CN / GTW lines in Pontiac

[railrod1949]

Here's a couple maps I've found that give an overview of the Pontiac area in general during 1947:
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/ ... /Michigan/

http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/ ... /Michigan/

As far as I know, all rail lines are shown and named.

Very interesting maps. Was there ever a connection between the Air Line and the Holly Subdivision, of did trains have to take the Belt Line around Pontiac to head west on the Air Line? I thought I recall an article about a trip on the line in the 1960's that said they had to back down the main to head west and had to back into the yard upon their return from Jackson. This would indicate a connection, but the map from 1947 doesn't show a connection between the lines. Was this something added later?

Yes, there a southwest connection between the Airline (Jackson Sub) at MAL crossing at Franklin Road, Pontiac. The Jackson local back out of Pontiac yard to MAL crossing and then head west to Jackson. The train from the Jackson Sub pull onto the Holly Sub and then back up all the way to the Pontiac Yard.

[mach69]

Any idea why the Lake Orion plant stopped rail shipments?

[AARR]

I've heard several possible reasons. One was they were producing a vehicle that transported more economically on tri-levels which were hard to get ahold of. So it was more economical to truck their product to a ramp that had better access to tri-levels (like New Boston where they receive inbound vehicles on tri-levels).

Another is GM was having financial issues and they might not have been paying their bill (it's more complicated than this).

Any idea why the Lake Orion plant stopped rail shipments?

[LansingRailFan]

I've heard several possible reasons. One was they were producing a vehicle that transported more economically on tri-levels which were hard to get ahold of. So it was more economical to truck their product to a ramp that had better access to tri-levels (like New Boston where they receive inbound vehicles on tri-levels).

Another is GM was having financial issues and they might not have been paying their bill (it's more complicated than this).

Any idea why the Lake Orion plant stopped rail shipments?

The factory is not high volume and thus doesn’t warrant paying CN to switch there.

https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/com ... orion.html

[Steve B]

Any issues of bills not being paid likely would have been resolved in GM's 2009 bankruptcy and reorganization into a new company.

[chapmaja]

Any issues of bills not being paid likely would have been resolved in GM's 2009 bankruptcy and reorganization into a new company.

Yes and no. From a strictly financial standpoint, then yes, it would have taken care of the issue.

From a CN perception standpoint, understanding what happened with GM to force the non-payment issue, then I can understand why CN wouldn't want to be involved with CN further. IIRC there were other locations where CN's involvement with CN was curtailed or eliminated around this time as well.

IIRC one of the issue was how trains were operated, which added to the cost. Since the branch to the Orion plant was its own subdivision, crews operating on that section had to be different from crews operating to and from Pontiac to the plant. This meant the cost of an extra crew running the train a few miles extra. Instead of the train operating straight from Chicago (for example) to Orion, they had to run to Pontiac, then run to Orion. It is those type little issues that make a big difference in if something makes sense.

I also think a lot of the other factors mentioned also make sense, so I don't think it was one issue, but the cumulative impact of several different issues.