CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

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AARR
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CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by AARR »

Read this on the other board and thought someone might know the answer
Posted by jim on 5/29/2021, 1:07 pm
Is CSX running any in the Detroit area for the likes of Rouge Steel, etc.? I saw what appeared to be an empty unit steel train slowly passing over Ford Road, heading toward Rougemere last Thursday morning. The types of car I saw appeared to be the sort they have run in the past between Middletown Ohio and Kentucky - not coiled steel but large slabs standing on edge.
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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

Yes, unless something has changed, some of the finishing work for AK steel (now Cleveland Cliffs) at the Rouge is closed. Rouge makes the pig iron in Furnace C and casts it into slabs, then a daily train of slabs goes south to Middletown. I think limited coils come back north, is the pickle or tandem line still open at the rouge? They used to have K596/K597 symbols, but maybe these are now included as blocks on a Q train? I’m sure someone in SE Mjchigan can give a more current update.

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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

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GP30M4216 wrote:
Sun May 30, 2021 10:08 am
Yes, unless something has changed, some of the finishing work for AK steel (now Cleveland Cliffs) at the Rouge is closed. Rouge makes the pig iron in Furnace C and casts it into slabs, then a daily train of slabs goes south to Middletown. I think limited coils come back north, is the pickle or tandem line still open at the rouge? They used to have K596/K597 symbols, but maybe these are now included as blocks on a Q train? I’m sure someone in SE Mjchigan can give a more current update.
It’s still K596/597.

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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by ns8401 »

GP30M4216 wrote:
Sun May 30, 2021 10:08 am
Yes, unless something has changed, some of the finishing work for AK steel (now Cleveland Cliffs) at the Rouge is closed. Rouge makes the pig iron in Furnace C and casts it into slabs, then a daily train of slabs goes south to Middletown. I think limited coils come back north, is the pickle or tandem line still open at the rouge? They used to have K596/K597 symbols, but maybe these are now included as blocks on a Q train? I’m sure someone in SE Mjchigan can give a more current update.
Some of the Q trains had blocks of them until recently. Not sure if that’s the case or not now. There were also large blocks of the red 90’s era Thrall Conrail coil cars on those trains. All of those match what K596/597 haul so I assume it’s overflow.
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Micah_D
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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by Micah_D »

ns8401 wrote:
Sun May 30, 2021 11:03 am
GP30M4216 wrote:
Sun May 30, 2021 10:08 am
Yes, unless something has changed, some of the finishing work for AK steel (now Cleveland Cliffs) at the Rouge is closed. Rouge makes the pig iron in Furnace C and casts it into slabs, then a daily train of slabs goes south to Middletown. I think limited coils come back north, is the pickle or tandem line still open at the rouge? They used to have K596/K597 symbols, but maybe these are now included as blocks on a Q train? I’m sure someone in SE Mjchigan can give a more current update.
Some of the Q trains had blocks of them until recently. Not sure if that’s the case or not now. There were also large blocks of the red 90’s era Thrall Conrail coil cars on those trains. All of those match what K596/597 haul so I assume it’s overflow.
Q511-30 had some steel cars this morning.

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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by mach69 »

Anyone know the exact routing that these trains (K956/K957) use? I know that K956 starts in Dearborn and goes through Livonia and Plymouth on the Detroit Sub, then turns south on the Toledo Sub. From there it goes through Westland, Carleton, Monroe, and then into Toledo.

Just today, I heard that it then goes south through Walbridge, turns west at Fostoria, and then turns south at Deshler. Then south through Lima and Dayton before arriving in Middletown.

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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by LansingRailFan »

mach69 wrote:
Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:04 am
Anyone know the exact routing that these trains (K956/K957) use? I know that K956 starts in Dearborn and goes through Livonia and Plymouth on the Detroit Sub, then turns south on the Toledo Sub. From there it goes through Westland, Carleton, Monroe, and then into Toledo.

Just today, I heard that it then goes south through Walbridge, turns west at Fostoria, and then turns south at Deshler. Then south through Lima and Dayton before arriving in Middletown.
That sounds about right tbh.

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Re: CSX Unit Steel Trains in MI

Unread post by Plannerdad »

When we went on our annual rail buff trip to Deshler, we saw what was probably this train NB turning east, around 10:00pm. Saw it a couple days in a row and it was keeping to that schedule.

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