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Does anyone pay attention enough to the ADBF to know when they are most likely to run? They seem to have a big enough customer base that they must have some kind of a set schedule.

Where does the ADBF have trackage rights to get to the JAIL? I do not believe they are connected in any way but I'm not familiar enough with their routes to know. I know it runs from Jackson to Lansing but how the two lines connect I do not know.

I've also heard that they can be hostile towards railfans. Has anyone had any run ins with them or is it business as usual when it comes to photography/filming?

Does the Charlotte Southern do any kind of freight traffic or is it strictly car storage and the dinner trains? Does the Lapeer Industrial Railroad even run anymore? I haven't seen or found much on them in recent times. I've also seen the Detroit Connecting but not in operation, so I'm not familiar with them either.

MQT1223 wrote:Where does the ADBF have trackage rights to get to the JAIL? I do not believe they are connected in any way but I'm not familiar enough with their routes to know. I know it runs from Jackson to Lansing but how the two lines connect I do not know.

The ADBF and JAIL are run like two separate railroads. They have no geographical or physical connection and do not use trackage rights.

MQT1223 wrote:I've also heard that they can be hostile towards railfans. Has anyone had any run ins with them or is it business as usual when it comes to photography/filming?

I would be careful. I was taking photos of the equipment in Blissfield in 2016 (on Fire Department Property) and was yelled at by a nearby track crew. I did not stick around to hear what they were saying (I had taken enough photos). I feel that this hostility only applies to the Adrian and Blissfield operation, and I think it has gotten better in recent years. But I could be wrong.

MQT1223 wrote:Does the Charlotte Southern do any kind of freight traffic or is it strictly car storage and the dinner trains? Does the Lapeer Industrial Railroad even run anymore? I haven't seen or found much on them in recent times. I've also seen the Detroit Connecting but not in operation, so I'm not familiar with them either.

Charlotte Southern has been dinner train only for several years now and has not had a freight customer since the early 2000's. They have also not done car storage in years.
Lapeer Industrial still runs and has 3-4 customers.

The Detroit Connnecting RR runs nearly every day and is very easy to catch. They are either switching their customers all within a mile south of Milwaukee Jct or interchanging with CN at East Yard. Never any reported issues with crews from taking pictures of their operations but never should be when not on their property.

DCON is Detroit Connecting. DCRR is Delray Connecting on the other side of town.

JAIL is pretty simple. During the week, the night crew heads south from Mason. Departure varies, but call it Midnight plus or minus an hour.

They interchange with NS in the yard at Jackson and return to Mason between 6-8 am.


Day crew seems to start about 8 am. They handle the Mason to Lansing work. This varies greatly depending on the day.

RSDC in Holt gets service most days. The box plant in Mason is regular, but often the night crew will get that on the way north.

Lansing is mostly the interchanges with CSX & CN and storage cars. Not sure they get to Lansing every day, but mid morning to noon seems the best bet.

Mid-morning to noon is, indeed, the best time to catch JAIL in Lansing during the day. There is parking all around the old Claras from its lots to the street, but none of it is free. Immediately east of the tracks on the northside of the street are three free parking spaces, and then all the way up to Pennsylvania on both sides of the row is also free streetparking. All of this is, of course, if you want to catch them right downtown.

Any of them operate on weekends? Sounds like I’m out of luck since starting a new job.

MQT1223 wrote:Any of them operate on weekends? Sounds like I’m out of luck since starting a new job.

The Dinner Trains on the Charlotte Southern operate on the weekends.

ConrailDetr​oit wrote:

MQT1223 wrote:Any of them operate on weekends? Sounds like I’m out of luck since starting a new job.

The Dinner Trains on the Charlotte Southern operate on the weekends.

I do plan on catching the dinner train in Charlotte when it runs next. I already have the date set. I should've been more specific. I just don't want to waste my time searching for a railroad I have no chance of seeing.

NS3322 wrote:Lapeer Industrial still runs and has 3-4 customers.

LI services Delta Faucet and loads a few tank cars at the transload. There is a small plant that may still get an occasional bulkhead flat of steel plate at the same transload as the tank cars.

LI services Delta Faucet and loads a few tank cars at the transload.

I read that the tank car transload will be moved to Millington in the near future. There has been some track rehab taking place there to accommodate this.

They're not sure if the transload is moving to Millington or if Millington will get new business from another source

jimnorthwood wrote:LI services Delta Faucet and loads a few tank cars at the transload.

I read that the tank car transload will be moved to Millington in the near future. There has been some track rehab taking place there to accommodate this.

CRD, does EQ get inbound traffic? Do they ship anything outbound? Do they have space for rail cars inside their building? Any information is appreciated.

ConrailDetr​oit wrote:The Detroit Connnecting RR runs nearly every day and is very easy to catch. They are either switching their customers all within a mile south of Milwaukee Jct or interchanging with CN at East Yard. Never any reported issues with crews from taking pictures of their operations but never should be when not on their property.

DCON is Detroit Connecting. DCRR is Delray Connecting on the other side of town.

Different topic, but it's about the same railroad. Anyone know if ADBF is still trying to reconnect Riga to Ottawa Lake? Also, will they ever repaint 1223 & 1759 into the ADBF paint scheme?

Out of curiousity, I want to know that trackage is still even active for the JAIL in downtown Lansing? Im guessing the only active customer is a steel processor/scrapyard that CSX could probably serve from their end. What keeps the trackage from being abandoned between New Hollow Yard on CN to Ensel on the North side? A barrier?

rail_watcher wrote:Different topic, but it's about the same railroad. Anyone know if ADBF is still trying to reconnect Riga to Ottawa Lake? Also, will they ever repaint 1223 & 1759 into the ADBF paint scheme?

I thought Riga to Ottawa Lake was just waiting on funding. Could be wrong though.

arty flowers wrote:Out of curiousity, I want to know that trackage is still even active for the JAIL in downtown Lansing? Im guessing the only active customer is a steel processor/scrapyard that CSX could probably serve from their end. What keeps the trackage from being abandoned between New Hollow Yard on CN to Ensel on the North side? A barrier?

JAIL does infrequently interchange cars with CN. They have also used the line between Ensel and the CN interchange for car storage very recently. And who knows, maybe they are anticipating new industry will occupy the old GM and other industrial sites on the west side.

Customers in "downtown" Lansing are Padnos and Alro Steel. (They also service Quality Diary via an old branch line/spur, and Ambassador Steel is also a customer).

Now, whatever happened to JAIL restarting service on the Old Town spur? It has been like 3 or 4 years, so I am assuming that effort is dead?

Last I heard it was a dead project. An agreement couldn't be reached as to who would pay for the spur upgrade.

NS3322 wrote:Now, whatever happened to JAIL restarting service on the Old Town spur? It has been like 3 or 4 years, so I am assuming that effort is dead?

JAIL does infrequently interchange cars with CN. They have also used the line between Ensel and the CN interchange for car storage very recently. And who knows, maybe they are anticipating new industry will occupy the old GM and other industrial sites on the west side.

Customers in "downtown" Lansing are Padnos and Alro Steel. (They also service Quality Diary via an old branch line/spur, and Ambassador Steel is also a customer).

Now, whatever happened to JAIL restarting service on the Old Town spur? It has been like 3 or 4 years, so I am assuming that effort is dead?

The CN interchange is more often than infrequent. There are usually at least a few GTW/SWM coil cars interchanged each week. There are also an assortment of boxcar with reporting marks like LW and NOKL that may be coming from the CN interchange. Tankcars have been stored on the west side belt recently, not sure if they still are.

Old Town spur has trees starting to grow in the gauge on the north side of the North St. crossing. Everything appears to be intact, but some surfacing track work at a minimum would need to be undertaken to restart service.....and to move all the vehicles that park on the tracks.

The QD plant is actually on the remaining south section of the same line that runs through Old Town. There is also a scrap yard at the end of that segment west of MLK but I don't think they are currently active.

ADBF 1758 and 1751 have been the regular JAIL power for the past couple months. 1760 is being repaired in Mason. 1758/1751 brought a GTW coil car north today and then brought a NYC/CSX/CR CoilShield coil south.

I was under the impression that there was no active customers on the southwest branch, not even Quality Dairy. Is Quality Dairy still being serviced? All I've ever seen in recent years is storage of tank cars down by Reid Machinery.

Last I heard Quality Dairy gets a carload or two a week. Reid gets a few carloads a year.

MiddleMI wrote:I was under the impression that there was no active customers on the southwest branch, not even Quality Dairy. Is Quality Dairy still being serviced? All I've ever seen in recent years is storage of tank cars down by Reid Machinery.