Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

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GrandTrunkFan
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Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

Unread post by GrandTrunkFan »

I thought Id share my paper railroad, the Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern Railroad System. I have it set up company-wise to run kinda like Chessie System did. WDE has three main divisions, Woodland Connection (WCO), Sunfield Southern (SSO), and Allegan Central (ACL). Woodland Connection forms an X, streatching from Woodbury to Kalamazoo on the former Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Saginaw and Grand Rapids to Rives Jct. on the old MC with trackage rights into Jackson on the NS. We are also in preperation to take over the Jackson-Lansing NS line and introduce the Lansing, Mason, and Southern (LAMS) division. Sunfield Southern Streatches from Woodland (Just south of Woodbury) to Grand Ledge and ties back into the CSX. SSO picks up in Grand Ledge and runs up the former C&O branch to Ionia, where they then proceed to St. Johns on the former GTW. Insted of ending the line in Woodbury, the CKS decided to run parallel to the Pere Marquette about a mile south of the PM line, close to where M-43 runs today. They ran out of money and tied into the PM main outside of Grand Ledge. Today it is the Sunfield Southern main, serving a couple of industries in Sunfield and Mulliken. In Ionia, we do run on trackage rights with Grand Rapids Eastern but we do not serve any industries in Ionia. American Bumper and Galleger's fertilizer are still GRE customers. The Allegan Central runs from Woodland, and along a ficticious branchline that runs across the top of Barry county, through Freeport, across the WCO main outside of Caledonia and ties into the former NYC and runs down to Allegan with a small branch up to Byron Center. Here is a map I scanned from a Railroad Atlas, but its not complete. Havent got around to scan the rest of the maps that make up WDE.
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Some other tidbits of company information is that our main yard is in Woodland. We rebuilt the mainline through town on some vacant farmland and built a 10 track yard to better sort trains. A small interchange yard is located outside Woodbury but it is only used by CSX to pick up and set out cars. Q326 and 327 handle most interchange traffic. We have a 4 track diesel shop in Woodland and do all the work on our units as well as some customer rebuild jobs. In Sunfield, we have a carshop and paintshop as well as a maintenance of way depot.

Power is mostly made up of 6 axle EMD SD40s and SD45s. We also roster lots of Geeps. Soem oddball units do dot the roster. We have a F7 A+B set that is used for business trains as well as 2 F7A's lettered for WCO and SSO divisions. We have a former ATSF and WC FP45. We also have a few Alco units here and there, including former Kent Barry Eaton Connecting Railway's S2. It is kept in Hastings and is used to switch in Middleville and Hastings. Heres some roster shots:
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KBEC #6 and its matching shoving platform:
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WDE recently has experimented with RCO operation like CSX. This unit is typically paired with our MP15T and is based in Woodland. Here is our former SD45B, now RCPHE6:
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Im still working on a complete customer list for WDE. There are several areas Im not sure of actual customers so Ive made some up just to keep rails in place.

WDE is also a vital link in the Detroit-Chicago fast freight company, Detroit Intermodal. Heres a C40-8W:
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They started a few years ago using some retired CSX C30-7s and had us rebuild them at our shops. We also picked up a few wrecked CSX C40's and rebuilt them for DETI to use. The trains start in the same yard the CP intermodal's do, Oak Yard in Detroit and stop in a yard built off the CN's former GTW mainline outside of Chicago. From Detroit they run up the CSX and stop outside of Lansing where they pick up spines and flatcars for their largest customer, Meijer. Meijer is desperately trying to pick up business in Chicagoland (That part is true, I work for them, I hear it all the time) and they decided to rush semi trailers of goods from Lansing to Chicago. DETI trains run until they hit the WDE, where our mainline from outside Grand Ledge to CN outside of Kalamazoo has been upgraded to be able to handle 60 mph trains. (Original builders of the CKS would not believe what we did to that old line!) They run on CN the rest of the trip to Chicago and are unloaded promptly. Trains run 4 times a day, 2 in each direction, and run without any major delays or problems.
Nick

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GrandTrunkFan
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Re: Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

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Heres a crude customer list. All the locals originate from Woodland Yard but run at all different times. Most inbound cars come from CSX. Some are picked up at interchanges and worked on the return trip back to Woodland.

L050-Woodland Connection Yard Job-Woodland Area
CSX Interchange - Woodbury
Caledonia Farmer's Elevator Chemical Division-UAP - 4-8 cars a week
Great Lakes Sand and Gravel - Doesnt ship out by rail. We have a spur to them to recieve some ballast.
Woodland Farmer's Elevator(Combination of 2 former elevators in Woodland) - 15-17 cars a week -Occasional Unit trains during harvest season
Filmore John Deere - 1 car every week or two. Spots on a back track for the Woodland Elevator and tractors are trucked to their dealership a few miles from Woodland

L100=Allegan Central
Freeport Elevator- 2-3 cars a week.
Freeport Sawmill - 1-2 cars a week Woodchip gons, 4-5 cars a week lumber
Dorr Farmers Elevator - 3-4 cars a week
(Dont know of many other businesses for this branch, not fimiliar with Byron Center or Allegan. Most businesses I have on paper are made up. Don Simon please help!!! :lol: You know every current and former rail customer in the state!!! :lol: :lol:)

L150-Woodland Connection:
Consumers Energy (Hastings) - Cars as needed of power poles, spots cars on Barry County Road comission spur
Barry County Road Commission - Cars as needed. During the summer, cars of crushed rock and salt in the winter.
Hastings Manufacturing- 3-6 cars a week, although car counts have been about 1-2 a week lately
Kent Elevator (Hastings)- 1-3 cars a week
E.W.Bliss Mfg. - 4-7 cars a week
Team Track (Hastings) Carloads vary
Nashville Impliment Sales - Has not recieved a car in some time, but still want us to maintain the siding. Occasionally gets a load of New Holland tractors or other farm machinery.
Vermontville Elevator - 12-15 cars a week - Occasional Unit trains during harvest season
M50 Grain (Charlotte) - 13-17 cars a week - Occasional Unit trains during harvest season
Eaton Rapids Elevator - 10-12 cars a week - Occasional Unit trains during harvest season
D&G Equipment (Rives Jct,) - 1-2 cars on a good month
Interchange with NS - Jackson

L200- Woodland Connection (Follows same path as L150 but goes north once in Hastings)
Viking Manufacturing - 2-4 cars a week
Barry County Lumber - 1-4 cars every week
Airport Sand and Gravel - 2-3 cars a week, although we have several ballast hoppers for MOW purposes and advertise for Airport Sand and Gravel on them. WDE gets free ballast for that service.
Bradford White Corp. (Middleville) 25-30 cars a week
Caledonia Farmer's Elevator - 6-12 cars a week
Steelcase - 7-10 cars a week
Interchange with NS in Wyoming

L201 - Uses KBEC #6 to switch cars for businesses in Hastings, Middleville, and Caledonia

L250 - Sunfield Southern
UAP (Sunfield) - 10-15 cars a week
Sunfield Elevator/Cassel Farms (Elevator is on an old interchange lead on the CSX in Sunfield. Since it was bought by the Cassel family (true) carloads have severly decreased, as it is used as a private family grain elevator and not a business anymore) 1-3 cars a week during harvest time, mostly liquid fertilizer.
Mulliken Bulk Feed - 4-6 cars a week
Grand Ledge ADM - 14-20 cars a week. CSX Still handles unit trains for them.
Portland Iron and Metal - 3 cars a week, loaded in Portland. Scrap is dumped into gons from trucks as their location isnt acessable by rail.
TRW - 3 cars a week
Ionia Elevator - 4 cars a week
Pewamo Elevator - 2-4 cars a week
Fowler Elevator - 5-6 cars a week
St. Johns Elevator - 7-10 cars a week
Central Michigan Lumber - 2-3 cars a week
Theres a manufacturing plant in St. Johns but I cant remember the name - 3-4 cars a week

Thats all I have so far!
Nick

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AARR
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Re: Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

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I enjoyed reading about your paper railroad, Nick. I have to leave now but when I have some time I'll post a few more comments.

You may want to include in St. Johns AgroCulture. They are the main manufactruing plant for their liquid fertilizer and distribute it to two other mfg plants and 5-6 distrubution locations.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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GrandTrunkFan
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Re: Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

Unread post by GrandTrunkFan »

Don Simon wrote:I enjoyed reading about your paper railroad, Nick. I have to leave now but when I have some time I'll post a few more comments.

You may want to include in St. Johns AgroCulture. They are the main manufactruing plant for their liquid fertilizer and distribute it to two other mfg plants and 5-6 distrubution locations.
Looking forward to the comments! :) AgroCulture has been added into the customer list. About how many cars do you think they would ship if they were served by rail?
Nick

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AARR
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Re: Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

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GrandTrunkFan wrote:Looking forward to the comments! :) AgroCulture has been added into the customer list. About how many cars do you think they would ship if they were served by rail?
When CMGN discontinued rail service they said they shipped around 50 cars per year.

However, they have a lease fleet of 30+ tank cars. And I've read lease fleet tank cars make around 5-6 round trips per year. So on my paper railroad AC has only one manufacturing plant (in St. Johns) and ships those tanks cars to their distribution centers. 30+ tank cars x 5-6 trips per year = 165 cars per year.

Plus, many years ago someone at TSBY told me they were also receiving nitrogen from a team track on TSBY. And in one month they shipped 4 cars and received 8. So on my railroad, since all inbound feed stock would arrive by rail, that means it receives 165 cars x 2 = 330 cars a year.

The total is 500 cars per year, about 2 a day.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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AARR
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Re: Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

Unread post by AARR »

Eaton Rapids was home to a good sixed cardboard plant that moved to Mason when CR abandoned Rives Jct - Eaton Rapids. On my paper railroad they remain in Eaton Rapids and receive 12 cars per week.

Ovid has a small elevator.

Pewamo has a good sized lumber mill off line that with modelers license could receive saw logs from either TSBY or CMGN/D&M.

Anyway, just a few thoughts. Look forward to your updates.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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GrandTrunkFan
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Re: Woodland, Dorr, and Eastern

Unread post by GrandTrunkFan »

Thanks for the ideas. Ive made some modifications on my spreadsheets. Im debating going all the way to Owosso insted of stopping in St. Johns. At least itd give me an excuse to get some TSBY power when I build this in model form. :)
Nick

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