RailRoadFan.com

Posted by Alex on 9/30/2020, 9:26 am
I was wondering if someone could tell me the details of how the ex-MC, now LIRR was salvaged back in the day. To my knowledge, in the late 70's / early 80's, the then Penn Central ex MC Bay City branch was largely doomed. When the section of Interstate 69 came through at that time, an expressway bridge(s) was not constructed over the tracks.

Specifically, was there a push by the Lapeer area politicians, chamber of commerce, etc. to salvage the line for the remaining customers, or was this something that GTW just wanted to do?

I do know (AFAIK) that A&B has been operating this over a little over 20 years, and because of a problem w/ the bridge over the river, there is no current activity S of the plastics customer. A&B is keeping the dormant portion of the tracks in place for a future customer (smart move ). With federal / state economic funds, this bridge can get rehabilitated.

hoborich wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:55 pm

I don't know what we owned in Oxford, but we ran a PO and N [Pontiac, Oxford and Northern] local that way several times a week, and they brought back a lot of gravel from the Oxford gravel pits.

C&O Dispatcher wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 24, 2020 1:32 pm

I was perusing a GTW Timetable today dated April 26, 1981 and happened to notice this under the Cass City Sub footnotes: "OXFORD -- South Spur--extends 1.3 miles south of Main Track. Stop sign and rail removed at end of spur. Maximum speed on South Spur 10 MPH."

AARR wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:23 pm

Somewhere I read there was a lumber yard in Oxford that in 1973 received 250 car loads. I think it was a PC customer. I don't know where it was located in Oxford but I assumed it was south of the GTW crossing. Perhaps GTW acquired this short stretch to service the lumber company and anything else that was there.