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An article about the Flat Rock Sub/Fort Street project provides a tad more detail: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2025/01/13/trenton-michigan-bridge-rail-crossing-m-85-fort-street-downriver-infrastructure-canadian-national/77605689007/ Interestingly, it sounds like a separatel...

Somebody wrote: "It definitely helps to have grade crossings separated if we want Detroit to Toledo connections for Amtrak." Not sure why you would say that about a route that will never have Amtrak service? BTW, anyone know the current movement count on the former DT&I line to Flat Rock? Does seem...

https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2025-01/FY23-24%20RCE%20Project%20Selections.pdf FRA funds the grade separation of the CN and M-85 in Trenton. Also, funding the Kalamazoo crossing elimination study, and an interesting project to grade separate the Michigan Line and Lonyo and Centra...

MB Modeler wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2025 8:13 pm

I think those 86' footers go to Ford Kansas City assembly, from Ford stamping in Chicago.

30N is the current symbol for the northbound train which used to be 18K

Jeff Hall

It's always fun when your guesses are likely correct! Thanks for this info.

I totalled up the traffic into VDB for 2024. A definite increase in seed loads, along with one inbound transformer load for the nearby Consumers Zeeland plant. A couple classic covered hoppers cars were in the mix this year, it was fun to see some rolling history. 000114200014.jpg 000169130002.jpg

I see Z man's nice GDLK photos and raise you this shot of job 501 southbound at Three Rivers on October 28, 2024. 000169130009.jpg You can find a few more photos and a trip report here: http://railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=40097 ---- This photo has a story, and an interesting one, for be...

A few wonderful ghosts of the Conrail era remain in this territory. While most signals on the Kalamazoo branch have been upgraded with Safetrans equipment, the control points at Park and Cowling, and the intermediate at 4th Street, all at Three Rivers, are like a time warp to the 1980s. Type G sign...

W003 engine CSXT 9969 and the 2 Geometry Cars west at CP MA Lansing, 13:10. I caught them coasting along near 496 east of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Any of you north end Grand Elkers have a sense of how many inbound loads Zeeland Lumber’s facility receives near M-6? Their inbound traffic at their original Zeeland location on the CSX is way down and I’m just curious to know if lumber is still coming in by rail in another route or if most of it is...

I like the new one in Porter to keep an eye on what is coming to and from west Michigan, but my favorite cam is the one at Elkhart. Great variety (all the NS commodities and manifests, Grand Elk, the local with the caboose, plus Amtraks) and the trains are going a bit slower so you can see all the c...

So this comment may be related…or maybe not. In watching the Elkhart virtual railfan camera, there are a pair of trains that pass by which have daily cuts of 86’ boxcars. One of them is 19k, which goes from Elkhart, down the Marion Branch, and then west on the Wabash to Decatur. The return train kee...

M326 eastbound diverging into the Grand Rapids Subdivision at MP482/ Porter Jct. at 07:04 CT/08:04 ET. Two gevos and the 9699 which is facing forward. Big train.

Overnight, just after midnight, inbound mixed freight NS 303 arrived at Elkhart from the east behind NS 4072 (big GE), CP 8126 (big GE), NS 5191 (high hood Geep 38-2) and CP 9011 (super freshly painted SD40-2F), fully cowled and in CP colors, not CPKC. I think the 9011 is ex CMQ. CP red is beautiful...

RoyalKingoftheRails wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:28 am

10:50 AM - 4520 and 4509 leading I&O northbound through Carleton MI

Yesssss, excellent! Thanks for this report. Could you estimate the size of their Flat Rock-bound train?

dalek ling wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 29, 2024 9:34 pm

Tomorrow I plan to railfan GR, and I was wondering what even goes through the city, I’ve seen MQT and GDLX in the pass, but I would like to see some CSX trains

Anything will help

Hey Dalek, what did you see/find after we all chimed in with our expert advice??

L301-01 @ 10:17 westward reported by the Defect Detector mp CG19.1 Zeeland, Mi with 100 axles. CSX engines #4003 + #2428 & 22 cars. He wants to go directly to Sawyer, maybe Y121 is waiting inside Saugatuck siding to let L301 pass by. The Holland cam just provided a nice view of L301 hustling wester...

GRHC and I witnessed Y121 engine CSXT 6072 and their caboose spot a single “billboard” BN covered hopper (448225) at Van den Bosch Feed in Zeeland a little after 2pm. Nice to see this move on a sunny day!

While Y121 was bringing their 3 boxcars in past the Holland Depot, L301 was cruising through Zeeland with their mighty train. A little of everything in today’s train and a lot of some specific things, including gondolas. In addition to typical scrap gons, I noted about 8 gons loaded with huge chunks...

Grand Rapids Eastern (GRE) is also running today. They are already on their way to Lowell (as reported on the Shortlines update thread) but will come back later today to their yard along Ann St NW west of Turner Street on the NW side of town. Judd street from now through lunch will be your best tick...

Screenshot here.