Michigan TOFC

[Sppengelly]

Out of the intermodal terminals in Detroit, which Class I intermodal terminals operate TOFC (trailer on flatcar) in addition to their COFC and stack trains?

Thank you in advance.

-Sean

[AARR]

CN's Moterm in Ferndale (on the Holly Sub) can handle trailers and I see them in the parking but I can't confirm if they are coming in by rail anymore.

[Saturnalia]

IIRC they load Triple Crown at Willow Run (NS), which is roadrailers but soon to be TOFC if not already.

[CAT345C]

IIRC they load Triple Crown at Willow Run (NS), which is roadrailers but soon to be TOFC if not already.

Haven't done that since around 09 or 10. I used to catch 261? Leaving the yard there after college every night. They moved it all to Detroit.

[DLM]

No TOFC out of Detroit on CSX and NS. CN offers it in some lanes.

[Norm]

Haven't been out watching much this winter because of the cold (Yes, I'm a wuss) but there are very few trains on the north part of the Holly these days. I've seen stacks, but never seen TOFC.

[trainjunkie47]

I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a TOFC on the Holly Sub, but it was four or five years ago. I was watching from between 9 Mile and Camborne, right where the old commuter platform used to be, as at least a couple were shoved into the yard, along with containers. Its happened in the past, but I don't think any are moving that way currently?

[ConrailMan5]

IIRC they load Triple Crown at Willow Run (NS), which is roadrailers but soon to be TOFC if not already.

Haven't done that since around 09 or 10. I used to catch 261? Leaving the yard there after college every night. They moved it all to Detroit.

I think it has been a bit longer than that, not in my recent memory has willow run been open for roadrailers. I've been told ns gave it up in 02-03, but I could be wrong

[CAT345C]

I can definetely garuntee it was still open in 2008. I was in college in 2008 and would run over to Willow run with Trainwatcher on our lunch breaks everynight. Always had some good power and the GM plant never had any security so it was a easy to sneak in from our campus at the airport.
Here is a photo from the Spring of 2008 around 7pm. They would assemble the train, then wye the power in this case it was the BNSF unit and pull up to Denton Road for a recrew at 2230 on most nights.

[Y@]

IIRC they load Triple Crown at Willow Run (NS), which is roadrailers but soon to be TOFC if not already.

Roadrailers are hanging around for the time being.

[KenB]

They do not handle Roadrailrs at Willow Run. Have't since NS took over their part of Conrail. Too bad. nice to get them at Delray than on the Michigan Line. CSXT , Ns and CP do not handle TOFC into/out of Detroit. Lots of TOFC on the NYC in Ohio and PRR in Pennsylvania though. Noticed that when I went to shoot NKP 765.

[CAT345C]

When did NS take over Conrail then? I thought it was in 1999. I defiantly watched them build road railrailer trains in 2008 at Willow Run.

[CSX_CO]

When did NS take over Conrail then? I thought it was in 1999. I defiantly watched them build road railrailer trains in 2008 at Willow Run.

OMG IF ITS ON THE INTERMET IT MUST BE TRU

PRACTICE SAFE CSX
USE A CONRAIL

[CAT345C]

When did NS take over Conrail then? I thought it was in 1999. I defiantly watched them build road railrailer trains in 2008 at Willow Run.

OMG IF ITS ON THE INTERMET IT MUST BE TRU

PRACTICE SAFE CSX
USE A CONRAIL

Sorry bro! Thought I read that in a magazine. My bad I'll crawl back in my hole now and watch from a far.

[ConrailMan5]

I can definetely garuntee it was still open in 2008. I was in college in 2008 and would run over to Willow run with Trainwatcher on our lunch breaks everynight. Always had some good power and the GM plant never had any security so it was a easy to sneak in from our campus at the airport.
Here is a photo from the Spring of 2008 around 7pm. They would assemble the train, then wye the power in this case it was the BNSF unit and pull up to Denton Road for a recrew at 2230 on most nights.

Did some digging, here is what I found. Source is a 2008 MDOT web document.
"Class I railroads1. As an example of the lack of capacity, the Norfolk Southern Railroad has increased its Triple Crown business to the extent it could be accommodated at the Melvindale terminal. Norfolk Southern has requested financial assistance of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) so that it can consolidate its intermodal operations at its portion of the Livernois-Junction Yard. But, until the DIFT is concluded, use of federal monies to provide such assistance is not available. So, NS has reopened its Willow Run terminal in Romulus, Michigan, to handle its Triple Crown business growth. Once the Record of Decision (ROD) is signed, and, if appropriate improvements..."
Sounds like it was closed at at the conrail takeover, and reopened for a short time in 2008.
Full doc. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/ ... 2923_7.pdf

My apologies CAT, I know I hate it when people question events I know happened. I really wish I would have known they were doing the roadrailers that late, I would have checked it out.

[TrainWatcher]

When did NS take over Conrail then? I thought it was in 1999. I defiantly watched them build road railrailer trains in 2008 at Willow Run.

OMG IF ITS ON THE INTERMET IT MUST BE TRU

PRACTICE SAFE CSX
USE A CONRAIL

Sorry bro! Thought I read that in a magazine. My bad I'll crawl back in my hole now and watch from a far.

Ahhh yes, I remember those days. Actually, I remember the first time I went out railfanning and you were still driving that purple Ford Escort in Plymouth and then the infamous red F150.

It was 2008, because just after that they closed GM Hydromatic (the old Bomber plant) and I has just started working at Livonia Transmission that June.

[Racer]

Yes, Mike and James are right. I remember venturing over there in the late summer of 2008 when a Conrail-painted SD60I came in on that morning's 260. The Willow Run operation closed when the recession caught-up to the auto industry. When traffic was scaling-back, Oakwood was able to accommodate the traffic from Willow Run, therefore, 260/263 would terminate/begin at Oakwood instead of the backtracking the Michigan Line to/from Willow Run. 260 would come into Willow Run early in the morning and 263 would depart in the evening, just after dark.

[ns8401]

Conrail was bye-bye June 1 1999, Willow Run stopped handling Roadrailers in 2009, the trains were 260 and 263 IIRC. They were nightly trains, I saw them many times CAT has been spot on in his recollections. All Willow Run Roadrailer operations were subsequently transferred to Oakwood. One of the reasons I've heard is that in the midst of the recession consolidation made sense with the auto traffic drying up. The expansion to Willow Run was a revitalization of a Conrail service and was to supplement Oakwood which was near capacity in their facility. The trains came off of and went on to the Wabash.

[Y@]

And boom goes the dynamite.

[MSchwiebert]

TOFC has long been fading away to nonexistence. For example, here's the CSX intermodal service matrix for private asset (customer owned) equipment.
http://www.intermodal.com/share/wwwinte ... 013(1).pdf

Note how few orgins & destinations are listed as both TOFC & COFC or just TOFC.