Western Michigan (WMIG)
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2022 11:32 am
I acquired this line from Pioneer just before they removed the track east of Hartford. So that is the good news. The bad news is the only customer, Hanson Logistics in Hartford, received one car of tomato paste and stopped service to Hartford in favor of their warehouse near Chicago. So now I have 15 miles of track and no customers. It was time to hustle.
With a single 55 year old GP7 as power I hustled a transload for East Jordan Plastics who just acquired a plant in South Haven. They receive 3-4 cars per month and transload on a team track right next to our interchange with CSX.
Next, a company that chips rubber located between Hartford and Lawrence. After a slow start they are currently shipping 3-4 cars per week.
Just west of Paw Paw Michigan Natural Storage, who before I took over received the last carload of business east of Hartford, resumed rail service receiving a carload of potatoes about every 4-weeks.
Coca Cola / Minute Maid west of Paw Paw finally decided to receive corn syrup by rail. This was a surprise to everyone because, even though other Coca Cola plants use rail service, this one was not willing to invest in the infrastructure due to short-term cost. However, a GM was recently assigned here whom had come from another plant that received rail service, understood the long-term cost savings and was willing to make the investment. After a bumpy start, which the GM had some serious regrets and threatened going back to trucks, we seem to have ironed out the issues with CSX and now receive 4-6 cars per week steadily keeping 2-weeks supply SIT at all times.
A local farmer who was tired of price fluctuations from local trucking companies partnered with us to deliver liquid feed. We built a short, two car spur for him east of Hartford. After successfully receiving several cars he persuaded other farmers to join him. At this time he gets 4-5 cars per month with a strong potential upside.
Knouse Foods, who like Coca Cola ships by rail at many other plants, but was exclusively using truck at its Paw Paw plant, was open to trying rail service again on a lane out east via CSX. Since their spur was gone and we would have to build across a major road to reinstall it, instead they are using one of the warehouse west of their plant to transload. Currently they are shipping about 2 cars a week. At first we used 2nd hand 57' refrigerated box cars but that was not giving them the economies of size to make this economically work. What they really need are those new large refrigerated box cars. But they are very expensive and cost prohibitive for a small shipper like KF.
This next customer shows why sometimes it is better to be lucky than be good. Hanson Logistics in Hartford had not received any rail traffic in years. They sold their building to an entrepreneur who named her company Lineage Logistics and she was open to resuming rail service. Lineage is receiving 2-4 cars per week of the large refrigerated box cars carrying tomato paste in one-ton totes. After the cars are empty we take them to Paw Paw for Knouse to load giving them the larger rail cars to get the economies of size they need to make rail service economical. CSX benefits by hauling loads in both directions (even though it is small volume).
That last customer is currently on a trial bases. We are delivering animal feed to Lawrence for transloading. Right now, it averages about 5-7 cars a week but has the potential to increase to 7-10. Transload business is always ripe for losing to other railroads and we do not have the relationship with this customer like we do the others so we have to handle their business promptly and hope for the best.
The GP7 soldiers on but I am in the market for new power. A couple switcher types would be a good fit. If the animal feed customer enters into a long term contract I might even consider something newer like SW1500's or MP1500's.
Operations is twice a week, Monday and Thursday, like a clock. The only passing siding is in Paw Paw so we go east switching all the eastbound customers then return west switching the westbound customers. When we arrive in Hartford we pull the engine into the Team track. We have to be diligent because when CSX arrives we have to be ready to move our engine out of the Team track right after CSX pulls the outbounds but before they setout the inbounds. CSX will usually give us 6-8 hours notice but their arrival time is not always timely so we just have to wait for them and be ready.
CSX right now is giving very good service but it goes up and down depending what their Jacksonville decision makers decide about the operations schedule out of Grand Rapids. The local CSX employees are good enough but if CSX decision makers cut local service they can not control that and sometimes service might change by 24-72 hours. Like I said above, we just have to be diligent.
Traffic is grown from literally 0 to currently forecasting around 1,250 carloads in 2022. At this time all is good but we always have to be ready for an unexpected road bump.
With a single 55 year old GP7 as power I hustled a transload for East Jordan Plastics who just acquired a plant in South Haven. They receive 3-4 cars per month and transload on a team track right next to our interchange with CSX.
Next, a company that chips rubber located between Hartford and Lawrence. After a slow start they are currently shipping 3-4 cars per week.
Just west of Paw Paw Michigan Natural Storage, who before I took over received the last carload of business east of Hartford, resumed rail service receiving a carload of potatoes about every 4-weeks.
Coca Cola / Minute Maid west of Paw Paw finally decided to receive corn syrup by rail. This was a surprise to everyone because, even though other Coca Cola plants use rail service, this one was not willing to invest in the infrastructure due to short-term cost. However, a GM was recently assigned here whom had come from another plant that received rail service, understood the long-term cost savings and was willing to make the investment. After a bumpy start, which the GM had some serious regrets and threatened going back to trucks, we seem to have ironed out the issues with CSX and now receive 4-6 cars per week steadily keeping 2-weeks supply SIT at all times.
A local farmer who was tired of price fluctuations from local trucking companies partnered with us to deliver liquid feed. We built a short, two car spur for him east of Hartford. After successfully receiving several cars he persuaded other farmers to join him. At this time he gets 4-5 cars per month with a strong potential upside.
Knouse Foods, who like Coca Cola ships by rail at many other plants, but was exclusively using truck at its Paw Paw plant, was open to trying rail service again on a lane out east via CSX. Since their spur was gone and we would have to build across a major road to reinstall it, instead they are using one of the warehouse west of their plant to transload. Currently they are shipping about 2 cars a week. At first we used 2nd hand 57' refrigerated box cars but that was not giving them the economies of size to make this economically work. What they really need are those new large refrigerated box cars. But they are very expensive and cost prohibitive for a small shipper like KF.
This next customer shows why sometimes it is better to be lucky than be good. Hanson Logistics in Hartford had not received any rail traffic in years. They sold their building to an entrepreneur who named her company Lineage Logistics and she was open to resuming rail service. Lineage is receiving 2-4 cars per week of the large refrigerated box cars carrying tomato paste in one-ton totes. After the cars are empty we take them to Paw Paw for Knouse to load giving them the larger rail cars to get the economies of size they need to make rail service economical. CSX benefits by hauling loads in both directions (even though it is small volume).
That last customer is currently on a trial bases. We are delivering animal feed to Lawrence for transloading. Right now, it averages about 5-7 cars a week but has the potential to increase to 7-10. Transload business is always ripe for losing to other railroads and we do not have the relationship with this customer like we do the others so we have to handle their business promptly and hope for the best.
The GP7 soldiers on but I am in the market for new power. A couple switcher types would be a good fit. If the animal feed customer enters into a long term contract I might even consider something newer like SW1500's or MP1500's.
Operations is twice a week, Monday and Thursday, like a clock. The only passing siding is in Paw Paw so we go east switching all the eastbound customers then return west switching the westbound customers. When we arrive in Hartford we pull the engine into the Team track. We have to be diligent because when CSX arrives we have to be ready to move our engine out of the Team track right after CSX pulls the outbounds but before they setout the inbounds. CSX will usually give us 6-8 hours notice but their arrival time is not always timely so we just have to wait for them and be ready.
CSX right now is giving very good service but it goes up and down depending what their Jacksonville decision makers decide about the operations schedule out of Grand Rapids. The local CSX employees are good enough but if CSX decision makers cut local service they can not control that and sometimes service might change by 24-72 hours. Like I said above, we just have to be diligent.
Traffic is grown from literally 0 to currently forecasting around 1,250 carloads in 2022. At this time all is good but we always have to be ready for an unexpected road bump.