A section of the Old Road is being taken up

[JStryker722]

Personally IMHO, the only way the would've made money between Coldwater and Sturgis was buy out the White Piegon to Sturgis section from the MSO but there is no reason Pioneer would sell out and even if they did,I don't see why the INER would switch all of their interchange to White Piegon. At most they would've ran it like two seperate operations like it is run,with still no use really to use the Sturgis to Coldwater section for anything. Maybe if the INER did not have all traffic given to NS end up classified in Elkhart,I could see all eastbound traffic given to Montplier and all Westbound traffic given to MSO in Sturgis and forwarded to GDLK to take to Elkhart but that would be best case scenario. reality is it was time for that section of track to go.

[Super Chief]

At least the portion from White Piegon to Elkhart will stay intact. GDLK has had huge trains running since the 4th and on Saturdays too. They have run two locos on the local all week. The business is there and they seem to respond to it very well. Sad to see the rails go but even the ethanol plant in South Bend is history. New Energy used to get the corn from the Old Road. As I was in White Piegon Tuesday the Pioneer mechanical crew from Peoria was there changing filters,lube oils and the like on the engines 907 & 1616. They pull a trailer to all of the locations Pioneer has in this area and do the work on the engines. The Ludington and Northern unit in Kendallville is the most reliable according to them. They also said it's too bad Pioneer spent all the money on the F units in Illinois as the brush along the right of way is taking the paint off the sides of the units.

[Super Chief]

There will be no trail. According to the July 5th Sturgis Journal article local banker got INER to sell the ROW to the ajoining property owners. So once AK removes the rail the ROW reverts to them. No rail banking for future use. The banker was the most vocal opponent to a trail and he won. The GRI and Airline never got trails either the landowners just took them over.

[Tom]

The trail is not a done deal. This whole process was fishy if you ask me.

Fishy? Explain? I would like to hear your point....

People here do not want to pay for it. Land owners want their land back and absolutely do not want cyclists in their back forty (or on the roads for that matter). Public input from local businesses and industries on the abandonment was ignored. An Indiana company needed to sell a ROW in Michigan to pay for improvements in Indiana and now it's being rail banked? Lol I don't THiNk so.

Better get an off road bicycle. It's the only thing you will be able to use on this "trail" if it ever happens. Don't get me wrong-I'd like to see the ROW preserved but like everything about this abandonment, I'll believe it when I see the pavement. And I'll take bets on this one.

[NoviRailfan]

Here's an article.

http://www.sturgisjournal.com/article/2 ... /1001/NEWS

According to this, by state law, the railroad is first supposed to offer the railroad to MDOT or the DNR. Does anyone know if that happened?

"A railroad may end its obligation to provide freight service over a specific rail line by filing an abandonment application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Abandonment is a formal process designed to make sure no rail customers are irreparably harmed. Parties opposed to proposed abandonments may file pleadings to show that they would suffer more harm by losing rail service than the carrier would suffer if it continued to provide service. Such pleadings are usually filed by customers on the line or governmental units. Following abandonment, some lines are retained for possible future transportation use while other lines are sold outright. Michigan law mandates that abandoned rail lines must first be offered respectively to both MDOT and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources before being sold to any other party. Rail corridors acquired by MDOT can be utilized for interim trail purposes."

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-1 ... --,00.html

[Notch 8]

People here do not want to pay for it. Land owners want their land back and absolutely do not want cyclists in their back forty (or on the roads for that matter). Public input from local businesses and industries on the abandonment was ignored. An Indiana company needed to sell a ROW in Michigan to pay for improvements in Indiana and now it's being rail banked? And I'll take bets on this one.

Tom, how much money did you have tied up in this matter ? Zero ? You should have purchased the ROW so you could had a place to ride your bike. Interest was not ignored, there just was not enough interest in a trail that the ends would be in the middle of BFE ! Also the improvements you harp about in Indiana made it possible to get heavier trains to a Michigan Customer..PS. Can I bring my bike and my friends and ride around your property ?

[Tom]

[quote=

Tom, how much money did you have tied up in this matter ? Zero ? You should have purchased the ROW so you could had a place to ride your bike. Interest was not ignored, there just was not enough interest in a trail that the ends would be in the middle of BFE ! Also the improvements you harp about in Indiana made it possible to get heavier trains to a Michigan Customer..PS. Can I bring my bike and my friends and ride around your property ?

I have more tied up in this than you do. I'm glad this is just a place for you to ride your bike. Buy the line personally? Ride your bike at my place (good luck with that one pal)?

Not even gonna waste my time with this one.

[jrgerber]

On a briefly related matter doesn't the INER still lease portions of the old Hillsdale County RR from the State of Michigan? And if so why does the State of Michigan force INER to purchase the line or put it up for bid?

[JStryker722]

The section from Sturgis to Coldwater was never owned by the Hillsdale County R.R.,it was operated by MSO until 2005 on behalf of the Branch Co. Rail Users Association ( not exact name ) which owned the track. When INER took over from the MSO,INER bought the Coldwater to Sturgis section from the association and gave them ownership of the Coldwater to Quincy section,which leased the track back to INER. It was never state owned. Only Hillsdale-Quincy,Hillsdale-Litchfield is leased from MDOT,plus the mainline south of Hillsdale within MI.

[railroadchoad]

Indeed, the INE is the designated operator of the trackage from Ray (state line) to Quincy as well as the Litchfield Branch. It is my understanding that MDOT was offered the opportunity to purchase the line that is currently being pulled up between Batavia and Sturgis. MDOT went so far as to inspect it, as I recall. They passed on the opportunity. It is also my understanding that the Tamarack Trail people were offered the line but were unable to enlist the support of a single municipality or county along the route of the trail. Such support or sponsorship was needed in order for the trail organization to be able to qualify for grants and the like. The purpose of the sale of the line was to raise capitol from an underutilized asset. The adjacent landowner who is purchasing the land and brokering it back to other adjacent landowners was apparently able to come to the table with the guarantee of money. That is something that, apparently, those interested in developing a trail were not able to do as readily.

During the period of time after the filing of the abandonment notice there was also apparently no objection from affected customers or government entities along the route.

As to the matter of MDOT forcing the INE to buy the portion of track that is operated by INE and owned by the State: That is only an option if the state forces the Huron and Eastern, Great Lakes Central, Lake State and Amtrak to do the same for the lines they operate. The line is of no value to anyone else due to the fact the the INE owns the track south of the state line.

Those lamenting the demise of the Old Road west of Coldwater had better keep in mind that the INE gave over 10 years for something to develop before resorting to total abandonment. Many other railroads would have pulled the rail and cashed out long before that. It is also important to remember that the money being gained by pulling up this rail and selling off the land is being used to finance improvements in Indiana that DIRECTLY BENEFIT the state of Michigan by being able to handle heavier cars into and out of Michigan. Customers in Indiana benefited very little from this.

Lastly, the Indiana Northeastern is pretty tolerant of railfans and is, for the most part, a friendly bunch of guys. There are other railroads that would be better targets of ill-will from rail enthusiasts.

[NoviRailfan]

Never answered was whether the line was offered to the DNR. Does anyone know?

[railroadchoad]

The DNR was given the opportunity to develop a linear park. The office of State Senator Caswell is said to have explored all options in Lansing.

[MagnumForce]

Complaining about the demise of a line with absolutely no potential for traffic and one that gains capital for the most Railfan friendly Railroad I have EVER known or heard of? While I won't give out ways to get line ups it is incredibly easy and the railroad is incredibly accommodating to the requests. Heck one time I was told "Thank you for your interest" before I had a chance to say thank you.

The men and women who run this railroad are incredible, there is no greed involved, and there is no way they are doing anything without planning for what is best for the railroad. I grew up in Hillsdale County and remember well what the line was like before INER. I went to college is Angola in the late 90s and my dorm room overlooked the railroad, the amount of change in the line, for the good, since then is unreal. They have done so much to save rail traffic in the counties served. Do you think the Anderson's would have ever considered buying the elevator in Reading without the INER there? Look at what they are investing! The Edon Elevator has grown since the INE took over, South Milford and the home offices has the same story, look at all the business locating in the Ashley Hudson area. The list goes on and on.

Reexamine what you are fighting against and bark up the right tree.

[jrgerber]

As to the matter of MDOT forcing the INE to buy the portion of track that is operated by INE and owned by the State: That is only an option if the state forces the Huron and Eastern, Great Lakes Central, Lake State and Amtrak to do the same for the lines they operate. The line is of no value to anyone else due to the fact the the INE owns the track south of the state line.

I don't know the State isn't forcing anyone to do anything. I know there is interest in Lansing to sell off all remaining state owned trackage. I'm assuming INER has the dollars so my question remains why doesnt' the INER purchase the line?

[brysonda]

I don't know the State isn't forcing anyone to do anything. I know there is interest in Lansing to sell off all remaining state owned trackage. I'm assuming INER has the dollars so my question remains why doesnt' the INER purchase the line?

Knowing none of the specifics of this particular arrangement, I could easily see it being better for INER to keep leasing the line. It may simply be more economical to pay the rent. The capital required to purchase the line out right could take a long time to pay back. In the meantime that capital can be used for many other purposes that may pay off in a much shorter period of time.

As far as 'forcing' them to buy they line, I think that would be rather unlikely. The state would be essentially holding all of businesses involved hostage.

SoM: "Buy the line OR ELSE"
INER: "I guess ELSE it is."
Local Businesses: "Wait, what?"

The whole point of MI owning the line is that it was deemed economically important to the state for the rail transportation to exist, even though the original owner was unwilling, or more likely, unable to continue operating it. So the state purchased or assumed ownership of it and leases it to railroads that would otherwise be unable to purchase the lines.

[J T]

The...Airline never got (a) trail either...

Where is that?

Land owners want their land back...

Their land back? When did they first have it?

[railroadchoad]

Considering the fact that the rails were there for over 150 years, it is really hard to say that anybody is getting anything "back." The farmers and adjacent land owners will be buying "their" land.

[JStryker722]

I got a belated question: When did Conrail spin-off the White Piegon to Quincy section? How did they operate the Old Road? Did the MSO ever reach Quincy post-Conrail?

Personally, I think Conrail and MSO operating the Sturgis to Coldwater section as long as it did is the biggest reason why that section lasted into the 21st century in the 1st place.

[AARR]

I got a belated question: When did Conrail spin-off the White Piegon to Quincy section? How did they operate the Old Road? Did the MSO ever reach Quincy post-Conrail?

MSO only went as far as Coldwater. HCRC went to Quincy.

There's a lot of changes that happened after these lines were sold to short lines. IIRC HCRC never operated beyond Quincy nor interchanged with CR at Coldwater. But I don't recall the reasons why???

[jwilliam33]

HCRC and CR handled interchange at Quincy.