MIGN Customers

Any historical questions can be posted here. Answers would certainly help as well :)
User avatar
NS3322
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1255
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 12:08 pm
Location: CP-LEVITT

MIGN Customers

Unread post by NS3322 »

I am looking to add a list of customers served by the Michigan Northern Railway to the MIGN Wiki page.
Wondering if anyone currently has such a listing?

I was able to create a comprehensive locomotive roster using documents graciously provided to me by former MIGN employees:
https://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/ ... rn_Railway

User avatar
AARR
Ann Arbor RR Nerd
Posts: 37905
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by AARR »

I do/did. I will check when I get home.

Other than the ferry traffic (averaged 5,000-6,000 cars a year during its peak years) the gas transload at Walton Jct. (later served the plant directly south of Kalkaska) might have shipped around 600 cars a year. The lime place near Sand Lake received about 500 cars a year. There was a scrap paper warehouse that loaded about 400 cars a year in Howard City. A paper plant north of Grand Rapids might have been in the 300 car per year range.

I am kind of guessing so I will check my notes when I get home and see if I still have the information.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

Buster Manning
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 674
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:16 pm

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by Buster Manning »

You missed a loco

The Hillsdale County Railway leased their 1601, a GP-7, to the MN a couple of winters in the late 70s'-early 80s'

All sorts of customers with small car number totals were along the length of the line. As I'm most familiar with the Reed City/Big Rapids area, I can tell you about some of the customers located in those town. In RC, the Home Oil Company occasionally got a tank car of fuel oil in. In BR, the lumber yard along 3rd Ave by the psgr station got loads in, the co-op just north of the station received cars and the track that connected to the old PM trackage north of the diamond would get loads of bricks spotted at the ramp used as a transloading area

User avatar
AARR
Ann Arbor RR Nerd
Posts: 37905
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by AARR »

MIGN had one customer in Traverse City, a feed mill, that would get an occasional carload, maybe 3-4 times a month. That was before they took over C&O's tracks in the early 80's.
Buster Manning wrote:
Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:44 pm
All sorts of customers with small car number totals were along the length of the line.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

User avatar
AARR
Ann Arbor RR Nerd
Posts: 37905
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by AARR »

I went through my notes (which are not complete) and like Buster pointed out there were mostly small customers of agricultural or building products.

They also shipped Christmas trees, pulp-wood logs and well-drilling products.

Now on my paper railroad there is a large national-brand fudge plant near Mackinaw City that receives about 5-7 cars a week of sweeteners :) . And, Yoplait in Reed City also receives about 5-7 cars per week of various sweeteners.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

User avatar
MIGN-Todd
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 423
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 3:35 pm
Location: Traverse City, Michigan

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by MIGN-Todd »

Yes, they had the feed mill (Farm Bureau) that was at the small rebuilt PC yard next to it along Woodmere Ave (covered grain hoppers). When the C&O left in 82, they gained Cherry Growers (insul. boxcars), the paper place on South Airport road (plug door boxes mainly BN), now an equipment dealer and spur since removed, the Paint Spot (team track next to Woodmere) using mostly plug door boxes, the clock place on Airport Access (plastics hoppers) and Shultz, Snyder and Steele lumber (now Amerhart) utilizing both bulkhead flats and box cars. In Boardman yard, on a siding near the yard office, they put in a conveyer and unloaded coal. Just past that, on the mostly removed Northport line through town which stopped at 8th street at McGoughs, a grain hopper once that I saw and one box. I seem to recall a load or two of pipe also.
U.S.Army Retired- under new management (see wife)

GreatLakesRailfan
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 4828
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:28 am
Location: Marysville, Michigan

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by GreatLakesRailfan »

I have a couple copies of (PH&D) waybills from carloads of LPG that were shipped from St. Clair to Petoskey. The routing shows C&O to Reed City to MIGN. The consignee was Pyrofax Gas Corp. Unfortunately they don't show who the actual recipient of the car was. Both are from May 1977, but I'm pretty sure I've seen others that were shipped up there too.
~ Charles W.

User avatar
Standard Railfan
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1800
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Marquette, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by Standard Railfan »

GreatLakesRailfan wrote:
Mon Mar 21, 2022 10:56 pm
I have a couple copies of (PH&D) waybills from carloads of LPG that were shipped from St. Clair to Petoskey. The routing shows C&O to Reed City to MIGN. The consignee was Pyrofax Gas Corp. Unfortunately they don't show who the actual recipient of the car was. Both are from May 1977, but I'm pretty sure I've seen others that were shipped up there too.
The propane distributor on the Petoskey waterfront was Petrolane which was a sister company of Pyrofax.

User avatar
NS3322
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1255
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 12:08 pm
Location: CP-LEVITT

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by NS3322 »

AARR wrote:
Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:48 pm
I went through my notes (which are not complete) and like Buster pointed out there were mostly small customers of agricultural or building products.
It took me two years, but feel free to take a look and edit/add to my MIGN customer list AARR! It is my new goal to get as much customer info as possible recorded into the Wiki.
https://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/ ... y_Overview

User avatar
AARR
Ann Arbor RR Nerd
Posts: 37905
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by AARR »

NS3322 wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:05 pm
It took me two years, but feel free to take a look and edit/add to my MIGN customer list AARR! It is my new goal to get as much customer info as possible recorded into the Wiki.
https://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/ ... y_Overview
Nice work NS3322. The list is accurate as far as I can tell.

Here are a few that I show:
Cedar Springs - Kent County Road Commission: Received gravel, sand and road salt.
Stanwood - Stanwood Lumber: Inbound lumber
Stanwood - Stanwood Feed & Grain: Boxcars and Covered hoppers
Big Rapids - Big Rapids Box: Inbound lumber
Ashton - Great Lakes Wholesale Lumber: I recall seeing cars from this mill in Niles, MI. I think they were transloaded in Niles.
MichCon (or whoever else operated there) shipped three cars a week of Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) to the Total Refinery in Alma via Chessie System. This is per Bob Warrick, The Ann Arbor Railroad In Color, History and Operations 1869-1976, 2008.
Drilling supplies (clay, mud, pipe, etc.) were transloaded in Kalkaska and Mancelona.
There was a feed mill in Mancelona. I think it was Biehl's Feeds at the time.
I think MIGN interchanged traffic with Cadillac and Lake City RR at Missaukee Jct. and Boyne City RR at Boyne Falls.
Wickes Lumber has small yards in Cadillac, Bay View, Grawn and possibly another city or two.
Petrolane was at the end of the line in Grawn but I hear they never received rail service. The track is still in place there.
Chef Pierre had a spur in Traverse City but they may have stopped rail service before MIGN too over
Traverse City Structural Steel: Steel products in gondolas.
Williamsburg - Transload Shed: Transload food products in boxcars or refrigerated boxcars (this may have been built during TSBY's ownership).

Hope this helps.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

User avatar
NS3322
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1255
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 12:08 pm
Location: CP-LEVITT

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by NS3322 »

AARR wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:31 pm
NS3322 wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:05 pm
It took me two years, but feel free to take a look and edit/add to my MIGN customer list AARR! It is my new goal to get as much customer info as possible recorded into the Wiki.
https://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/ ... y_Overview
Nice work NS3322. The list is accurate as far as I can tell.

Here are a few that I show:
Cedar Springs - Kent County Road Commission: Received gravel, sand and road salt.
Stanwood - Stanwood Lumber: Inbound lumber
Stanwood - Stanwood Feed & Grain: Boxcars and Covered hoppers
Big Rapids - Big Rapids Box: Inbound lumber
Ashton - Great Lakes Wholesale Lumber: I recall seeing cars from this mill in Niles, MI. I think they were transloaded in Niles.
MichCon (or whoever else operated there) shipped three cars a week of Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) to the Total Refinery in Alma via Chessie System. This is per Bob Warrick, The Ann Arbor Railroad In Color, History and Operations 1869-1976, 2008.
Drilling supplies (clay, mud, pipe, etc.) were transloaded in Kalkaska and Mancelona.
There was a feed mill in Mancelona. I think it was Biehl's Feeds at the time.
I think MIGN interchanged traffic with Cadillac and Lake City RR at Missaukee Jct. and Boyne City RR at Boyne Falls.
Wickes Lumber has small yards in Cadillac, Bay View, Grawn and possibly another city or two.
Petrolane was at the end of the line in Grawn but I hear they never received rail service. The track is still in place there.
Chef Pierre had a spur in Traverse City but they may have stopped rail service before MIGN too over
Traverse City Structural Steel: Steel products in gondolas.
Williamsburg - Transload Shed: Transload food products in boxcars or refrigerated boxcars (this may have been built during TSBY's ownership).

Hope this helps.
Thank you all that info AARR! I updated the list to include everything you confirmed. Appreciate it!
Do you know when AmeriGas (Petrolane) in Petoskey last used rail?
AARR wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:31 pm
Williamsburg - Transload Shed: Transload food products in boxcars or refrigerated boxcars (this may have been built during TSBY's ownership).
I always wondered what that was! Thanks for providing a backstory for that shed. From Google aerial imagery it looks like it was recently demolished (between 2020 and 2022).
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7729248 ... ?entry=ttu

User avatar
AARR
Ann Arbor RR Nerd
Posts: 37905
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by AARR »

NS3322 wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2024 7:51 pm
Do you know when AmeriGas (Petrolane) in Petoskey last used rail?

Williamsburg - Transload Shed: Transload food products in boxcars or refrigerated boxcars (this may have been built during TSBY's ownership).
I always wondered what that was! Thanks for providing a backstory for that shed. From Google aerial imagery it looks like it was recently demolished (between 2020 and 2022).
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7729248 ... ?entry=ttu
I don't have an exact date but I think it would have been before MIGN took over the line. Amazing the track is still in place.

I suspect the Williamsburg food product transload shed did not get used as much as hoped for.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

joeyuboats
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2019 10:25 am

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by joeyuboats »

Long time ago, I seem to remember a lumber yard in Mackinac City, that was served by the PRR--- but do not know if it lasted long enough to be served by MIGN.

Raildudes dad
Roadmaster
Posts: 4753
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:12 am
Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by Raildudes dad »

Correction on the Kent County Road Commission - they received a timber box culvert in the 60's PRR days. I saw the paperwork in the file. As for gravel, the county owned their own plant for years and made their gravel in county owned pits. Later they got rid of their plant and hired contractor. Sand is readily available in county in the areas of glacial out wash. They didn't use salt until the 50's and when they started using it, it was delivered to docks in Ferrysburg and Muskegon and trucked to the Road Commission garages. Still trucked from the docks today. Used to be 7 garages, today there's 4.

Detroit Salt got the bid one year. They explored rail but decided to use trucks. I discussed their delivery with them. The trucks are busy summer and fail so they couldn't fill our storage buildings before winter so they would deliver as needed. I told the guy you don't have enough trucks to keep up with our usage in a storm. We almost ran out the first storm. The big boss said we will not be explaining why we ran out and cancelled their contract and we went back to the docks.

Sorry for the segway lol

User avatar
Standard Railfan
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1800
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Marquette, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by Standard Railfan »

AARR wrote:
Thu Jan 18, 2024 6:55 am
NS3322 wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2024 7:51 pm
Do you know when AmeriGas (Petrolane) in Petoskey last used rail?

Williamsburg - Transload Shed: Transload food products in boxcars or refrigerated boxcars (this may have been built during TSBY's ownership).
I always wondered what that was! Thanks for providing a backstory for that shed. From Google aerial imagery it looks like it was recently demolished (between 2020 and 2022).
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7729248 ... ?entry=ttu
I don't have an exact date but I think it would have been before MIGN took over the line. Amazing the track is still in place.

I suspect the Williamsburg food product transload shed did not get used as much as hoped for.
IIRC the transload shed in Williamsburg was built about the time the PM/C&O branch to Elk Rapids was removed, circa 1981. A frozen foods company in Elk Rapids would truck product to Williamsburg for transload.
I believe the transload only lasted a couple of years.

User avatar
MQT1223
O Scale Railfanner
Posts: 4028
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:46 pm
Location: Grandville, Michigan
Contact:

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Didn't Wolverine in Rockford also get served by the MIGN? I seem to remember a post on Facebook regarding a wreck in Rockford that was caused by kids throwing switches and messing with the brakes on cars causing them to wreck on the north side of Rockford.
1223 OUT! President and Founder of the Buck Creek Central, the Rolling River Route! (2012-2017) President and Founder of the Lamberton Valley Railroad, The Tin Plate Road! Proudly railfanning with Asperger's since 1996. :)

User avatar
AARR
Ann Arbor RR Nerd
Posts: 37905
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:39 pm
Location: Washington, MI

Re: MIGN Customers

Unread post by AARR »

They received chemicals and animal hides but I don't know how far into MIGN's operations they received rail service.
MQT1223 wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2024 11:33 pm
Didn't Wolverine in Rockford also get served by the MIGN? I seem to remember a post on Facebook regarding a wreck in Rockford that was caused by kids throwing switches and messing with the brakes on cars causing them to wreck on the north side of Rockford.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

Post Reply