RailRoadFan.com

NS3322 wrote: ↑

Fri May 28, 2021 6:40 pm

ns8401 wrote: ↑

Fri May 28, 2021 5:08 pm

OldBastard wrote: ↑

Fri May 28, 2021 3:10 pm

You're welcome, Dowagiac.
Probably just current power needs on both the different lines, and closest availability is what directed 4002 back to GDLK.
Only about half of the original start up units still remain on GDLK. They used to have 2 more ex Canadian widecabs, the 4012 and 4020. 4020 had a Grand Elk logo, 4012 never did. Unsure where they are now.

4012 ended up on the Timber Rock Railroad in Texas middle of the last decade. 4020 ended up on the WSOR.

Both units are listed on a current roster for the Kansas & Oklahoma (K&O) another WATCO property.

http://www.trainweb.org/rosters/KO.html

Dispositions of former Grand Elk locomotives:
Dispostions.JPG

#4012 and #4020 are now at El Dorado Chemical (Watco Switching Contract).

The CLASS III Shortlines roster on TrainWeb is useful; but just make sure you look at the notes section...

I got us farther than we were at least. El Dorado Chemical sounds like a little bit of an obscure place in the hinterlands of Ar-Kansas. I wonder how accessible the place really is?

08:45 6-4-2021, Grand Elk inbound to Elkhart Yard at CP421 with just the 4206 and 18 cars. Mostly tanks and covered hoppers, the consist included two NS open top 3 bay hoppers of the type used to bring coal to Pfizer in Portage.

Those hoppers are used to haul crushed glass out of Grand Rapids that then go out west.

1TrackMind wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 10, 2021 1:26 pm

Those hoppers are used to haul crushed glass out of Grand Rapids that then go out west.

Old beer and pop bottles from Glass Recyclers in GR.

Most of the crushed glass comes from Meijer, IIRC.

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 10, 2021 8:25 pm

Most of the crushed glass comes from Meijer, IIRC.

Meijer takes a majority share of the returnables in the state so you are correct.

However, those machines are owned and maintained by a third party company named UBCR - https://ubcrllc.com/

The machines themselves are made by https://www.tomra.com/en/sorting/recycling .

UBCR is a partnership between Schupan, Tomra and the MSDA and MBWWA. They own the blue bins, the tracking software of each container that goes thru them, the data collection and reporting software database and the trucks that haul away the bins full of metal, plastic and glass.

All beer and pop distribs have to pick up returnables from any retailer they service that doesn’t use UBCR aka third party recycling. A retailer is a store OR a bar/restaurant/golf course etc...

Some beer and pop distribs crush their own glass into cullet. The one I worked at crushed our glass and glass from numerous smaller ones and fed it into gravel haulers that took it to Glass Recyclers in Detroit. They would back haul rock salt. Almost all distribs will crush their own aluminum and store the bricks on pallets. They will literally sit on it for a year or two until the prices get good. I heard a story about one of the distributors up north that sat on like four years of aluminum just filling up old semi trailers w pallets. He’s been sending truckloads down to detroit now cashing in on the high prices.

Anyway, yes the glass comes from Meijer. And Family Fare. And Walmart etc... but it’s all via the UBCR LLC Corp.

UBCR is a joint venture of Tomra and Schupan.
All 3 share a building in Wixom. Schupan has another location in Wyoming.

DaveO wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:16 am

UBCR is a joint venture of Tomra and Schupan.
All 3 share a building in Wixom. Schupan has another location in Wyoming.

Schupan also has facilities in Elkhart and Kalamazoo and an office in East Lansing.

I saw the GDLK yesterday and noticed it had WAMX #4002 as lead power. I have a feeling 4002 is back with the GDLK again. I also noticed in Moline they are adding a fence next to the tracks. My guess is to keep kids from playing on them (park is next to the tracks).

GDLK FAN wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:51 pm

I saw the GDLK yesterday and noticed it had WAMX #4002 as lead power. I have a feeling 4002 is back with the GDLK again. I also noticed in Moline they are adding a fence next to the tracks. My guess is to keep kids from playing on them (park is next to the tracks).

If you saw WAMX 4002 leading a Grand Elk train, I’d have to say that your feeling you feel regarding the presence of WAMX 4002 being back on the Grand Elk is spot on.

Idk how you feel about how I feel about your feelings regarding WAMX 4002 maaaaybe being back on the Grand Elk despite positively seeing WAMX 4002 leading a Grand Elk train, but I have a feeling that you will report back to us with your feelings regarding my feelings that your feelings are indeed correct.

LansingRailFan wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:58 pm

GDLK FAN wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:51 pm

I saw the GDLK yesterday and noticed it had WAMX #4002 as lead power. I have a feeling 4002 is back with the GDLK again. I also noticed in Moline they are adding a fence next to the tracks. My guess is to keep kids from playing on them (park is next to the tracks).

If you saw WAMX 4002 leading a Grand Elk train, I’d have to say that your feeling you feel regarding the presence of WAMX 4002 being back on the Grand Elk is spot on.

Idk how you feel about how I feel about your feelings regarding WAMX 4002 maaaaybe being back on the Grand Elk despite positively seeing WAMX 4002 leading a Grand Elk train, but I have a feeling that you will report back to us with your feelings regarding my feelings that your feelings are indeed correct.

My feelings about your feelings on my feelings are just fine. I do know it was leased out to another railroad but they only had permission to use it for a few years. Seeing its back on the GDLK makes me believe that 4002 is going to stay with the GDLK.

GDLK FAN wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:02 pm

LansingRailFan wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:58 pm

GDLK FAN wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:51 pm

I saw the GDLK yesterday and noticed it had WAMX #4002 as lead power. I have a feeling 4002 is back with the GDLK again. I also noticed in Moline they are adding a fence next to the tracks. My guess is to keep kids from playing on them (park is next to the tracks).

If you saw WAMX 4002 leading a Grand Elk train, I’d have to say that your feeling you feel regarding the presence of WAMX 4002 being back on the Grand Elk is spot on.

Idk how you feel about how I feel about your feelings regarding WAMX 4002 maaaaybe being back on the Grand Elk despite positively seeing WAMX 4002 leading a Grand Elk train, but I have a feeling that you will report back to us with your feelings regarding my feelings that your feelings are indeed correct.

My feelings about your feelings on my feelings are just fine. I do know it was leased out to another railroad but they only had permission to use it for a few years. Seeing its back on the GDLK makes me believe that 4002 is going to stay with the GDLK.

All in good fun!

That and if you do a search in the upper right corner of this forum for "4002", you'll see that it has been seen many times in 2021, and came back to the GDLK property in 2019:
https://railroadfan.com/phpbb/search.php?keywords=4002
Came back to GDLK on December 5, 2019: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30512&p=424715&hilit=4002#p424715

The Andersons will be sending 25 car blocks of Soybeans to Ithaca via the CN. First cut arrived and left this week.

1TrackMind wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:42 pm

The Andersons will be sending 25 car blocks of Soybeans to Ithaca via the CN. First cut arrived and left this week.

Interchanged at Kilgore I presume?

NS came crawling through Three Rivers tonight about 9pm with their stone train. Weird how I can hear the difference between GDLK and NS locomotives by the horn, lol. The NS horn sounds way different than GDLK horns.

NSSD70ACe wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:57 pm

1TrackMind wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:42 pm

The Andersons will be sending 25 car blocks of Soybeans to Ithaca via the CN. First cut arrived and left this week.

Interchanged at Kilgore I presume?

Yes

What's the story on the industry just outside of White Pigeon after making the curve south from the MSO interchange (Not Andersons). It looks like a produce warehouse? Seems like the spur and building is quite new and yet the rail is well rusted over suggesting they didn't ship much? Was this more of a ploy in keeping the trucks honest for their shipping needs or did NS scare them off?

Take a look at their website and you'll get a feel for what they do. No one will pay for a switch and siding to keep truckers honest. You bid them against each other. A siding would indicate business traveling in volume or distance where rail in theory offers a cost advantage. It looks like seasonal commodities or business that fell victim to PSR.

PatAzo wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 10:28 am

Take a look at their website and you'll get a feel for what they do. No one will pay for a switch and siding to keep truckers honest. You bid them against each other. A siding would indicate business traveling in volume or distance where rail in theory offers a cost advantage. It looks like seasonal commodities or business that fell victim to PSR.

Not at all what I meant when I said to keep the truckers honest. You get the rail service for a few shipments then switch to trucks, not meaning you install it and never use it. Happens all the time.