Charlotte and Southern Visitors update thread

[Larry G]

3 more cars must be taken out to the end before the Dinner Train can make a run on Valentine Day. The cars in storage should be visible from the I-69 overpass now if you are looking east.

[Larry G]

Last dropped cars sit on old main line awaiting push to the end of the line while Dinner train is covered with snow from this week's storm. Locomotive will back dinner train onto the main and cut the coaches off and then push cars out to the end of the line. It appears the cars were moved down here yesterday from the depot area.

Dinner Train car parking lot has been plowed out so it appears the train may have a Valentine weekend run or two. Perhaps a Friday and Saturday evening run is coming.

[Larry G]

http://www.murdermysterytrain.com/calendar.php?loc=1 Schedule Link
Dinner Train to run Saturday evening and Valentine's Day in the late afternoon.

[Larry G]

Two successful runs of the Dinner Train took place over the Valentine Day weekend. Next schedule trip is Saturday evening February 27. It will be interesting to note if more cars come in for storage over the next ten days for a crew to be called to move them down to the end of the line.

[AARR]

Thanks for the updates Larry. As long as the line remains there's always the remote possibility of freight service returning.

[Larry G]

More gons were dropped late this afternoon and are awaiting the move down to the end. CN local made two drops today..one for CHS storage and OI Glass Plant which is scheduled to close around May 1. OI is the last railroad shipper left here and that will soon come to an end. If the FB Mill decides to return to rail shipping it will be a surprise.

[Larry G]

CN local arrives in Charlotte with a cut of cars for CHS RR. A wet heavy snow is falling and the junction switch needs lots of attention. CN exGTW 6420 is doing the work today as it has pushed several cars down the CHS to the old NYC depot and is dropping another string by the old GTW depot and Dinner Train parking lot. In the top photograph the old GTW passenger depot is to the right of the locomotive.

[AARR]

Nice pictures Larry. Noticed you stayed in the comfort of your vehicle

[Larry G]

Nice pictures Larry. Noticed you stayed in the comfort of your vehicle

Yes, it was much warmer inside the car and safer today, Aaron!
Shortly after I snapped the last photo one of the trackmen slipped and fell as the locomotive went east of the street crossing.

[Larry G]

Dinner Train is scheduled to run Saturday Feb. 27 so there will be an early crew call to slide the last cut of cars down to the end of the line. Evening shots of the train in the snow will be available. The rails are completely covered in snow so good shots of 'breaking trail' possible on the freight movement.

[Larry G]

Stopping by the Railroad on a Snowy Day

Whose railroad tracks these are I think I know.
Its headquarters is in another village, though;
They will not see me stopping here.
To watch the right of way fill up with snow.

My friends may think it is weird
To stop on a crossing here
Between the trees and hospital buildings
On a snowy February day this year.

The flakes fall as vehicle traffic appears
I must accelerate into first gear
The tires make a squeak in the snow
As the wind blows the snow here.

The track is so quiet and white,
But soon the train will move,
And Clearing the rails with each wheel,
And Clearing the rails with each wheel.

Apologies to Robert Frost
Larry G 2-26-10

[AARR]

Larry G's a poet
And now we know it

His love for trains remains
Though CSC nevermore
Operates grain from Eaton nevermore
To Charlotte and CN...oh the pain

He'll never give up his search
The railroad like his church

Pictures tell the tales
The short line in his town of Charlotte
The elevator in Eaton now trucking
The Owen Brock plant closing
Never to use again the rails

Apologies to all poets

[Larry G]

Aaron,
I really "ODE" you for that poem!!

Larry

[Larry G]

The scheduled outing of the Dinner Train did not happen Saturday evening. No action today.

[GrandTrunkFan]

Was out there yesterday and noticed theres more cars comming in. Not sure if you reported these Larry. Im thinking the Charlote Southern's motto should be "Northern Oklahoma Railrad's Dumping Ground".


There was also 2 more gons and a NOKL covered hopper where the dinner train loads.
Also Larry, do you know what were these rails for? I saw them behind the MC station.

And how do you get sooo lucky you get a GTW unit? All I got was a lousy CN job!

[Larry G]

Nice shots...thanks for posting them!!

The two cuts of cars you saw by the depot had been here since last week and did not go down to the end since the Dinner Train run scheduled for Saturday was canceled.

Another set of gons was dropped off earlier today and are over by the Dinner Train Boarding area.

The rails that are in the parking lot of the Depot Restaurant are from an old interchange track that once existed here between the NYC and GTW. At the end of PC operations this track was not in service and had been paved over. It ran behind the mill and was then just a spur coming of GTW to service that side of the mill.

At the end of PC operations there was still one interchange track that ran through Johnson's Lumber Yard as in my Charlotte photo album shows. To find it just type 'Charlotte' in the key word search function and they will come up.

http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/S ... otteMI.htm link that shows in top picture the interchange track before it was paved over and a map of the spur in later years by the mill south of the diamond.

Hope that helps!!

[Larry G]

String of stored cars has reached the service drive at the Holiday Inn Express in Charlotte. Photo shows the end of the cars in storage ending at the Meijer's parking lot. Ten cars or so more and they will extend to the I-69 overpass.

[afmaven]

Re track behind MC depot..

Visit the Old Courthouse, go to the Geneology Office & ask to see the old RR track map. Maybe you can get better pictures than I have (it is a big map).

If someone wants copies of my pictures shoot me an email afmaven at sbcglobal dot net

[Larry G]

Two more gons were set out by CN just past the junction switch Tuesday and are awaiting move to end of line.

Rumors are the OI glass plant will shut down April 1 so only a few days left to see switching if true.

[Larry G]

http://www.murdermysterytrain.com/calen ... php?id=242
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Event Title: A Live Musical Jazz Performance!
Where: Boards 60 Minutes before departure at 451 N. Cochran Ave., Charlotte, MI
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Looks like a trip is going out this evening...