Ben Higdon wrote:I checked out flashearth to see if their imagery showed the stone yard development in Kalamazoo (it doesn't) and happened to notice something odd - there is a train on the NYC North just north of Patterson. Guessing it is stopped due to the proximity to the grade crossing. It has two units at the south end, and about thirty cars, almost all boxcars with six center beams at the end...clearly not local traffic for the north side of Kalamazoo. Has anyone seen or heard of them stashing a train up there? Perhaps its the turn from Grand Rapids and they didn't have room in Botsford. The yard only has four empty tracks in the imagery...if a few of those were out of service I could see them needing to put the train somewhere else to make room for the NS job from Battle Creek or a turn arriving from Elkhart. Or maybe its the south local and they backed it up there to allow a turn from Elkhart to clear BO before going south.
https://zoom.earth/#42.304667,-85.575849,17z,sat
chapmaja wrote:Ben Higdon wrote:I checked out flashearth to see if their imagery showed the stone yard development in Kalamazoo (it doesn't) and happened to notice something odd - there is a train on the NYC North just north of Patterson. Guessing it is stopped due to the proximity to the grade crossing. It has two units at the south end, and about thirty cars, almost all boxcars with six center beams at the end...clearly not local traffic for the north side of Kalamazoo. Has anyone seen or heard of them stashing a train up there? Perhaps its the turn from Grand Rapids and they didn't have room in Botsford. The yard only has four empty tracks in the imagery...if a few of those were out of service I could see them needing to put the train somewhere else to make room for the NS job from Battle Creek or a turn arriving from Elkhart. Or maybe its the south local and they backed it up there to allow a turn from Elkhart to clear BO before going south.
https://zoom.earth/#42.304667,-85.575849,17z,sat
Train from Otsego maybe? Boxcars would be something they would have. Looking at the yard, I don't see a lot of room to put anything else in the yard.
Jim_c wrote:chapmaja wrote:Ben Higdon wrote:I checked out flashearth to see if their imagery showed the stone yard development in Kalamazoo (it doesn't) and happened to notice something odd - there is a train on the NYC North just north of Patterson. Guessing it is stopped due to the proximity to the grade crossing. It has two units at the south end, and about thirty cars, almost all boxcars with six center beams at the end...clearly not local traffic for the north side of Kalamazoo. Has anyone seen or heard of them stashing a train up there? Perhaps its the turn from Grand Rapids and they didn't have room in Botsford. The yard only has four empty tracks in the imagery...if a few of those were out of service I could see them needing to put the train somewhere else to make room for the NS job from Battle Creek or a turn arriving from Elkhart. Or maybe its the south local and they backed it up there to allow a turn from Elkhart to clear BO before going south.
https://zoom.earth/#42.304667,-85.575849,17z,sat
Train from Otsego maybe? Boxcars would be something they would have. Looking at the yard, I don't see a lot of room to put anything else in the yard.
At first I thought it was 303, but then I realized they would be on the GR&I. I think either they're pulling them out of storage, or putting them in. If you follow the tracks north you will find a plethora of cars. Either manufacturing in Parchment has made a stunning come back, or they're using the line for storage. I suspect the latter is more likely than the former.
Ben Higdon wrote:I checked out flashearth to see if their imagery showed the stone yard development in Kalamazoo (it doesn't) and happened to notice something odd - there is a train on the NYC North just north of Patterson. Guessing it is stopped due to the proximity to the grade crossing. It has two units at the south end, and about thirty cars, almost all boxcars with six center beams at the end...clearly not local traffic for the north side of Kalamazoo. Has anyone seen or heard of them stashing a train up there? Perhaps its the turn from Grand Rapids and they didn't have room in Botsford. The yard only has four empty tracks in the imagery...if a few of those were out of service I could see them needing to put the train somewhere else to make room for the NS job from Battle Creek or a turn arriving from Elkhart. Or maybe its the south local and they backed it up there to allow a turn from Elkhart to clear BO before going south.
https://zoom.earth/#42.304667,-85.575849,17z,sat
1TrackMind wrote:Looks like a 501 train staged to go south.
David Lang wrote:I concur with NSSD70ACe's observation.
I too have been by there. Tracks in place, but no additional activity that I can tell at this time.
Maybe something will change as we move closer to spring, but if this stone yard was really coming quickly, I would not think winter would be holding it up. Maybe I'm wrong, but we will see.
Gravel trains (trucks) can't run now anyway due to seasonal road weight restrictions correct?
David Lang
1TrackMind wrote:
Looks like a 501 train staged to go south.
justalurker66 wrote:Arial photos taken miles away are certainly not taken at the same moment and not necessarily taken on the same day.
I could see GDLK pushing a southbound train up north if they needed to clear yard tracks for an inbound train - but otherwise I agree that a southbound would simply leave the yard and keep heading south. (I wonder if using the north tracks would help with the problem of doubling a train on the curve? Such use sounds messy.)
Jim_c wrote:chapmaja wrote:Ben Higdon wrote:I checked out flashearth to see if their imagery showed the stone yard development in Kalamazoo (it doesn't) and happened to notice something odd - there is a train on the NYC North just north of Patterson. Guessing it is stopped due to the proximity to the grade crossing. It has two units at the south end, and about thirty cars, almost all boxcars with six center beams at the end...clearly not local traffic for the north side of Kalamazoo. Has anyone seen or heard of them stashing a train up there? Perhaps its the turn from Grand Rapids and they didn't have room in Botsford. The yard only has four empty tracks in the imagery...if a few of those were out of service I could see them needing to put the train somewhere else to make room for the NS job from Battle Creek or a turn arriving from Elkhart. Or maybe its the south local and they backed it up there to allow a turn from Elkhart to clear BO before going south.
https://zoom.earth/#42.304667,-85.575849,17z,sat
Train from Otsego maybe? Boxcars would be something they would have. Looking at the yard, I don't see a lot of room to put anything else in the yard.
At first I thought it was 303, but then I realized they would be on the GR&I. I think either they're pulling them out of storage, or putting them in. If you follow the tracks north you will find a plethora of cars. Either manufacturing in Parchment has made a stunning come back, or they're using the line for storage. I suspect the latter is more likely than the former.
justalurker66 wrote:Do trains sound their horns for the private crossings along Shaffer Rd?
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