RailRoadFan.com

Anderson's is upgrading several area elevators and even the ones with rail service
http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/1 ... rades.html

Honda fueling job growth in Central Ohio region
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ ... 74094.html

Menards Distribution Center near Montpelier is hiring 300 people. Did NS ever build a spur into this place?
http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2011/ ... -jobs.html

Yes, NS has worked the Menards facility since it's opened. The Bing & Google maps views are woefully out of date.

redside20 wrote:Menards Distribution Center near Montpelier is hiring 300 people. Did NS ever build a spur into this place?
http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2011/ ... -jobs.html

BXAir or whoever they are has teamed up with JBHunt..
http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/1 ... giant.html
Never saw that one coming.

US Yachiyo and Marion Industries were hiring a few weeks ago...
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20111 ... chiyo-jobs
There located in a dual rail industrial park..I don't know if these are served by rail...There is a spur going back to ArcelorMittal..formerly Dofasco Canada..just not sure..

More news from the Toledo..More interest in the old Jeep plant.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Automotive/2 ... -site.html

Yenkin Majestic Paints in Columbus will be getting rail service along with tank transload facility..
http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/govt ... 0-2011.pdf

Plan also calls for infrustructure improvements too

Medium sized Ford truck production moving from Mexico to Avon Lake Ohio..
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/201 ... ift_m.html
Because production of the Econoline Van is being phased out after 2013.

Republic Steel adding jobs in Lorain
http://videos.cleveland.com/plain-deale ... r_new.html

Also Timken's Faircrest Rolling Mill on the south side of Canton is adding more jobs...This plant is served by the Wheeling on the southend of Gambrinus Yard.
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index ... _30_c.html

TEC2 Plastics in Springfield got a loan for job expansion
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ ... 95285.html
As I've said before, plastic pellets are offloaded off the I&O Urbana Sub at Glen Echo. This place seems like it has exploded with business and employees in the past couple of years with several expansions

From a local rail perspective that'll be a net loss of activity. The E Van product will be replaced by a product based on the Ford Europe Van (the Transit family) to be assembled in Kansas City, so there'll be a loss of outbound finished vehicles to the KC plant.

A bit more background on the medium duty product line. Approximately a decade ago, Ford entered into an agreement with Navistar where Navistar would assemble the Ford trucks at their Escobedo Mexico plant. The joint venture was called "Blue Diamond" (the blue representing Ford and the Diamond representing Navistar - and it was a long ago brand under the International Harvester truck umbrella). Navistar set it up where a common chassis was built, and the Ford trucks would receive a Ford cab assembly and the Navistar ones would receive a Navistar one.

Fast forward a few years, when Navistar had a tenative agreement to purchase the GM Medium Duty Line and was looking to assemble those trucks in Springfield. Ford of course wanted no part of having their truck being assembled by the same people that would assemble their primary competitors (at least in classes 4,5 & 6) truck, so they launched a program where Magna would take over the assembly of the F650 & 750 trucks at a location to be determined. The Ford/Magna program made it to the protoype build stage before the Navistar/GM plan fell through and was cancelled (all the while the Blue Diamond Truck was still ongoing). Also at this time, Ford was starting to have quality issues with the Navistar built powerstroke diesel engines used in the larger Ford Pickups, which led to a rather acrimonious fall out between Ford & Navistar.

At the end of the day, I can easily see where there will be no rail service required for the Avon Lake plant once the Medium Duty line is up and running. None of the inbound components (engines, axles & transmissions) would arrive via rail. None of the finished trucks would ship out via rail either. The only items that I could see being as an exception to this would be either coil steel - if they choose to stamp cab related parts on site and assemble them there, or stampings for the cabs from a facility from Woodhaven (for example) if the stamping remains off site.

redside20 wrote:Medium sized Ford truck production moving from Mexico to Avon Lake Ohio..
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/201 ... ift_m.html
Because production of the Econoline Van is being phased out after 2013.

MSchwiebert wrote:From a local rail perspective that'll be a net loss of activity...

I enjoy reading these insites. Thanks MS!

Port of Toledo job generation
http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/1 ... -jobs.html
sites rail as one of the key contributors

Here is something from the Seneca County Port Authority..
http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/page/ ... l?nav=5005
deals with the Shortline Omnitrax..(aka the NOW).

Saw in several news articles that Honda is going to build new Acrura near the Marysville/East Liberty plants. Will probally only add a few additional car loads for CSX.

Looking at a recent sat photo, looks like they extended a track north of the East Liberty yard about 1/2 mile, perhaps new lead for a loading ramp for new plant.

Track was on Mapquest but not on Bing.

Found it interesting that they are not going to ask for any tax incintives though.

Also, on Bing, you can view the track layout for the new customer on the Ottawa Loop and the CSX North Baltimore yard both under construction when photos were taken.

Most likely, they will probably add an addition to one of the plants

An expansion is taking place in Wapakoneta at Ametek Winchester Plastics. They've been receiving plastic pellet granules for quite some time.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/headlines2.html?id=24320

A Danish company has just landed in Findlay this past year and they are set to open for business this week. The company, Hamlet Protein makes some kind of feed for animals. There website mentions their logistics base includes hopper cars (rail I presume) They are located just north of the Tall Timbers Industrial Park and The NS Lima District nearby.
http://hamletprotein.com/us/

Big plans for the Cleveland Port Authority to add rails
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01 ... 9_mil.html