Indianapolis GM stamping plant

[redside20]

Is closing today after 80 years in business. This plant had a been a faithful customer of the railroad and the writing was on the wall for some time. Sad to see some loss of traffic for CSX in the Indy area.

[CSXIndyLine]

I thik they had been sort of petering out the past few years. The reason for the closure of the Transfer Yard was because of the loss of traffic out of GM.

[CSX_CO]

I thik they had been sort of petering out the past few years. The reason for the closure of the Transfer Yard was because of the loss of traffic out of GM.

Well, sort of. Still plenty of business to be served on that side of town, now its just done from Hawthorne. Riley is still going strong, MP 4 industrial Park is still strong, and there is the new Omni Scrap Yard on the Petersburg that opened up AFTER Transfer Yard closed. That plant puts out more scrap than any other plant in Indy. So...yes...GM had a little something to do with it, but Transfer closed as a cost cutting measure more than a lack of business out of GM. No need to pay for a Yardmaster there (3, $60,000 jobs a year eliminated), take the yard OOS and don't have to spend any $$$ to keep the tracks in service.

You are right about the business petering out. Used to load cars for Roanoke, Oshawa, Fort Wayne, Kansas City, Resor (Shreveport, LA I believe) and Arlington, TX. First, Oshawa traffic went from same day to next day to Toledo, so no more same day connection to Q308/Q218. Then Oshawa closed completely. Roanoke disappeared, Fort Wayne went to trucks after a few select individuals turned J767 into their own personal cash cow, killing it on a nightly basis, and making the parts late to the NS Connection. Went from 3 shifts pulling it, to a guaranteed pull at 1500 and 2100, to just 1500, and then 'whenever we get around to it'. I worked several times on an extra job that did a guaranteed pull on Saturdays at 1500. You'd pull and spot 14 cars (DC would hold 15 cars total, but you never pulled the rear car for some reason) on both sides. Pretty soon became fewer and fewer cars. Parts became a pain in the butt to make the connections at Avon arriving on the Y129, after the Y336 was taken off that used to deliver/pickup at Avon nightly. Sad too see. Not to turn this political or a Union thread, but I don't see how this plant closing is being touted as a "Union Victory!"

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[JohnnyO]

I thik they had been sort of petering out the past few years. The reason for the closure of the Transfer Yard was because of the loss of traffic out of GM.

Roanoke disappeared, Fort Wayne went to trucks after a few select individuals turned J767 into their own personal cash cow, killing it on a nightly basis, and making the parts late to the NS Connection.

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Yes, they did, one person at Muncie E. Yard was so disgusted with the crew that she'd see to it they couldn't sit in the yard office for any extended period of time. Perhaps I'm telling tales that don't belong here but you made me think of her with your comments.

[redside20]

I realize that businesses have to evolve and change with the times and the auto industry is no different. It's just weird to see all these automotive businesses that shipped by rail close up shop so quickly over the last 25 years

[conrailmike]

First of all, Oshawa is not completely closed. Oshawa Car Assembly is still in operation, producing the Camaro, Impala, and I believe the Equinox. It was the truck plant that closed in 2009.

As far as plants closing, it has to be done these days. GM will continue to consolidate where it needs to, to be in line with it's production demands. If you have a plant that is not running at capacity, then it's losing money.

Flint Metal Fab does all the stamping now for all the pickups and most if not all the SUVs. Which means they are stamping for Flint Truck, Arlington Assembly, Fort Wayne, and IIRC the plant in Mexico. They stamp for something like 20 different GM plants and run 3 shifts.

[redside20]

What is Riley and where is the MP 4 Industrial Park located? Does FMC which is diagonally across from GM still get rail service? Is Transfer Yard the one along Oliver Avenue and i see there is am Omnisource Scrapyard there too..Is that the one that opened up?

[CSXIndyLine]

What is Riley and where is the MP 4 Industrial Park located? Does FMC which is diagonally across from GM still get rail service? Is Transfer Yard the one along Oliver Avenue and i see there is am Omnisource Scrapyard there too..Is that the one that opened up?

I know the transfer yard is along Oliver Ave., but I'll let CSX_CO clear the rest up.

[CSX_CO]

What is Riley and where is the MP 4 Industrial Park located? Does FMC which is diagonally across from GM still get rail service? Is Transfer Yard the one along Oliver Avenue and i see there is am Omnisource Scrapyard there too..Is that the one that opened up?

No, Capital City Metals always got rail service, about maybe 5 to 7 gons a day. Quick and easy customer to serve, right off the end of the yard lead. Not sure if they are still shipping by rail, but they were as of last year. Omni purchased them 2 years ago, and then constructed a new yard. The new scrap yard is located on the site of the former Olin Brass factory between Minnesota St and Airport Expressway, along the Petersburg Secondary. MP 4 is a spur that comes off at CP Holt (at MP 4) of the Kraft Runner West, and there are various warehouses and customers down there. Also called "Stout Field" for the small airport there. There was also another spur further up the Kraft Runner which has long been since abandoned.

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