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Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2020 4:04 am
by ConrailDetr​oit
LV-40 returing to Livernois from North Yard with 17 cars.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:02 am
by ConrailDetr​oit
Delray Tower giving LV-40 a signal to leave Rougemere.

CP 244 lined the wrong way onto the wye at Scotten and needs to backup 550 feet to go the correct way towards the Tunnel.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:26 am
by ConrailDetr​oit
NY-79 is at Forest Lawn, retuning to North Yard.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 2:07 pm
by ConrailDetr​oit
LV-9, NS 5018 shoving back to Livernois with 2 cars from Kenwal Steel.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:33 pm
by blueheron13
ConrailDetr​oit wrote:LV-9, NS 5018 shoving back to Livernois with 2 cars from Kenwal Steel.
CSX calls this train Z673. I wish CSX would use Conrail's symbols.

Edit to add at 5:40 PM: Z673 did not go directly back to Livernois today. It just asked permission back on to CSX trackage at P Company with 6 cars, which means it had been working the Highland Park Industrial Track.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:18 pm
by AARR
The Highland Park Industrial Track no longer goes to Highland Park and hasn't for a very long time. CR, please change the name of this branch :lol: .
blueheron13 wrote:Edit to add at 5:40 PM: Z673 did not go directly back to Livernois today. It just asked permission back on to CSX trackage at P Company with 6 cars, which means it had been working the Highland Park Industrial Track.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:28 pm
by ConrailDetr​oit
AARR wrote:The Highland Park Industrial Track no longer goes to Highland Park and hasn't for a very long time. CR, please change the name of this branch :lol: .
blueheron13 wrote:Edit to add at 5:40 PM: Z673 did not go directly back to Livernois today. It just asked permission back on to CSX trackage at P Company with 6 cars, which means it had been working the Highland Park Industrial Track.
More commonly known as the Terminal West, although Detroit Terminal has been gone since 1984.

Are we sure Z673 is not Conrail LV-4?

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2019

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 5:10 pm
by blueheron13
ConrailDetr​oit wrote:
AARR wrote:The Highland Park Industrial Track no longer goes to Highland Park and hasn't for a very long time. CR, please change the name of this branch :lol: .
blueheron13 wrote:Edit to add at 5:40 PM: Z673 did not go directly back to Livernois today. It just asked permission back on to CSX trackage at P Company with 6 cars, which means it had been working the Highland Park Industrial Track.
More commonly known as the Terminal West, although Detroit Terminal has been gone since 1984.

Are we sure Z673 is not Conrail LV-4?
The track at P Company is the Highland Park IT. The track to Dearborn Steel and Kenwal Steel is one of the remnants of the Terminal West, the other being the part that ends west of Mound near North Yard.

I really don't know which Conrail job it is these days that CSX calls Z673. I just know that every time a train calls the CSX dispatcher to open or report locked the track to Dearborn and Kenwal, CSX identifies them as Z673. I do hear an LV-4 talking to the Conrail dispatcher but they are always by someplace called the Brickyard, whatever that might be.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 6:42 pm
by GTW6401
The brickyard is along John Kronk west of Lonyo.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:51 pm
by ConrailDetr​oit
GTW6401 wrote:The brickyard is along John Kronk west of Lonyo.
Here is some necessary education:

The Brick Yard is not a place that receives and unloads brick. (But, would like to know where the name comes from as very confusing from a foamer perspective).

The Brick Yard is the name of the track configuration that runs closest to John Kronk where Ferrous and the other former/ dormant industries are switched from. Cabot St Warehouse; their spur is / was blocked by concrete blocks, MNP; does not look they have received cars in years, Hermes Automotive?. Ferrous is the only industry that appears to be switched regularly. So, when LV-4 says they are going to work the Brick Yard, the foamer translation is they are going to switch Ferrous.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 2:30 pm
by Standard Railfan
[quote="ConrailDetr​oit"
Here is some necessary education:

The Brick Yard is not a place that receives and unloads brick. (But, would like to know where the name comes from as very confusing from a foamer perspective. [/quote]

Some additional education. In the late 19th century Springwells township was a center for brick making. According to the web site Old-Delray.com Andrew Lonyo owned a brick yard at the northeast corner of Lonyo and the Michigan Central RR. I believe this business gave the name Brickyard to the railroad and Lonyo to the street.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 6:17 pm
by Manistique
Here is some more historical stuff regarding this stream.

What someone called the Highland Park Branch or something like that above is the former PRR line that came from Toledo into Detroit in the 1920's (via PM, yes PM back then). Based out of Lincoln Yard in Lincoln Park, PRR had its own track between there and Carlton. I think it was actually a subsidiary of PRR named the Pennsylvania and Detroit RR. Then after running over Wabash/NS to Delray Tower and along the west wye onto PM/CSX then through Rougemere yard, at P Company Junction it had its own track north a few miles then east to Highland Park to reach the Ford Highland Park Plant, which was pretty much replaced when Ford built the Rouge Plant around that time. It had to cross the Detroit Terminal railroad at Livernois to reach it and DTRR put up a big legal battle, which it lost. It ran the last few miles east parallel to DTRR's tracks on a rather wide right-of-way corridor. Up to then DTRR was the sole provider of rail service to Ford HP and switched it 24 hours a day and had something like 20 crews assigned there a day.

At some point this Highland Park Branch became the West Detroit Branch of the Union Belt of Detroit RR, which was owned by Wabash, PM/C&O and maybe one more railroad. GTW and NYC/PC/Conrail jointly owned the DTRR. By the way, I think DTRR stopped being independent in 1982, not 1984, when GTW sold its half interest to Conrail to generate funds to purchase DTSL. Conrail operated the entire DTRR for a few years before cutting out most of its western half from Davison yard to Dearborn. CR switched what was left of its western half by rebuilding a connection track at Kronk and Miller Road to access it. This is what it still uses to switch that one or two steel mills located near there on the former DTRR tracks. As you know, pretty much the entire Eastern half of the former DTRR is still in service and busy as the Jefferson Jeep plant is at its far end along with some other industries along its way.

CR or CSX or NS still switches the north/south portion of the old West Detroit Branch as there a plenty of industries there, mostly chemical ones last time I looked. There may be one more active industry it switches where the line veers east then it ends.

Any corrections or comments to the above are appreciated.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 6:55 pm
by AARR
Good information Manistique. CR switches the branch that connects at P Company Jct. and the active customer is a cramped and dumpy brick yard.
Manistique wrote:CR or CSX or NS still switches the north/south portion of the old West Detroit Branch as there a plenty of industries there, mostly chemical ones last time I looked. There may be one more active industry it switches where the line veers east then it ends.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:28 am
by Standard Railfan
Manistique wrote:Here is some more historical stuff regarding this stream.

At some point this Highland Park Branch became the West Detroit Branch of the Union Belt of Detroit RR, which was owned by Wabash, PM/C&O and maybe one more railroad.
The Union Belt of Detroit was not really a legal entity. The UBD acted as agent for the PRR, PM/C&O, and Wabash. The UBD was unincorporated, had no locomotives, equipment, track or other investments.

Locomotives and crews were supplied by each of the three railroads based on the number of cars switched for each road. IIRC each railroad took turns operating on a three month schedule.

The PRR owned the Highland Park/ West Detroit branch track and the track that ran adjacent to the DTRR north from the PM at Miller Road. Wabash and PM owned the connecting tracks and lines in the Delray area and along the Detroit river which UBD used.

The last operating agreement I can identified was executed in 1958 for a period of 5 years with automatic renewal. Any of the three parties could disolve the agreement with 6 months notice. I am not sure how ownership was affected after the consolidations started in the 1960s.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 7:00 am
by ConrailDetr​oit
AARR wrote:Good information Manistique. CR switches the branch that connects at P Company Jct. and the active customer is a cramped and dumpy brick yard.
Manistique wrote:CR or CSX or NS still switches the north/south portion of the old West Detroit Branch as there a plenty of industries there, mostly chemical ones last time I looked. There may be one more active industry it switches where the line veers east then it ends.
To cause even more confusion, the Brick Yard that AARR is referring to is Friendship Materials.

There is / was also Best Block on Chicago and their spur still has the switch is still in place

LV-4 will switch these Brick Yards. But when they say they are going to work the Brick Yard, they are going to work the Scrap Yard on John Kronk.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:58 pm
by ConrailDetr​oit
What appears to be a NS 176 had been stopped at Woodward for over 24 hours.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 1:23 pm
by AARR
Northbound auto rack on Junction Secondary. If my memory is correct, and it fails me more often as I get older, this is first train I’ve seen on this segment. 8)

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:14 am
by AARR
Something is moving in Sterling Yard. I don’t have a visual. My guess is it sounds like it’s departing south.

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020─CofG "Heritage!!!!"

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:52 am
by Robertrains
Well, the Central of Georgia® "Heritage Unit" NS ES44AC #8101 led north to Sterling Yard yesterday, Tues. March 24 on Train 27N!!!! :mrgreen: :D :D :mrgreen: On, "Heritage Units" website, by Black Sabbath, mentions "Leaves on 121 tomorrow as the trailing unit." Now, is this a morning train that heads south out of Sterling Yard?" I have noticed online that a morning train leaves around 9:00 a.m. Would this be that train? :?: Please help this morning─I can easily get to the "Sterling Secondary" quick!!!! It would be great catching this "Heritage Unit!!!!" "Heritage Units" NS 8101 direct link: https://heritageunits.com/locomotive/detail/NS8101

Re: Conrail Train Location Updates 2020─CofG "Heritage!!!!"

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 10:40 am
by Robertrains
Robertrains wrote:Well, the Central of Georgia® "Heritage Unit" NS ES44AC #8101 led north to Sterling Yard yesterday, Tues. March 24 on Train 27N!!!! :mrgreen: :D :mrgreen: On, "Heritage Units" website, by Black Sabbath, mentions "Leaves on 121 tomorrow as the trailing unit." Now, is this a morning train that heads south out of Sterling Yard?" I have noticed online that a morning train leaves around 9:00 a.m. Would this be that train? :?: Please help this morning─I can easily get to the "Sterling Secondary" quick!!!! It would be great catching this "Heritage Unit!!!!" "Heritage Units" NS 8101 direct link: https://heritageunits.com/locomotive/detail/NS8101
Alright, I went to "Sterling Yard" to look for Central of Georgia® "Heritage Unit" NS ES44AC #8101!!!! It was uncoupled from NS SD70ACe #1008! Soon that unit coupled to CofG #8101!!!! This was around 9:15 a.m. I then photographed train 121 working from 16 Mile service drive crossing! Soon it departed Sterling Yard!!!! Then we beat it to the Red Run crossing, Warren, around 9:53 a.m. It had 11 cars!!!! :mrgreen:

Monday's post by Burb8145:
Burb8145 wrote:» Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:49 pm
NS 8101 (Central of Georgia HU ES44AC) is leading 27N. It should be on the Detroit Line sometime tomorrow.