NS Should Consider a Tow-Away Zone (Pictures Included)

[Racer]

I went railfanning with Gregg Pullano today around Lansing and we went through Old Town: west of downtown. We crossed over a branch-line owned off of NS's Belt Line. Apparently this branch line is used a few times a year (Gregg saw it being used last year), but I noticed today that people park their car on the tracks and they are asking for it! Here's a few pictures of it. -Chris

[BerkshireKid]

Hey Gregg or Chris where does this line begin and end??? And what does it serve.

[RailCanon]

Since when is there an I in my name?
<----------Correct spelling.
Dane, this spur starts out at Turner Street, which is where the East end of CSX's Ensel yard is. NS' "Belt Line" (Former Lansing Manufacturers Railroad) connects to CSX's mainline via a crossover at this location. The spur continues off the Belt and veers straight south towards downtown. The lone industry on this line, a recycling company, is located just a few hundred yards south of the street where Chris took these photos. The recycling company stopped receiving regular shipments several years ago, and the last time I saw this line being used was in early 2006, when I witnessed a single Conrail GP15-1 running down the line to pick up one GTW box car from the end of the spur. I have not seen it used since that time and I believe that it may be torn up at some point soon. The end of the line, by the recycling place is now covered in brush.

[i995impalass]

theres a spur like that in Gr, the old GR press spur/ GT wye on Leonard. Alway see cars on the spur. I dont know for sure if has been fully abandoned yet ether tho, heard somthing about a year ago

[KenB]

In the second picture, building in parking lot on right looks like MA tower. Maybe WATCO can get them to ship via rail again.

[AARR]

theres a spur like that in Gr, the old GR press spur/ GT wye on Leonard. Alway see cars on the spur. I dont know for sure if has been fully abandoned yet ether tho, heard somthing about a year ago

It's my understanding this spur has not been used since Grand Rapids Press moved its plant to Walker.

[J T]

First of all, darn you Gregg for getting to see a train on those tracks. Other than seeing one on the spur to Heinz in Holland, this is the number one set of tracks I've waited my entire life to see a train on. A few years ago, a friend of mine lived in an apartment about 50 yards from those tracks and he would occasionally call me to tell me the train was going by...just to rub it in! From 99-02 I worked at Spiral (while living in GR) and every night that I worked there, I'd drive by that scrap metal business (Padnos?) to see if a car was there and I'd also check the tracks for evidence of a train going down them. Always saw evidence, but never got to see any movement. Even from the time I was a small child, I can remember crossing over those tracks on Gd. River Ave. and wishing I could see a train on there.

Secondly, that is the start of the line that used to cross of the GT near Cedar St, pass REO and head south down to Eaton Rapids and so on. There was a spur off that line right by LCC that went to the BWL and the bridge is still there over the Grand River. There was even a spur off that spur that crossed Grand Ave right where the parking ramp spans the street. The building at the corner of Grand and Shiawasee has a curved side to it where the tracks ran next to it. I believe there are loading docks on the back of that building as well. I remember those tracks still being in place when I was younger, and even recall seeing remnants of the tracks underneath and south of Michigan Ave. There is an east-west street just south of 496 that still has the tracks in the pavement from a spur that came off this line as well. PAT C. can fill in more info on this line, regarding when it was last used and removed and whatnot.

Again, darn you, Gregg!

ADMIN EDIT: cleaned up your double post, and don't purposely bypass the filter.

[sd70accsxt700]

Boy JT you must really be pissed double posts? Get that trusty lawn chair, put it on a pile of ballast, and park it there for a year, Im sure youll see them.

[J T]

Double post? Server must have glitched.

And "dam*" shouldn't be included in the filter, as it is a common word and not offensive to anyone.

[intocable83]

The people who park next to that building in Old Town Lansing live above the stores in that building and the person who runs the shops there also park there.
One of my good friends lives near that set of tracks and they don't ever use it but if they ever needed to, if I was the engineer of the train i would just plow through those dumb ass peoples cars. lol Its so dumb for them to park there, just because they have money and think they are something special even if the track isn't currently in use.

[amtrakjackson]

I hate to say it, but NS is wide open in terms of liability with idiots parking there like that. So many people are looking to make a quick buck- they at least need to install some "no trespassing" signs. "I fell on the rail, it wasn't marked, I broke my spine and will never work again. Pay up!!"

I can't stand that s***, but that's what goes on, and what the RRs need to protect themselves against.

Anyone remember the old GTW track that came across Pennsylvania Ave, crossed Hazel, and paralleled the street up to the C&O connection? Back in the early 1980s, the owner of the building next to the track north of Hazel was using the right of way as a storage and parking area, unbeknownst to the GTW. At some point, the GTW found out about it and their lawyers were pretty upset. And this was in the days before the mega million$ lawsuits. The RR put the old kibosh on that pretty quick.

[J T]

Anyone remember the old GTW track that came across Pennsylvania Ave, crossed Hazel, and paralleled the street up to the C&O connection? Back in the early 1980s, the owner of the building next to the track north of Hazel was using the right of way as a storage and parking area, unbeknownst to the GTW. At some point, the GTW found out about it and their lawyers were pretty upset. And this was in the days before the mega million$ lawsuits. The RR put the old kibosh on that pretty quick.

That connector went up Hosmer street, partly along the shoulder as well as right down the middle of the road at some points. A few months ago when Jon Hall and I were in Lansing, I showed him remnants of that connector and you can still see some of the ties in the dirt under 496 and just south of the overpass. I remember as a kid riding in the car, everytime we were heading west on 496, I'd look down onto Hosmer St hoping to see a train rolling down the middle of it. Never got to see one there. Up until a year or two ago, there were still tracks crossing E. St. Joseph St, just west of Hosmer...but they didn't go anywhere. Obviously remnants of a spur that existed before 496 was built, as well as the buildings on the north side of the street. I was disappointed to see they had been ripped up and that section of street repaved.

[amtrakjackson]

That's the road I was thinking of, Hosmer Street. Thanks, JT.

I have memories of early CR going through Riverfront Park with a dozen or so L&N coal hoppers behind black GP7s and green transfer cabs on the rear for the shove down. I wish I'd had my camera. Also PC trains crossing Cedar and Larch Streets near the QD, and a move going under Michigan Avenue (and the cool tell-tales) on its way south to Cedar.

[J T]

That's the road I was thinking of, Hosmer Street. Thanks, JT.

I have memories of early CR going through Riverfront Park with a dozen or so L&N coal hoppers behind black GP7s and green transfer cabs on the rear for the shove down. I wish I'd had my camera. Also PC trains crossing Cedar and Larch Streets near the QD, and a move going under Michigan Avenue (and the cool tell-tales) on its way south to Cedar.

So you can remember the line when it went all the way along the river and eventually crossed the GT line? Wow, I envy you. Since you remember seeing coal movements to the powerplant, do you also remember that spur off that line that crossed Grand Ave where the parking ramp now stands? I've talked to Pat C. about this and he remembers it as well. I wish I could see a picture of that. I only have ONE memory of it when I was riding in the car with my mom and I think there was a train on it just west of Grand. I must have been around 5 or 6.

There are things I wish I had a camera for when I was a kid, like watching a Conrail engine try to pull a derailed boxcar back onto the tracks on the line that used to run to Owosso. I grew up a mile or two south of that line and one day while shooting baskets in my driveway, I heard some loud engine sounds coming from the north. I had a feeling it was a train on that line, so I jumped on my bike and pedaled as fast as I could up Wood St. to where the overpass was. The tracks ended a hundred yards or so west of the bridge, and there at the end of the tracks sat a lone boxcar that somehow went over the end of the rails. I can't remember if I sat and watched until they got the car back on the rails, but I DO clearly remember the grooves worn into the rails where the engine's wheels had been spinning. I also remember playing in and on that boxcar for months/years before that. If I had only taken a camera with me....


EDIT: Hey, my 1225th post.

[J T]

Dane, this spur starts out at Turner Street, which is where the East end of CSX's Ensel yard is. NS' "Belt Line" (Former Lansing Manufacturers Railroad)

And former New York Central line, Lansing division.

[Hogger1225]

I'll tell you guys one thing, it was a real pain spotting coal cars at the power plant just south of Shiawassee. Came off the bridge into a small dip and then had to give it everything you had and cut the power at the last (but right) second so you wouldn't fly off the end of the track. All of that across a busy street with no flashers.

[J T]

I'll tell you guys one thing, it was a real pain spotting coal cars at the power plant just south of Shiawassee. Came off the bridge into a small dip and then had to give it everything you had and cut the power at the last (but right) second so you wouldn't fly off the end of the track. All of that across a busy street with no flashers.

Wow...straight from the source! Any other stories you can share with us? Did you ever run the line between north Lansing and Owosso? I ridden that line before...on an ATV.

[Hogger1225]

I used to catch the Jackson-Bay City train a lot on the weekends. Also used to get the coal trains off the Ann Arbor that went from Owosso to Bay City and return. Take the train up to Bay City, turn it over to the Yard crews to take them either to Essexville or Midland. We would go to the hotel on the river, (Imperial 400) and get our 8 hours rest, and take the emties back to Owosso. Sweet little run. Also in the early 70's used to work tohe Owosso Turn. We would go from Lansing to Owosso and usually up to St. Charles and back to Lansing every day.

[J T]

We would go from Lansing to Owosso and usually up to St. Charles and back to Lansing every day.

Any idea what year those tracks were removed? My brother took me on the back of his bike down a trail that eventually would become 127 sometime in the early to mid-70's, but I don't think he took me as far north as where the tracks were. I'm guessing shortly after they built the highway, the tracks were removed, as by the time I was old enough to ride my bike in that area, the highway was built, the overpass was in place and the tracks were gone. I spent many hours during my childhood and teen years riding bikes, motorcycles and ATV's up and down that old RR grade between Wood St. and Bath. I just wish I could have been old enough to see some movement on there. Someone in this state MUST have pictures of trains on that line. Somewhere in a dusty shoebox, tucked away in an attic...

[AARR]

I didn't think the tracks from Swan Creek-Paines and Owosso-Fertilizer plant (2-3 miles south of Owosso) lasted very long after 1976.