Wurtsmith AFB

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AARR
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Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by AARR »

I'm hoping someone can help me. Does anyone recall how many cars of jet fuel Wurtsmith used to get? I don't even know how to guess at this and the web hasn't produced good info.

Did anyone ever see the base being switched? Or the tank cars sitting in Bay City Yard or Tawas City Yard? Maybe the cars enroute inbetween? Or maybe on Chessie/CSX being delivered to D&M?

Any info is helpful! Thanks.
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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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Don, my extended family live in Oscoda, and to my knowledge I have never seen a spur off the LSRC that would have gone there. Kalitta from my sources seems to have closed down their Oscoda Maintenance facility, and I dont think too much else is there anymore. However, I do have some film of the B52's taking off and doing approaches over their house. Pretty cool there back in the late 60's.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by ~Z~ »

TrainWatcher wrote:Don, my extended family live in Oscoda, and to my knowledge I have never seen a spur off the LSRC that would have gone there.

James, a quick look at maps.live.com, and you can clearly see the spur... lots of the crossings throughout the airforce base even show the white strips on the road indicating where the spur is/was... I'm not positive if the tracks are still there, but have a looksie, there's lots of trackage back at Wurthsmith Air Force Base. Here's a link to show where it goes off from LSRC's trackage:
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

And here's one showing various trackage through the base: http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1
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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by Raildudes dad »

Kalitta Air seems to be alive and well according to their website. Tomorrow and Sunday's schedule shows about 9 747's in the air. http://www.kalittaair.com/. I'm sure the economy has hit them as well.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by TrainWatcher »

Ok Guys, thanks. I didnt know much about Wurtsmith AFB.

Raildudes dad: Thanks for the update glad to see they are still going upthere.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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Image

Used to go to these live fire shows once in awhile at Nellis, could feel it miles away

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by JDavis21835 »

The company I work for is in the middle of doing an environmental clean up at Wurtsmith. There is a chance I will be sent to this job depending on personal needs, and staffing on other sites. If I do make it to this job, Ill try and dig up any info i can.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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JDavis21835 wrote:The company I work for is in the middle of doing an environmental clean up at Wurtsmith. There is a chance I will be sent to this job depending on personal needs, and staffing on other sites. If I do make it to this job, Ill try and dig up any info i can.
Thank you. Any info is appreciated. It's surprising how little is known in the railfan world about service here because it was supposedly one of D&M's larger and more important customers for many years.
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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by esprrfan »

Just remembering up at Sawyer the fuel for our tankers and B52 didn't come in by rail it was pipelined in.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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.
Last edited by penn central on Fri Nov 25, 2016 9:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by jringreatwhitenorth »

Thats cool to hear the old D&M tracks at Wurtsmith AFB are still in place. The track arrangement there would make for an interesting shortline operation, if there are any present/or future customers that might want rail service. modeling the Wurtsmith AFB trackage as a model railroad would make for an interesting whatif shortline article in RMC or Model Railroader.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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It seems to me this would be a good place for a large wood operation like what they did to the place in the U.P. Something related to wood pellets perhaps?
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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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I would be nice if the base could be used for some sort of industrial operations once the environmental cleanup is completed. The facility is large enough that if some sort of company wanted to use it I'm sure it could be used. Rail access to the facility would be a plus as well, although I'm sure some rehab would be required.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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Kalitta last time I heard has a long time lease from DoD and USAF to use it for his operations, as he has many DoD contarcts. Also YAF (Yankee Air Museum) has a small outfit Saginaw Divison? posted there was well. And Timco Aviation has an engine facility there, other than that there might be a small General Aviation place there and thats about it.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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TrainWatcher wrote:Kalitta last time I heard has a long time lease from DoD and USAF to use it for his operations, as he has many DoD contarcts. Also YAF (Yankee Air Museum) has a small outfit Saginaw Divison? posted there was well. And Timco Aviation has an engine facility there, other than that there might be a small General Aviation place there and thats about it.
Yeah Kalitta uses it as a MX base. There were scrapping planes there for a while too. If I ever finish up my private pilot cert I plan to fly there.
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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

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In 1989, the Air Force selected Wurtsmith as one of seven bases that would house LGM-118A Peacekeeper ICBM Peacekeeper Rail Garrison. A Rail Garrison would address the survivability problem by which 25 trains, each with two missiles, would use the national railroad system to conceal themselves. It was intended that this system would become operational in late 1992

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by rustbeltrailroad »

I have searched for info on Wurtsmith AFB also pertaining to rail service. Not much, but I have seen over my research of the D&M in the late 1970s and especially 1980s is that the silver, black and white DODX jet fuel tankers served Wurtsmith via the D&M. I concluded this from seeing all of these different tank cars in the background of photos and videos of railroads in the area. I think, again I think, many of the tanks in this service were loaded in Bay City on the D&M by where DOW is and all the relics of that area. And they just went back and fourth to Wurtsmith AFB / Bay City. But... Let me check my sources ( i think the Byron Babbish book). I do have memory of black tanks in Oscoda area as a child in a 1990 camping trip, but don't know if they were DODX or what, but what else would tanks be doing in Oscoda area? I have an HO scale model of these too, will pull it out for photo...

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by AARR »

The jet fuel tank cars may have been traveling between the refinery in Alma and Wurtsmith. On at least one occasion they were trucking the jet fuel but eventually it went back to D&M.
rustbeltrailroad wrote:I think, again I think, many of the tanks in this service were loaded in Bay City on the D&M by where DOW is and all the relics of that area. And they just went back and fourth to Wurtsmith AFB / Bay City.
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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by rustbeltrailroad »

AARR wrote:The jet fuel tank cars may have been traveling between the refinery in Alma and Wurtsmith. On at least one occasion they were trucking the jet fuel but eventually it went back to D&M.
rustbeltrailroad wrote:I think, again I think, many of the tanks in this service were loaded in Bay City on the D&M by where DOW is and all the relics of that area. And they just went back and fourth to Wurtsmith AFB / Bay City.
NEAT, never thought of Alma, and that they did in fact ship by truck on at least one occasion. That would mean something like C&O over to Saginaw/Mershon and up along the river via GTW/CM -or- on the other side of the river on the C&O and over at FOSS JCT... Thanks for the insight about Alma.

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Re: Wurtsmith AFB

Unread post by AARR »

Someone contacted me off line and said that the jet fuel may have been loaded in Bay City and shuttled by D&M to Wurtsmith.

Maybe it arrived by ship to one of the storage tank terminals on D&M's shoreline spur :? .
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