MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

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iandt
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MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by iandt »

Does anyone have a video of, or at least remember seeing, Conrail IHDL traverse the Michigan Line in the late 90's, particularly right before/after the takeover in 1999? At another page on this site (I forget where) it was mentioned that this train was a manifest coil/steel train, which I assumed was probably the National Steel - Campbell Soup Factory train mentioned here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16018

I am trying to find any information on this train that is more than speculation. Particularly: is IHDL actually the name assigned to Conrail's coil train over the Michigan? Would these trains have been made up of NSAX/Conrail coil cars, or just Conrail coil cars? And how did this makeup/route change when NS absorbed Conrail in 1999, but before they completely reassigned traffic patterns on the Michigan Line?

Any information would be appreciated, since I never witnessed any late Conrail/early NS traffic on the MI Line, and I am very curious about train makeups, traffic patterns, etc.!

Tim
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by Tim »

IHDL ran on the Michigan Line in the early 90’ and I think it was actually INDJ or perhaps INDN depending on whether it terminated at Junction Yard (Livernois) or North Yard. It originated on the IHB and made several pick ups in Chicago with the final one at Burns Harbor. It had a set out in Jackson for Worthington Steel and I believe Wayne for the steel outfit east of the tower. The remainder of the train went into Detroit. I worked it out of the Elkhart – Chicago pool once or twice so my thoughts on this are a bit fuzzy. I don’t think it lasted for more than a year or so. It was a fair sized train of 40 to 50 cars and we had to keep the train blocked when we made the pick ups. This I recall as the trainmaster took issue with the fact that I brought the train into Elkhart with a half dozen or so Wayne’s ahead of the dozen plus Jackson’s. He was unappeased when I explained the Wayne’s would come together after the set out was made in Jackson.
I have a slide somewhere of the National Steel train at Three Rivers coming off the MAL but I don’t know if that was a detour or if it ran on the Michigan Line on a regular basis. If it was a regular train it was soon rerouted south to Toledo and then west on the Waterlevel to Burns Harbor.

iandt
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by iandt »

Tim wrote:IHDL ran on the Michigan Line in the early 90’ and I think it was actually INDJ or perhaps INDN depending on whether it terminated at Junction Yard (Livernois) or North Yard. It originated on the IHB and made several pick ups in Chicago with the final one at Burns Harbor. It had a set out in Jackson for Worthington Steel and I believe Wayne for the steel outfit east of the tower. The remainder of the train went into Detroit. I worked it out of the Elkhart – Chicago pool once or twice so my thoughts on this are a bit fuzzy. I don’t think it lasted for more than a year or so. It was a fair sized train of 40 to 50 cars and we had to keep the train blocked when we made the pick ups. This I recall as the trainmaster took issue with the fact that I brought the train into Elkhart with a half dozen or so Wayne’s ahead of the dozen plus Jackson’s. He was unappeased when I explained the Wayne’s would come together after the set out was made in Jackson.
I have a slide somewhere of the National Steel train at Three Rivers coming off the MAL but I don’t know if that was a detour or if it ran on the Michigan Line on a regular basis. If it was a regular train it was soon rerouted south to Toledo and then west on the Waterlevel to Burns Harbor.
Thank you! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Though I guess it brings up more questions than answers for me.

If IHDL or its mutations were cut short after the early 90's, there may have been a time in the late 90's when it was brought back, IHDL appears on the 1999 Conrail timetable listed here: http://www.trainweb.org/crts/frt.html. Or if it's true that it was discontinued in the early 90's, did another steel train replace it that continued up into the merger? Also, if it sounds like you picked up in the CHI area and headed west to either LI or N yards, does that mean that it returned WB empty?

I didn't know that the NSAX train was unrelated though, was IHDL just a general coil train then? I also wish that Conrail gave a separate title to the NSAX train, in order to differentiate between the two.

ConrailDetr​oit
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by ConrailDetr​oit »

Where from North Yard in Detroit would the steel go?

River Rouge Yard makes more sense with surrounding Steel industry.

iandt
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by iandt »

This thread (http://www.railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewto ... iew=unread) mentions that CR train ELDN (which thread at viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28186 mentions is supposedly the same train as IHDN, depending on its destination) stopped at Lantz Steel near Mound Rd., which I am completely unfamiliar with.

It's too bad though that neither of those pages provides any detailed consist information, aside for mentioning that they were majority coil car trains. If only someone had a picture of this or any other MI line trains

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M.D.Bentley
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by M.D.Bentley »

iandt wrote:This thread (http://www.railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewto ... iew=unread) mentions that CR train ELDN (which thread at viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28186 mentions is supposedly the same train as IHDN, depending on its destination) stopped at Lantz Steel near Mound Rd., which I am completely unfamiliar with.

It's too bad though that neither of those pages provides any detailed consist information, aside for mentioning that they were majority coil car trains. If only someone had a picture of this or any other MI line trains
Never stopped at Lantz steel. Either the "old plant ( processing ) off the Sterling secondary" or the "new plant ( warehousing/storage ) off the passing track". Lantz steel was switched by the Mound road crews. Cars were then moved from Mound road yard to North yard. The old plant held 5 cars (inside) & 2 tanks - for pickling (outside). The new plant ( now a junk yard ) held about 16 cars. When the economy turned they closed up shop and moved south. taking a lot of their equipment with them . The old plant is now a warehouse.

iandt
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by iandt »

M.D.Bentley wrote:Never stopped at Lantz steel. Either the "old plant ( processing ) off the Sterling secondary" or the "new plant ( warehousing/storage ) off the passing track". Lantz steel was switched by the Mound road crews. Cars were then moved from Mound road yard to North yard. The old plant held 5 cars (inside) & 2 tanks - for pickling (outside). The new plant ( now a junk yard ) held about 16 cars. When the economy turned they closed up shop and moved south. taking a lot of their equipment with them . The old plant is now a warehouse.
By "old" and "new" plants, do you mean either the Ford or Chrysler plants up in Sterling Heights? It makes sense that either of those plants would be getting covered auto steel

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M.D.Bentley
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Re: MI Line Coil Trains, 1999

Unread post by M.D.Bentley »

iandt wrote:
M.D.Bentley wrote:Never stopped at Lantz steel. Either the "old plant ( processing ) off the Sterling secondary" or the "new plant ( warehousing/storage ) off the passing track". Lantz steel was switched by the Mound road crews. Cars were then moved from Mound road yard to North yard. The old plant held 5 cars (inside) & 2 tanks - for pickling (outside). The new plant ( now a junk yard ) held about 16 cars. When the economy turned they closed up shop and moved south. taking a lot of their equipment with them . The old plant is now a warehouse.
By "old" and "new" plants, do you mean either the Ford or Chrysler plants up in Sterling Heights? It makes sense that either of those plants would be getting covered auto steel
No coil steel trains to either of the Sterling Heights auto plants. Steel stampings arrived by rail and truck (locally). The reference was about the Voss Lantz steel processing plants on the Sterling secondary.

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