Pontiac customers

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chapmaja
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Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:02 pm

Pontiac customers

Unread post by chapmaja »

I was looking at an article about a road rage incident in Pontiac that happened near the yard and it got me wondering. What customers are still served in Pontiac and the surround region from Pontiac Yard?

I know there is the metal place on the Orion Branch. Does the GM Stamping plant still get service? I see a lumber type place South of Walton, which brings up the question about about the form yard there. What was that yard called and who was it used to service? I could see a couple areas in the Pontiac Yard that could be transload tracks, and I see the plywood place near the south end of the yard, but I don't see a ton of other customers in Pontiac. What is the range of businesses served by locals out of Pontiac, or is all local service now based elsewhere?

Steve B
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Location: East Lansing

Re: Pontiac customers

Unread post by Steve B »

According to a GTW siding diagram book (reprinted by GTWHS) the yard by Walton was "Belt Yard." I'm sure there was some non GM business that used it, but the vast majority was GM-- Pontiac and Fisher Body. I'm guessing that the GMC traffic on the south side of town went directly to the main yard on the mainline. There was simply so much Pontiac and Fisher business that it required Belt Yard to handle, in addition to the yard between the plants and the one the main.

Maybe Belt Yard was also used by freights to and from the Romeo Sub, I don't know.

railrod1949
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Location: Waterford, MI

Re: Pontiac customers

Unread post by railrod1949 »

Steve B wrote:According to a GTW siding diagram book (reprinted by GTWHS) the yard by Walton was "Belt Yard." I'm sure there was some non GM business that used it, but the vast majority was GM-- Pontiac and Fisher Body. I'm guessing that the GMC traffic on the south side of town went directly to the main yard on the mainline. There was simply so much Pontiac and Fisher business that it required Belt Yard to handle, in addition to the yard between the plants and the one the main.

Maybe Belt Yard was also used by freights to and from the Romeo Sub, I don't know.
Currently, there are five remaining rail customers in the Pontiac area. 1) Lumber transload at the east end of the old Belt yard which is south of E Walton Blvd. and west of Baldwin Avenue. 2) GM stamping plant, south of Columbia Avenue between Baldwin and Joslyn avenues. 3) Ferro Scrap Metal yard on south side of Collier Road between Baldwin and Joslyn avenues.. 4) Red Lava on west side of Airport Road north of Williams Lake Road and finally the TTX Draco Division Rail freight cars repair on south side of Williams Lake Road west of Dixie Highway, the latter two rail customers both in Waterford. Also, the freight cars from the Romeo Sub went directly to the main yard.

GTW6401
how bout no
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Re: Pontiac customers

Unread post by GTW6401 »

Inland Plywood and Lee Industrial Contracting are also railroad customers in Pontiac.

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