Grain Season and cool Grain Cars

[SD70ACe Fan]

Hey guys! It probably has already started but it's officially "Grain Season!!" This grain season, 2017, I'm gonna try something a little new. Some of you may have seen this on Facebook, but I figured I'd post here as well. On these grain trains, I think there are some fallen flag grain cars that are cool and I want to see them this season, but I'll need some help from you guys in order to make that happen. If anyone on RRFan here sees and former

Ann Arbor, Delaware & Hudson, Rock Route, Illinois Terminal, etc grain cars on any CSX (MI lines), GLC, LSRC, HESR, And MMRR trains in Michigan, let me know asap!

Thanks and happy Railfanning!!

[AARR]

I see ex-AA and RI cars around MI occasionally. The AA cars often still have the plate where the "Ferry in the Fog" logo was painted.

[penn central]

I have read somewhere there is a 50 year rule. Any cars over 50 yrs old gets retired but i was in Bellevue Ohio back in May and saw a gondola that was built in 1949! In the middle of a mixed frt i got shots of it. So you never know what you might see.

[Ben Higdon]

Saw a beaut of a Rock Island hopper at the elevator in Webberville last fall

[trainjunkie47]

I have read somewhere there is a 50 year rule. Any cars over 50 yrs old gets retired but i was in Bellevue Ohio back in May and saw a gondola that was built in 1949! In the middle of a mixed frt i got shots of it. So you never know what you might see.

I've seen numerous auto rack cars with the chassis having a 1962-66 built date, along with a rebuild date. Like anything else, it depends upon many factors how long it lasts.

[iandt]

I saw multiple ex-AA hoppers, an ex-Rock and an ex-D&H hopper all on a single GLC/AA train through Ann Arbor last year. If I were looking for any road with fallen flags, that would be my bet!

[GreatLakesRailfan]

There are a couple pristine Rock Island cars floating around with FURX reporting marks. One went through Rochelle during the meet a couple months ago. Those ex-AA cars pop up on the HESR in Marlette and Brow City so often (I've seen them in both at different times). I think the ex-D&H cars have INTX reporting marks, but that might have changed by now.

It's mostly a matter of figuring out which unit train you're looking for, the lease fleet cars seem to stick together, just like the Class 1 owned unit trains stick together. You're not likely going to find the cars the OP is looking for in a block of CSX Grain Express (or whatever they call it) cars, they'll be with other lease cars, and probably other older lease cars.

[SousaKerry]

I have read somewhere there is a 50 year rule. Any cars over 50 yrs old gets retired but i was in Bellevue Ohio back in May and saw a gondola that was built in 1949

Generally cars over 50 years are banned from interchange but wavers can be given and nothing says that they can't be used within the same railroad such as MOW cars. If two railroads agree to share use of said MOW cars they can be interchanged as well think leased equipment. I have seen rail trains and ballast train sets that have cars over 50 years old moving between railroads this way. As with anything there are exceptions to almost any rule.

[SD80MAC]

The 50 year rule applies to anything built after 1965? or somewhere around there. Cars built before that were limited to 40 years. If a car has what the AAR and FRA consider a rebuild, its life is prolonged even farther. Typically, un-rebuilt cars older than 50 can continue on in revenue service as long as they never leave home rails. That's why you see CSX 2 bay sand hoppers from the early and mid 60s running around on CSX trains, for example.

[Burb8145]

I believe I saw a rusty C&NW hopper on a Flat Rock Sub local pulled by GTW 4619 at the site of the long-gone Buffalo Street crossing in Trenton back in August 2016.

[SD70ACe Fan]

Currently planning a small trip around the Owosso area for Saturday 10/7/17 to snoop out the Grain Elevator at Middleton, Oakley, Owosso area (if any in Owosso) and areas possibly near Howell to find me anything cool, hopefully at least an AA grain car or 2!