Plymouth is now busy again??

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KVERBERK
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

Unread post by KVERBERK »

Currently through Plymouth:
Scheduled:
D735/D736
Q568/Q567
Q214/Q215
Q508/Q509
D705 or D706 (depending on day)
Q150/Q151
Q132
Locals/switch jobs:
D738
D716
D714
Unit trains/ extras:
Grain trains for Plymouth Sub destinations and LSRC
Coal trains for Essexville (for 3 more years) via LSRC
Coal trains for St. Clair via LSRC
K596/597 steel slab trains for Detroit
Random fertilizer/seasonal LPG/military/empty nitrogen trains to and from LSRC
Potash trains for Webberville.
Q131 if the Lincoln Secondary is occupied.
D708 very seldom if there are hot cars set off west of town.
Does this mean there are no longer any yard jobs called out of Plymouth? like Y107? That makes me sad. I'm way out of the loop up here in the U.P.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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The way CSX and LSRC operates the Novi/ Wixom area has become interesting since CSX spun off north of 7 Mile (a few miles north of Plymouth). D735 (from Toledo) will run up to Lincoln Yard in Wixom during the evening and tie-down the train in the yard and park the power on their “engine track”. Z127 will get on duty sometime in the very early morning and use their power to take the train north to Flint with whatever else they have in the yard due north. Once in Flint, Z127 will get off and onto whatever Z126 brought down from Saginaw (power and all) and head back to Wixom. The train will either be set off in Lincoln Yard or Novi siding to go down to Toledo as D736 for CSX (which lately has been a mid-day run since the train was added). Z127 will also work the lone customer on the Wixom Branch they recently won back from the CSX days. Unit trains between the two railroads are set off or exchanged on the spot at either Novi siding, Lincoln Yard, or north of the former MAL Junction, depending how congested the area gets.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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KVERBERK wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 3:59 pm
Currently through Plymouth:
Scheduled:
D735/D736
Q568/Q567
Q214/Q215
Q508/Q509
D705 or D706 (depending on day)
Q150/Q151
Q132
Locals/switch jobs:
D738
D716
D714
Unit trains/ extras:
Grain trains for Plymouth Sub destinations and LSRC
Coal trains for Essexville (for 3 more years) via LSRC
Coal trains for St. Clair via LSRC
K596/597 steel slab trains for Detroit
Random fertilizer/seasonal LPG/military/empty nitrogen trains to and from LSRC
Potash trains for Webberville.
Q131 if the Lincoln Secondary is occupied.
D708 very seldom if there are hot cars set off west of town.
Does this mean there are no longer any yard jobs called out of Plymouth? like Y107? That makes me sad. I'm way out of the loop up here in the U.P.

Y107 and Y205 were eliminated almost a decade ago. Once PSR was implemented up here, D738 has become the daytime local/ yard job around here. Will work the customers from Plymouth south to Chevy Yard in Westland, Plymouth east to Middlebelt in Livonia, the lone customer west of Plymouth, then breakdown cars set off from Q214 and assemble Q215’s pick-up. D716 is the evening local around Plymouth that works North Yard and the multiple customers south of Wayne Jct to New Boston. D714 is another evening local that is based out of Wayne that works the customers in the immediate Wayne Jct area, especially Ford MAP and runs up to Plymouth to set off cars for Q215’s pick-up. I’m curious what will change with this train when the Bronco production ramps up.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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Racer wrote:
Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:40 am
The way CSX and LSRC operates the Novi/ Wixom area has become interesting since CSX spun off north of 7 Mile (a few miles north of Plymouth). D735 (from Toledo) will run up to Lincoln Yard in Wixom during the evening and tie-down the train in the yard and park the power on their “engine track”. Z127 will get on duty sometime in the very early morning and use their power to take the train north to Flint with whatever else they have in the yard due north. Once in Flint, Z127 will get off and onto whatever Z126 brought down from Saginaw (power and all) and head back to Wixom. The train will either be set off in Lincoln Yard or Novi siding to go down to Toledo as D736 for CSX (which lately has been a mid-day run since the train was added). Z127 will also work the lone customer on the Wixom Branch they recently won back from the CSX days. Unit trains between the two railroads are set off or exchanged on the spot at either Novi siding, Lincoln Yard, or north of the former MAL Junction, depending how congested the area gets.
Thanks for nice update, Racer! Always like hearing what's going on in my old territory.

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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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Thanks for the Update Racer. Wow, eliminated 10 years ago! I am out the loop! I have occasionally visited Plymouth in the last 10 years and have seen what appeared to local jobs and even seen the cabooses being pulled around on what I thought were yard jobs. Very interesting to hear how they are running the trains now. I occasionally look at google maps as well and its interesting how those images have changed over the years. The yard gets more and more empty as well as the yard office parking lot. Not a single car in parking lot in the latest image. I recently read a book on railroads of Plymouth that stated in the 80's CSX employed 100 people in the Plymouth area. Anyway...

Also wondering what is the sole customer near Wixom, and the sole customer west of Plymouth? Glad to hear that LSRC won back a customer. Thanks again
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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Racer wrote:
Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:52 am
...the lone customer west of Plymouth...
Who is the lone customer left west of Plymouth? PCA?
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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PCA, oh yes that makes sense. I guess I knew haha, was thinking farther west for some reason...
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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KVERBERK wrote:
Sun Feb 28, 2021 9:47 am
Also wondering what is the sole customer near Wixom
Korex is in Wixom. They make powdered detergents. Receive covered hoppers. Seem to usually have around 10 or so on their spurs at a time.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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KVERBERK wrote:
Sun Feb 28, 2021 9:47 am
Thanks for the Update Racer. Wow, eliminated 10 years ago! I am out the loop! I have occasionally visited Plymouth in the last 10 years and have seen what appeared to local jobs and even seen the cabooses being pulled around on what I thought were yard jobs. Very interesting to hear how they are running the trains now. I occasionally look at google maps as well and its interesting how those images have changed over the years. The yard gets more and more empty as well as the yard office parking lot. Not a single car in parking lot in the latest image. I recently read a book on railroads of Plymouth that stated in the 80's CSX employed 100 people in the Plymouth area. Anyway...

Also wondering what is the sole customer near Wixom, and the sole customer west of Plymouth? Glad to hear that LSRC won back a customer. Thanks again
There are actually 2 customers in Wixom. Korex, as previously mentioned, and DTE's Wixom pole yard. Those customers are switched by the Flint-Wixom local (Y101/Y110 depending on the day). I believe the pole yard was the customer that LSRC got back.

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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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PCA is the lone customer west of Plymouth. DTE’s Pole Yard is the customer in Wixom LSRC recently got back into rail service on the Wixom Branch. I’m sure Y110/101 has done the switching. The only day I saw a car spotted in there was using 127’s power from the yard and apparently was when they just won them back.
"...and I was in the front and Matt grabbed and pulled my ears from behind me and made horsey sounds."

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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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Thanks for the info AARR, Racer, and GTWwatcher
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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KVERBERK what part of the Yoop are you in?
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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CAT345C I'm in the Keweenaw.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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With the news on the other thread of D705/706 both becoming daily trains this would put the train count in Plymouth to 18-20 trains on a good day. Also with Ford Wayne Assembly to ramp up their productions soon who knows what traffic increase we could see with that.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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Has anybody seen any auto racks going north? I just saw on a facebook post, that there are ramps at Buick City in Flint for loading on LSRC.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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CAT345C wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:41 am
Has anybody seen any auto racks going north? I just saw on a facebook post, that there are ramps at Buick City in Flint for loading on LSRC.
736 had 7 Union Pacific auto racks on the head end coming south on Wednesday. Took me a minute to figure out what train it was. First time I’ve seen racks on it.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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ns8401 wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:43 am
CAT345C wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:41 am
Has anybody seen any auto racks going north? I just saw on a facebook post, that there are ramps at Buick City in Flint for loading on LSRC.
736 had 7 Union Pacific auto racks on the head end coming south on Wednesday. Took me a minute to figure out what train it was. First time I’ve seen racks on it.
Whoa. LSRC making waves

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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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CAT345C wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:41 am
Has anybody seen any auto racks going north? I just saw on a facebook post, that there are ramps at Buick City in Flint for loading on LSRC.
The empty autoracks come from CN in Flint and apparently go south to CSX

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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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That explains the occasional loaded autorack I was seeing going north on D735. If that’s the case that’s the first time loaded autoracks have ran north of Wixom for 21 years since the closing of Buick City in 1999.
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Re: Plymouth is now busy again??

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Racer wrote:
Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:40 am
The way CSX and LSRC operates the Novi/ Wixom area has become interesting since CSX spun off north of 7 Mile (a few miles north of Plymouth). D735 (from Toledo) will run up to Lincoln Yard in Wixom during the evening and tie-down the train in the yard and park the power on their “engine track”. Z127 will get on duty sometime in the very early morning and use their power to take the train north to Flint with whatever else they have in the yard due north. Once in Flint, Z127 will get off and onto whatever Z126 brought down from Saginaw (power and all) and head back to Wixom. The train will either be set off in Lincoln Yard or Novi siding to go down to Toledo as D736 for CSX (which lately has been a mid-day run since the train was added). Z127 will also work the lone customer on the Wixom Branch they recently won back from the CSX days. Unit trains between the two railroads are set off or exchanged on the spot at either Novi siding, Lincoln Yard, or north of the former MAL Junction, depending how congested the area gets.
More times than not, the Novi siding is occupied with cars. I assumed that LSRC and CSX are handing off trains here. But why at Novi when either Wixom or Plymouth has the yard trackage to accommodate a train of that length?

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