GDLK Operations

Anything pertaining to railfanning in Michigan.
Super Chief
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Super Chief »

Elk is now receiving outbound sand loads from MSO at White Piegon. On Gordys old loop track over the pit 3 augers have trucks dumping into them and transloading to shorty hoppers for shipment out. I know Piegon River Materials furnishes sand to IHB at Gibson yard in Hammond for its locomotives. Don't know about other customers but it's a lot of sand being moved now.

NSSD70ACe
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by NSSD70ACe »

Drove by the Pfizer plant in Portage today only to discover a massive addition just south of the airport. Perhaps an indication of increased production = increased traffic...?
:roll:

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David Lang
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by David Lang »

There is talk on GDLK that the property east of Gerhart has been purchased by a company that will receive stone by rail. They are said to have a contract to supply stone to someone. The stone would arrive in 80 car trains coming off the NS. I was curious who in the Kalamazoo area would be using that quantity of stone.

Drive by there today on the North and South sides. No sign of development activity. Many trees growing up through the old Paper Mill site, but the old concrete base still very visible.

I hope the talk is true and development happens with rail service. Time will tell.

Well, its been a few months now and no new development on the property East of Gerhart yard in Kalamazoo.

PatAzo
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by PatAzo »

David Lang wrote:
There is talk on GDLK that the property east of Gerhart has been purchased by a company that will receive stone by rail. They are said to have a contract to supply stone to someone. The stone would arrive in 80 car trains coming off the NS. I was curious who in the Kalamazoo area would be using that quantity of stone.

Drive by there today on the North and South sides. No sign of development activity. Many trees growing up through the old Paper Mill site, but the old concrete base still very visible.

I hope the talk is true and development happens with rail service. Time will tell.

Well, its been a few months now and no new development on the property East of Gerhart yard in Kalamazoo.
The Kalamazoo Township accessors office says Georgia Pacific still owns the property.

NSSD70ACe
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by NSSD70ACe »

PatAzo wrote:
The Kalamazoo Township accessors office says Georgia Pacific still owns the property.
Why would they still own a property that they apparently have no intention of using? If the facility was still there then it would make sense, but it's nothing but old concrete and trees.
:roll:

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Steve B
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Steve B »

Like in thousands of other cases when companies close a facility, G-P probably still owns the land because it hopes to sell it, figuring the minimal post-demolition taxes are worth it for the chance of eventually selling it to a developer.

PatAzo
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by PatAzo »

NSSD70ACe wrote:
PatAzo wrote:
The Kalamazoo Township accessors office says Georgia Pacific still owns the property.
Why would they still own a property that they apparently have no intention of using? If the facility was still there then it would make sense, but it's nothing but old concrete and trees.
It's valued at $1.5M and taxes are around $45K a year if I remember. Scenario 1, there are not a lot of buyers for that property at GP's price so they set on it until they sell it or are willing to discount it enough to unload it. Scenario 2 GP's corporate structure has forgotten (if you will) about the site. Someone somewhere just pays the taxes because that's what they have always done. Scenario 3. GP has concerns about what is under the ground after decades of paper making and want to control what happens to the site. They don't want housing there for instance and in the years to come be sued because kids playing their yards were exposed to some pollutant.

Unless the municipality brown fields the site, old industrial land is a risk for future buyers. If you buy the the land and the EPA later finds pollution in the ground that requires remediation, even if someone else created the problem years ago, you can be held responsible for clean up costs. Granted GP is still around and they will be on the hook, but there is still the risk.
Last edited by PatAzo on Fri Jul 07, 2017 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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MQT1223
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Heading south now at 50th st.
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Doktor No
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Doktor No »

MQT1223 wrote:Heading south now at 50th st.

Ahhh yes, the old neighborhood train watching spot. I lived on Urban two streets west of Division. Many a summer day was spent watching the morning freight from Fort Wayne come into town and some days the Sturgis local would make a meet in the yard there. Then the Kelvinator morning job would wander down to spend the next few hours working the warehouse much to my delight. They would head home aroun 3ish and then the afternoon Kelvinator job would come down. They would also work the customers at 54th and then Gordon Foods before they went to 44th and backed into their Kelvinator cars and headed back to Hughart.
Ahhh the smell of fresh kreosote...the yard was built in 1959 or so. I have the design maps thanks to RailDudes Dad in stock.
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dave989
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by dave989 »

You must have been a Pennsy guy back in the day.

chapmaja
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by chapmaja »

PatAzo wrote:
NSSD70ACe wrote:
PatAzo wrote:
The Kalamazoo Township accessors office says Georgia Pacific still owns the property.
Why would they still own a property that they apparently have no intention of using? If the facility was still there then it would make sense, but it's nothing but old concrete and trees.
It's valued at $1.5M and taxes are around $45K a year if I remember. Scenario 1, there are not a lot of buyers for that property at GP's price so they set on it until they sell it or are willing to discount it enough to unload it. Scenario 2 GP's corporate structure has forgotten (if you will) about the site. Someone somewhere just pays the taxes because that's what they have always done. Scenario 3. GP has concerns about what is under the ground after decades of paper making and want to control what happens to the site. They don't want housing there for instance and in the years to come be sued because kids playing their yards were exposed to some pollutant.

Unless the municipality brown fields the site, old industrial land is a risk for future buyers. If you buy the the land and the EPA later finds pollution in the ground that requires mediation, even if someone else created the problem years ago, you can be held responsible for clean up costs. Granted GP is still around and they will be on the hook, but there is still the risk.
Sadly you are absolutely correct about this. There are a lot of areas that could have been redeveloped except of the risk of pollution on the site. I suspect this is why a very large portion of the Buick City property has yet to be redeveloped. Sites that extended back to the 40's and before tend to be very difficult to redevelop without assistance from the urban areas.

It's too bad many of these areas can't / aren't being redeveloped. Buick City would be a nice are with easy rail and expressway access, but there have to be reasons why it hasn't been redeveloped.

Raildudes dad
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Raildudes dad »

These old industrial sites have been investigated and the owners know the environmental issues are there. They don't redevelop in spite of the brownfield credits because there is no industry / business looking for these large properties. Plus, the easy solution is to greenfield a site someplace.

It takes a certain type of vision to redevelop these sites. We have 2 former GM sites in the Grand rapids area. The 36th St stamping plan was leveled and it is a blank slate for someone. Literally yards away from US 131, GDLK on site. It been several years w/o any action. Then there's the Alpine trim plant. Jack Buchanen Sr saw the pot entail in the site and bought it. It's a Planned Unit Development with some typical retail out front the the factory building in the back.

Jack spent some bucks sprucing the place up and divided it into a 4 site industrial condominium. GR Spring & Wire (now Gill Manufacturing) bought 1/4. Haviland Chemical bought 1/4 for warehousing. Kentwood Packaging bought 1/4. The other 1/4 was vacant for a number of years. Profile Films bought the last 1/3 and is up and running. I toured it a few weeks ago. They bought the building for the large clearspan and high ceilings for their extruding machines. They run 24/7 365/6 to keep the plastic molten and extruding the plastic bags,

But it took vision,money, hard work, a municipality willing to cooperate, and a need for the space to make it a success story. Unfortunately the number of sites exceed the demand.,

Plannerdad
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Plannerdad »

As of yesterday, a few hundred new ties have been stacked along the mainline, just north of 54th Street in Wyoming, for the second year in a row.

Super Chief
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Super Chief »

Bottom line has anybody heard anything to the contrary if the stone yard is going in or not at east side of Geathart?

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MQT1223
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Speaking of new customers, is there anything to this supposed customer that could be coming online on the Hastings Lead? Supposed to be shipping/receiving particleboard or chipboard or something like that?
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Plannerdad
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Plannerdad »

SB tonight at 8:30 around M-11 (28th Street) in Wyoming. Was on the freeway so I missed most of the detail. Looked like some King Milling hoppers in middle. I don't know how that would be possible, since the trackage rights dispute remains unresolved; unless they are interchanged between Grand Elk and CSX yards in GR.

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SD80MAC
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by SD80MAC »

You are correct, King Milling traffic moves from the Elk to the GRE via CSX currently.
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Raildudes dad
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by Raildudes dad »

So have a few Standard cars.

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MQT1223
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by MQT1223 »

MOW crews south of 54th. Not sure what they are up to, but they have a large hi-rail truck equipped with a Crain and claw. Could be spreading ties or picking up debris from last weeks storm.
1223 OUT! President and Founder of the Buck Creek Central, the Rolling River Route! (2012-2017) President and Founder of the Lamberton Valley Railroad, The Tin Plate Road! Proudly railfanning with Asperger's since 1996. :)

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trnwatcher
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Re: GDLK Operations

Unread post by trnwatcher »

MQT1223 wrote:MOW crews south of 54th. Not sure what they are up to, but they have a large hi-rail truck equipped with a Crain and claw. Could be spreading ties or picking up debris from last weeks storm.
They might be putting in ties. They've got piles of ties all the way up to 32nd St.
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