Mostly scrap hoppers. Crew is called for 23:30 and should be a nocturnal move east to Cole St. and then Sugar St. where it will run back to Cole St. and tie up as 13V-15. Schedule for these two has been screw up lately due to 111 getting out of Ft. Wayne late lately.
Last edited by DT&I on Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

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IERY 3002(GP38-2) tying back on to it's train in Cole St. now after returning from Sugar St. and setting out cars. 302-14 has 28 cars and it's talking to dispatch about getting out of Cole St. and going east already.
Last edited by DT&I on Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cfriedri
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by cfriedri »

Nice setup! I always enjoy a story about a power-strapped shortline that's making it work. However, I'm curious as to the lineage of your locomotives. What were the EMD GP50s and EMD SD50s built as?
Connor

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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

cfriedri wrote:Nice setup! I always enjoy a story about a power-strapped shortline that's making it work. However, I'm curious as to the lineage of your locomotives. What were the EMD GP50s and EMD SD50s built as?
The GP50's are SLSF/BN heritage and the SD50's are ex-CR. NREX bought quite a few from NS and CSX and many remain in CR paint including the 6001, IERY 6000 is in RA paint.

302-14 made it back to Lima last night around 3 and tied up on track 3 in Cole St. with 32 cars and 15V-13 finished its work in Lima around 3:45 AM.

100-15 is rolling into Indiana right now with IERY 8802(SD40M-2) and IERY 8810(SD40-2) with 72 cars. It is cleared all the way into Ft. Wayne with the exception of diamonds, should be a smooth run all the way.
Last edited by DT&I on Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

301-15 with IERY 3002(GP38-2) heading west out of Cole St. with 16 cars.

137-15 just cleared east end Van Wert with IERY 6000(SD50), IERY 8800(SD40M-2), and IERY 6001(SD50) and 65 cars.

201-14 clear signal Bucyrus with IERY 8811(SD40-2), CSXT 5512(ES40DC), and CSXT 606(AC6000CW) and 78 hoppers.
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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

301-15 with IERY 3002(GP38-2) is currently working in Van Wert with 6 more hours to work, it looks to be almost finished so I doubt it will need that long. Nothing westbound until later this evening so it should make it back to Cole St. easily.

137-15 with IERY 6000(SD50), IERY 8800(SD40M-2), and IERY 6001(SD50) just got an approach signal at the east end of The yard in Ft. Wayne. Will be stopping to let 111-16 get out of the yard.

111-16 medium clear to the main at the west end of the yard in Ft. Wayne. Has IERY 8807(SD40-2) and IERY 3001(GP38-2) leading 54 cars.

K38-16 is in the siding at Warsaw waiting to come east with IERY 3014(GP40-2) and IERY 3007(GP50) with 24 cars.

126-16 is waiting in the siding at Valparaiso for 111 and 137 with IERY 8809(SD40-2), IERY 3006(GP50), and IORY 4070(SD40T-2) with 71 cars.
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conrailman75
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by conrailman75 »

I like how you took the story of the real CF&E and twisted it slightly to suit your new fictional road. May I make a suggestion that will add some extra traffic to your line? To make it more realistic, you need to include the Decatur Secondary from Adams down to Decatur to serve the massive Bunge(ex Central Soya) soybean plant. In real life they run a local job down there and back 5 days a week with weekend service as needed, plus you could take a page from history and run unit trains from there to Chicago or Crestline with export soybeans, something Conrail did for several years in the mid to late 80's. In addition to Central Soya, you could also include the plastics company that was served at the end of the short segment of the ex EL mainline to give you a little variety. Bunge receives covered hoppers and tank cars while the plastics company got covered hoppers while it was in business.
Chris Howe
Fairborn, OH

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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

I forgot they loaded Central Soya trains in Delphos too, and idea how man cars Delphos and Decatur usually get?
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conrailman75
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by conrailman75 »

The plant in Decatur can hold a ton of cars, they have a giant 8 or 10 track main yard that stretches for at least a quarter of a mile with a small Plymouth industrial switcher, then there is another track that leads back into the middle of the plant with about two or three tracks splitting off of it, I usually only seen tank cars on it. Then there was a third siding that went into the back of the plant and split off into about 5 or 6 tracks and it was switched by an EMD NW2(ex GN from what a Soya employee told me). The main yard probably held a hundred cars or more, the middle yard held probably 10 to 20 tank cars, and the back yard held probably 50 to 80 cars. Also there was another siding that led into a tank farm that held about ten cars that was located in front of the plant. They now have an EMD SW1 as well to switch the plant to handle the larger and heavier cars they now receive.

As for Delphos, I have never seen the plant there, so can't speak to specifics on the car count but I would wager it has a 50 car capacity or so.
Chris Howe
Fairborn, OH

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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

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IERY 6002(a retired SD50) has been added to the active roster again, it was retired in 2009 due to severe electrical problems. Since then it has sat in the shops at Silvis, IL and is now repaired and fully operational and has been delivered to Chicago to the IERY. It is ex-NS and is the only SD50 in IERY's paint scheme. RA management did not think it could be repaired and chose to retire it but G&W decided to have it repaired probably because the repair cost less than a whole new unit.
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DT&I
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Re: IERY(Illinois Eastern Railway)

Unread post by DT&I »

10S-13 running east at Warsaw with UP 6067 and ICE 6411 and 45 cars.

126-13 getting a crew change at Ft. Wayne with IERY 8804 and IERY 3008

302-13 also running east through Bucyrus with IERY 8803 and IERY 3003 and 30 cars

SD50's have been sent to the Ohio Central, both 6000 and 6001.
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