RailRoadFan.com

redside20 wrote:I read in the Norwalk paper that a milling facility might be coming to Willard adjacent to CSX and the Pepperidge Farms cookie plant there on Route 103. The business in question is Star of the West Milling out of Kent Ohio.

This is the area in question in Willard..the field between the current PF plant and the CSX line out back

Star of the West has a pair of milling plants (Frankenmuth and Quincy). Frankenmuth transloads with both CN and LSRC. Qunicy has direct service with INE.

Star also has a handful of elevators in MI's thumb that load a lot of grain and get some inbound fertilizer too.

http://www.limaohio.com/news/news/50140 ... -12A8_D-po

Ok..who will be transporting the urea, and who will be transporting the ammonia? What other byproducts will come out of this expansion?

BTW...this is the Potash Corp on the Southside of Lima near Fort Shawnee.

redside20 wrote:http://www.limaohio.com/news/news/50140 ... -12A8_D-po

Ok..who will be transporting the urea, and who will be transporting the ammonia? What other byproducts will come out of this expansion?

BTW...this is the Potash Corp on the Southside of Lima near Fort Shawnee.

CSX will likely get the largest share of the business. News on how that process will take place is yet to come. But unit trains will be a common sight.

These are the by products from the process....Potash uses one in bound chemical to make everything with a left over component of H2O.

FWIW, a lot of changes will be occurring in the chemical/petro campus found in Lima in the next 4 years...all will have very positive impact on the local rain scene.

CG

CSX will likely get the largest share of the business

And besides CSX...who else in the Lima rail scene will be getting in on this Eric?

redside20 wrote:CSX will likely get the largest share of the business

And besides CSX...who else in the Lima rail scene will be getting in on this Eric?

Norfolk Southern and G&W

Yes, you read the second part of that correctly. Both lines do currently get traffic out of the complex. Look for this to increase in the next few years.

NS stands to gain the most since their yard is adjacent the refinery yards. But CSX does the most.

CG

Norfolk Southern and G&W

Yes, you read the second part of that correctly. Both lines do currently get traffic out of the complex. Look for this to increase in the next few years.

NS stands to gain the most since their yard is adjacent the refinery yards.

Indeed their yard is right there. Either way, I'm just loving this news....

Hello, I'm new to Railroadfan.com and impressed by the quality of content that everyone shares here. I'm interested in northwest Ohio's past and present railroads and have learned a lot just by reading all the past posts. Since I have not seen it discussed yet, I thought I would share some local rail news from the past month.

NS recently received city approval in July for a second expansion of the intermodal operations at the Airline Yard in Toledo. According to the Blade article (http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/0 ... minal.html), the expansion will include a second access road, 600+ new parking spots for trailers and ten new tracks. Considering that the NS Chicago line is already pretty congested through Toledo, would continued investment at the Airline Yard mean eventual upgrades to the main line?

Upgrades have been happening recently. Every NYC signal in the area has fallen or is in the process to fall in the coming year. Heavy MOW presence has been in the area for sometime, including work last summer on the NYC Maumee Bridge.

TrainWatcher wrote:Upgrades have been happening recently. Every NYC signal in the area has fallen or is in the process to fall in the coming year. Heavy MOW presence has been in the area for sometime, including work last summer on the NYC Maumee Bridge.

Thanks. I noticed that NS has also taking down two of the old bridges that cross the track and that the city is currently designing replacements for two more. The preliminary design for one of those, the Miami Street overpass (right next to the east end of the NYC Maumee Bridge), modifies the north abutment of the current bridge to allow for "future track" (pg 22 and 46 http://toledo.oh.gov/media/111552/luc-m ... _plans.pdf). Since any additional track would most likely require a new Maumee crossing and that has not been discussed except in a couple white papers, the city is probably just keeping options open. But it is interesting that all of this is happening around the same time.

CSX is losing a customer on the Toledo Branch in Findlay..Dow Plastics is closing in December..ouch.
http://thecourier.com/local-news/2014/0 ... -55-years/

redside20 wrote:CSX is losing a customer on the Toledo Branch in Findlay..Dow Plastics is closing in December..ouch.
http://thecourier.com/local-news/2014/0 ... -55-years/

It always stings to see a long running business leaving the area. CSX lost another Toledo area customer last year; Diamond Crystal Brands in Perrysburg shut down after they lost a contract to package Splenda (http://m.toledoblade.com/Economy/2013/0 ... -June.html). The facility is still listed in the newest CSX tariff from July, but everything I have seen says that the facility closed last fall.

It always stings to see a long running business leaving the area.


Indeed it does...Luckily CSX has other business in the Bowling Green and Findlay to keep the locals occupied, however that's the third customer in the last three or four years that's closed on the Toledo Branch. First it was Thomas & Betts in Bowling Green, then Blako Industries in Dunbridge closed, and now this. Although a new agri customer, Mid Wood sprouted up south of BG on the Branch, the potential for new business is hard to come by.

Oh yes..I saw a post on facebook that the elevator at Broughton/Latty on the Fostoria District is being used again. Can anyone up there confirm or deny this place is actually operating?

redside20 wrote:Oh yes..I saw a post on facebook that the elevator at Broughton/Latty on the Fostoria District is being used again. Can anyone up there confirm or deny this place is actually operating?

Every now and then they load a unit train or random blocks of cars.

Every now and then they load a unit train or random blocks of cars

Thank you for the update. It is appreciated.

The city of Toledo is bidding on land next to the former Textileather factory (http://www.toledoblade.com/Automotive/2 ... -line.html). Since this property is across the street from the Jeep complex, this is most likely setting the groundwork for an expansion of the Wrangler factory. A somewhat lengthy spur connects the property to the NS Detroit line, but I am guessing that it will be removed since all of Jeep's rail handling is down on the east side of the complex and this expansion is to the west.

redside20 wrote:It always stings to see a long running business leaving the area.


Indeed it does...Luckily CSX has other business in the Bowling Green and Findlay to keep the locals occupied, however that's the third customer in the last three or four years that's closed on the Toledo Branch. First it was Thomas & Betts in Bowling Green, then Blako Industries in Dunbridge closed, and now this. Although a new agri customer, Mid Wood sprouted up south of BG on the Branch, the potential for new business is hard to come by.

Most stuff goes out by truck that I have seen but they have spent a lot of money on the place and have a Genset made out of an Alco S3 with a pretty unchanged carbody.

bn13814 wrote:

jallenp7 wrote:Suppose to be an announcement about something coming to the old GM Moraine plant on Friday, served by NS Dayton Dist.

Per the Columbus Business First it is Fuyao Glass

"New hope at GM plant: A sprawling former General Motors plant outside Dayton is about to get a second life thanks to a manufacturer out of China, the Dayton Business Journal reports. More details are expected to be announced by Gov. John Kasich today, but the project's expected to lead to 800 new jobs at the Moraine facility. The Dayton Daily News identifies the tenant as auto parts maker Fuyao Glass Industry Group's Fuyao North America Inc., which will invest $200 million into the operation – the largest Chinese investment ever in the state, according to JobsOhio."

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/mor ... 2014-01-10

Word from the Western Ohio Rails Yahoo! groups is that glass will arrive from China in sheets, and will be bent into form at the Moraine plant. Honda apparently does this in Bellefontaine, but has no rail access. Of course, articles on this project when it was still called "Project Southbound" mentioned it needed rail access. Raw material (glass sheets) will probably arrive in ocean containers unloaded at Cincinnati or Columbus.

Don't know if anyone saw this but in July, Fuyao North America Inc. purchased a glass plant in Mt. Zion, Illinois to supply its new Moraine auto glass plant.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/bus ... ine/ngmKc/

This plant, located southeast of Decatur, was built by PPG Industries in 1959 and is served by Canadian National (Illinois Central). Not sure if we'll see boxcars loaded with flat glass going to Moraine (CN would probably demand the longest haul possible, possibly to Chicago), or if heavy auto glass will move via truck.

I didn't know that Andersons had their own dock on the river.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2014/ ... rized.html

redside20 wrote:I didn't know that Andersons had their own dock on the river.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2014/ ... rized.html

I think there's a couple companies with elevators that can load into ships. Seems like in addition to The Andersons there is also Cargill and possibly a 3rd. Maybe someone can confirm.

Edit: Looks like Kuhlman has a place on the river.