The HESR in the thumb.

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GreatLakesRailfan
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by GreatLakesRailfan »

redside20 wrote:Helena Chemical in Croswell is supposed to come online soon, has anyone seen any progress in that area?

Still not sure where its supposed to be. No signs of work behind Moore & Carter Lumber on the south end of town and no sign of work on the north side of town. Might be a pipe dream by now (or part of one if the elevators in town).
~ Charles W.

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AARR
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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MKT_fan11 wrote:
redside20 wrote:Helena Chemical in Croswell is supposed to come online soon, has anyone seen any progress in that area?

Still not sure where its supposed to be. No signs of work behind Moore & Carter Lumber on the south end of town and no sign of work on the north side of town. Might be a pipe dream by now (or part of one if the elevators in town).
My hunch is they are occupying the place across the tracks from the elevator. I will be surprised if they are used as a distrubtion center as they have more centrally located facilities elsewhere in MI. I will be less surprised if they get some fertilizer for their site like it has in the past.
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SW
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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Went for a spin on Sunday evening, parked in Minden City and cycled a loop thru Ruth. 14 cars near the elevator in Ruth; 9 were on the two stub tracks north of Atwater Rd (on the last segment of the line that went to Harbor Beach, by the sugar beet loading yard), and 5 were next to or just south of the elevator.

This evening, on the way home did a quick detour to Croswell. There were 4 tankers in the Pioneer Sugar yard area, parallel to M-90. Two were being unloaded at loading stations that remind me of the structures Ferrell Gas uses / used in the UP.

No other sign of activity in the Croswell area. It appears the ag businesses north of M-90, just east of "downtown" Croswell do not get service. Where is the Helena Chemical being built?
Owosso Steve

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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by redside20 »

The address for Helena Chemical is 41 Ward Street in Croswell but somebody on the HESR yahoo group said they were putting some sort of spur over by the corner of M90 and Croswell Road and had bought 20 acres over by Carter Lumber
Last edited by redside20 on Mon May 28, 2012 9:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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R.E.A.P.E.R.
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by R.E.A.P.E.R. »

In the past 2 weeks, I have manage to catch the HESR around Bad Axe and Kinde.

The locomotive sat at Kinde for 2 days
Image

and video



This CORP unit delivered empties to Kinde and I caught it returning.


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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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Awesome videos, Info REAPER. What day did u catch this engine up in Kinde? Do you happen too know when they usualy do the Kinde run? Thanks sincerely Railnut0571

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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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In other news, this ADS facility that is being conceived is located at 4800 Marlette Road near Clifford according to the Tuscola Today
http://www.tuscolatoday.com/index.php/2 ... air-today/
Looks to be a great distance from the tracks with no possibility of a spur being built.
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AARR
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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redside20 wrote:The address for Helena Chemical is 41 Ward Street in Croswell but somebody on the HESR yahoo group said they were putting some sort of spur over by the corner of M90 and Croswell Road and had bought 20 acres over by Carter Lumber
Is it possible someone is playing with you redside :wink:
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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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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AARR wrote:
redside20 wrote:The address for Helena Chemical is 41 Ward Street in Croswell but somebody on the HESR yahoo group said they were putting some sort of spur over by the corner of M90 and Croswell Road and had bought 20 acres over by Carter Lumber
Is it possible someone is playing with you redside :wink:
I hope not, because then I would look like a fool, if I haven't done that already.. 8)
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SW
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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At least 9 tankers in the yard today at Pioneer Sugar in Croswell; sugar beet processing has started - there were several piles of 'em in the collection area on the north side of the plant.
Last edited by SW on Mon Sep 03, 2012 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by GreatLakesRailfan »

redside20 wrote:
AARR wrote:
redside20 wrote:The address for Helena Chemical is 41 Ward Street in Croswell but somebody on the HESR yahoo group said they were putting some sort of spur over by the corner of M90 and Croswell Road and had bought 20 acres over by Carter Lumber
Is it possible someone is playing with you redside :wink:
I hope not, because then I would look like a fool, if I haven't done that already.. 8)

Not to worry. It was posted on the HESR group on Yahoo. That facility is being built south of the Moore & Carter Lumber Yard, just outside Croswell. Apparently there isn't a switch, the tracks will continue past the current (or now former?) end of track into the facility. I was up in Croswell a week or three ago and it was pretty clear where the new facility is being built (from M-90).
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SW
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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Today Pioneer Sugar in Croswell had at least 8-9 covered hoppers (couldn't tell if there was another cut behind the cars in the yard), and a few tankers as well.

The elevator in Ruth had 4-5 covered hoppers around the facility, and cuts of 5 and 8 cars north of Atwater road at the end of track.
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by bctrainfan »

Any pics of the beet trains or related facilities would be cool. 8) I recently saw an HO model of a sugar beet harvester on eBay that looked interesting.

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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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bctrainfan wrote:Any pics of the beet trains or related facilities would be cool. 8) I recently saw an HO model of a sugar beet harvester on eBay that looked interesting.
The loading yard in Deckerville is a very simple set-up. Dirt ramps allow the front end loaders to gain enough height to dump sugar beets over the top of the high-sided hoppers. I think there are 2-4 dirt ramps lined up at intervals so they can load ??? of cars at a time.
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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Is it Bay City or Caro they take the beet hoppers to? I thought Croswell could only receive beets by truck, which come in straight from the field, as well as from the piling grounds near Sandusky, Ruth and elsewhere(?)
~ Charles W.

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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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MKT_fan11 wrote:Is it Bay City or Caro they take the beet hoppers to? I thought Croswell could only receive beets by truck, which come in straight from the field, as well as from the piling grounds near Sandusky, Ruth and elsewhere(?)
I have only heard of Bay City receiving sugar beets.

Many years ago at the end of the line in Ruth there were huge mounds of sugar beets and high-side hoppers at the end of the track. I thought maybe they also loaded sugar beets here but was told they only load them in Deckerville.

It is possible loading sites and destinations can change though.
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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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by cnw8835 »

AARR wrote:
bctrainfan wrote:Any pics of the beet trains or related facilities would be cool. 8) I recently saw an HO model of a sugar beet harvester on eBay that looked interesting.
The loading yard in Deckerville is a very simple set-up. Dirt ramps allow the front end loaders to gain enough height to dump sugar beets over the top of the high-sided hoppers. I think there are 2-4 dirt ramps lined up at intervals so they can load ??? of cars at a time.
A shot I have of beets being loaded at Deckerville in 2006...
Image

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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by GreatLakesRailfan »

AARR wrote:Many years ago at the end of the line in Ruth there were huge mounds of sugar beets and high-side hoppers at the end of the track. I thought maybe they also loaded sugar beets here but was told they only load them in Deckerville.

It is possible loading sites and destinations can change though.
It's funny how the Ruth site was built right next to the railroad tracks, but beets are shipped from there by truck. IIRC, they built the piling ground there (Ruth) around the same time as the one was built in Deckerville. It seems like the rumor at the time was that they were going to ship by rail from both, but only the Deckerville facility saw shipments by rail.
Last edited by GreatLakesRailfan on Mon Sep 17, 2012 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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AARR
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

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cnw8835 wrote:A shot I have of beets being loaded at Deckerville in 2006...
Image
That is a different arrangement then when I was last there. Nice picture Jon!
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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SW
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Re: The HESR in the thumb.

Unread post by SW »

After the PH&D road rally, headed up to the family property in the Thumb. Pioneer Sugar in Croswell had 2 covered hoppers in the loading area on the south side of the plant, and another 3 or so behind the plant (hard to see). No tankers that I could see. Trucks coming in with sugar beets, adding to a small pile in the yard.

The Ruth elevator had no cars next to it, and there were a total of 7 covered hoppers on the overflow tracks north of Atwater Rd., next to the Monitor Sugar beet yard. Only a small pile of beets there as well; I think the majority of the beets are still in the fields.
Owosso Steve

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