West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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J T
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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NS3322 wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:42 pm
J T wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 1:38 pm
Just imagine the photos and videos coming out of that line if it were still in place all the way to Paw Paw (assuming the WMI guys were able to drum up some business there).

Especially the Lake Cora section... :lol:
Something tells me that the WMI would have the line looking MUCH better than this along Lake Cora. :D

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimthias/
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AARR
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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One of my all-time favorite pictures JT :D . The train floating on grass :lol: .
J T wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 4:41 pm
Something tells me that the WMI would have the line looking MUCH better than this along Lake Cora. :D
Image
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NS3322
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

Unread post by NS3322 »

J T wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 4:41 pm
NS3322 wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:42 pm
J T wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 1:38 pm
Just imagine the photos and videos coming out of that line if it were still in place all the way to Paw Paw (assuming the WMI guys were able to drum up some business there).

Especially the Lake Cora section... :lol:
Something tells me that the WMI would have the line looking MUCH better than this along Lake Cora. :D

Image
I second AARR. Fantastic set of photos! Do you remember where that reefer was going?

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~Z~
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

Unread post by ~Z~ »

AARR wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 5:58 pm
One of my all-time favorite pictures JT :D . The train floating on grass :lol: .
This thread has been going on so long that AARR has commented on JT's photo of the train floating on the grass 3 times now.
https://railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 16#p406816
https://railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 84#p257084

Likewise, JT has posted that photo at least 3 times now :)

JT's trip report from back in 2007: https://railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4808
Sounds like the boxcar was going to a company called RMI. Google says that's Ralph Moyle Inc, located just west of Paw Paw, near the Coca-Cola plant.
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J T
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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NS3322 wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 1:49 pm


I second AARR. Fantastic set of photos! Do you remember where that reefer was going?
I don't recall. They stopped short of 43rd St in Teapot Dome and apparently had some engine issues. We didn't wait around too long before we went on our way.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimthias/
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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I was driving through the Hartford area today and decided to go past the trans load location east of the cold storage. I took a couple pictures, hopefully they come through ok. They weren’t in operation today and the engine and caboose are sitting at the end of the trans load spur.
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12Bridge
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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You missed them because they did run all day Sunday.

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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12Bridge wrote:
Tue Feb 15, 2022 7:33 pm
You missed them because they did run all day Sunday.
Yeah I was just heading through and at that time they had not been down that way. The snow was still deep where the tracks come across the road right there. They may have been on the other end of the line in Hartford at the time I drove by. I was there around 9:40 in the morning. I didn’t go back through Hartford on my way home. I went through Decatur and was fortunate enough to see the track mobile moving covered hoppers back to the holding track. There was a unit grain train in town getting loaded.

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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Wondering if they're ever going to fire up that GP-18

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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Don't know how that GP-18 got there, or how long its been there, but in summer 2003, I operated that locomotive at the Conrad Yelvington Stone Yard in Lansing. The guy that got it there at the time (I think his name was Linus?), and others used to call it Ms. Scarlet. It was a great locomotive to run and was the best job I'd ever had. That summer I also operated locomotives at the Grand Rapids Stone Yard, and also in Flint as well. Conrad Yelvington at the time needed a locomotive engineer that summer for their stone yard locations and I answered the call. I believe these stone yards are now under different ownership and do now know the details of their operations today.

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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David Lang wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 7:33 am
Don't know how that GP-18 got there, or how long its been there, but in summer 2003, I operated that locomotive at the Conrad Yelvington Stone Yard in Lansing. The guy that got it there at the time (I think his name was Linus?), and others used to call it Ms. Scarlet. It was a great locomotive to run and was the best job I'd ever had. That summer I also operated locomotives at the Grand Rapids Stone Yard, and also in Flint as well. Conrad Yelvington at the time needed a locomotive engineer that summer for their stone yard locations and I answered the call. I believe these stone yards are now under different ownership and do now know the details of their operations today.
The yards are now owned by StoneCo (motto: StoneCo, it's where the Stones go).

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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LansingRailFan wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 7:57 am
David Lang wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 7:33 am
Don't know how that GP-18 got there, or how long its been there, but in summer 2003, I operated that locomotive at the Conrad Yelvington Stone Yard in Lansing. The guy that got it there at the time (I think his name was Linus?), and others used to call it Ms. Scarlet. It was a great locomotive to run and was the best job I'd ever had. That summer I also operated locomotives at the Grand Rapids Stone Yard, and also in Flint as well. Conrad Yelvington at the time needed a locomotive engineer that summer for their stone yard locations and I answered the call. I believe these stone yards are now under different ownership and do now know the details of their operations today.
The yards are now owned by StoneCo (motto: StoneCo, it's where the Stones go).
And they now use ex-NS B32-8s at their Lansing and Flint yards. They are leased from NIWX (Northern Illinois & Wisconsin Railway).
NIWX 538 - Flint
NIWX 539 - Lansing

The B32-8 in Flint has been tagged with a crazy amount of graffiti.
niwx_LI.jpg
Photo by Delay in Block Productions

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12Bridge
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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dave989 wrote:
Sun Feb 20, 2022 5:49 pm
Wondering if they're ever going to fire up that GP-18
It runs just fine.

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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NS3322 wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:12 am
And they now use ex-NS B32-8s at their Lansing and Flint yards. They are leased from NIWX (Northern Illinois & Wisconsin Railway).
NIWX 538 - Flint
NIWX 539 - Lansing

The B32-8 in Flint has been tagged with a crazy amount of graffiti.
niwx_LI.jpg
Photo by Delay in Block Productions
How often do those B32’s run, I may need to go to lansing and get some footage!
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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David Collins wrote:
Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:11 am
NS3322 wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:12 am
And they now use ex-NS B32-8s at their Lansing and Flint yards. They are leased from NIWX (Northern Illinois & Wisconsin Railway).
NIWX 538 - Flint
NIWX 539 - Lansing

The B32-8 in Flint has been tagged with a crazy amount of graffiti.
niwx_LI.jpg
Photo by Delay in Block Productions
How often do those B32’s run, I may need to go to lansing and get some footage!
StoneCo in Lansing hasn't received cars since April. They had a contract fall through and have been sitting on piles of aggregate for all of 2021. There are a couple of major projects in the Lansing area that they may ship stone too. If so, we should see deliveries again.

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kd_1014
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

Unread post by kd_1014 »

David Collins wrote:
Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:11 am
NS3322 wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:12 am
And they now use ex-NS B32-8s at their Lansing and Flint yards. They are leased from NIWX (Northern Illinois & Wisconsin Railway).
NIWX 538 - Flint
NIWX 539 - Lansing

The B32-8 in Flint has been tagged with a crazy amount of graffiti.
niwx_LI.jpg
Photo by Delay in Block Productions
How often do those B32’s run, I may need to go to lansing and get some footage!
The one in Lansing is not accessible unless you want to drive on the Army National Guard service road, which I suggest you don't.

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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What about the one in Flint?
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NS3322
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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kd_1014 wrote:
Thu Feb 24, 2022 8:22 am
David Collins wrote:
Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:11 am
NS3322 wrote:
Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:12 am
And they now use ex-NS B32-8s at their Lansing and Flint yards. They are leased from NIWX (Northern Illinois & Wisconsin Railway).
NIWX 538 - Flint
NIWX 539 - Lansing

The B32-8 in Flint has been tagged with a crazy amount of graffiti.
niwx_LI.jpg
Photo by Delay in Block Productions
How often do those B32’s run, I may need to go to lansing and get some footage!
The one in Lansing is not accessible unless you want to drive on the Army National Guard service road, which I suggest you don't.
You can get a shot from the sidewalk but your best shot will be this:
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=5140299
David Collins wrote:
Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:11 am
What about the one in Flint?
Negative. Buried deep in the Stoneco yard and obstructed by the LSRC yard. Plus that is a rough part of town.
This why there are like only five photos of GLLX 4428 between 2007 and 2019.
Delay in Block got that photo while shooting a video for LSRC.

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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Seems like WMI's carloads have been down as of late. Is some of their loads seasonal? I thought the boulders were only temporary with the high water levels on Lake Michigan and I haven't seen a load of those in some time. Seems like covered hoppers and tank cars are about it right now, I assume Hansons is seasonal? I seem to recall they were getting cars again.

Saw something about a grant being given out for one of their crossings to be rebuilt.
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NS3322
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Re: West Michigan RR Abandonment Petition Coming

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I am trying to finish up the Wiki page I have been building for the KLSC. For some reason I cannot find good customer info for KLSC.

Did they just primarily serve Hanson's (now Lineage) in Hartford and a few of the warehouses between Teapot Dome and Paw Paw?

Feel free to make corrections, I think I tracked down all of the equipment used:
https://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/ ... go_Railway

Coe Rail/MAL is next... :lol:
(This info needs to be written down somewhere in one place before its lost to time).

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