Detroit Industrial (DIND)
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2022 9:50 am
Service started in the late 90's when I acquired the line (approximately 1 mile) from CN/GTW. I use an ex-GTW SW9 (7010-7015 series) and it is still working fine.
Started with three customers (Produce Transload, Schlaffer Iron & Metal (now Ferrous Processing) and EQ Detroit (now US Ecology). FP and USE remain good customers.
Over the years I have added Vesco Oil and recently City Recycling.
One interesting customer that I serviced shortly after start-up until it closed was the Detroit Incinerator (later Greater Detroit Resource Recovery). From around 2000 to 2006, CN would bring in 4-6 cars of trash, six days a week, from Toronto for burning. I would spot them quickly (due to odor) and pick up as soon as they were empty.
FP started out slow but after a year has been shipping 3-6 cars a week. Recently, Ferrous Processing moved some metal scrap shipments from NS to CN. Both CN and NS have access to a large steel factory east of Chicago. The steel plant is dissatisfied with NS's inconsistent service and their customer response. The transportation rate will be a little higher but with better service predictability it will cost less in the overall supply chain process and savings in storage/emergency truck service. Carloads will increase from 3-6 per week to 10-16 per week. The metal scrap yard will be switched three times per week instead of two. There remains a big upside for additional metal scrap shipments from here. Hopefully, if this new movement works out there will be more opportunities to grow the business.
USE has been a steady shipper from the beginning receiving 3-5 cars per week of liquid waste and shipping out 6-9 cars of clean oil. At one time they even received a few gondola's of dirty dirt. When EQD announced they would be building a large complex to handle dirty dirt we made our best effort to get them to locate on our line but they need more space than we had and ended up building along CSX in Romulus. About 2015 they picked up a big contract to ship their oil to a refinery out east. They now ship out 17-23 cars per week and with only four loading spots often require six days of service.
Vesco Oil is a relatively new customer. They originally received their cars in the Cold Storage yard but recently moved it to a fenced in location next to its building (on the main line). They average 2-4 cars a week.
City Recycling is a new customer. When we started operating the line in the late 90's they shipped a few cars then stopped. However, with the closing of the furnace at the steel mill on Zug Island their product is now going longer distances so they are willing to try rail again. To start they are shipping 1-2 cars every other week. When they require service the tank cars for Vesco have to be moved and re-spotted after CR is switched.
There is a persistent rumor of a logistics company looking for space to build a large produce terminal and receive large blocks of refrigerated box cars. Like those in Boston, Chicago and New York. DIND has space at the end of the line and the ability to give them immediate service day or night. We will see what happens.
Several times DIND has tried to gain interchange access with Conrail by getting trackage rights on CN for 1 mile but has been denied. Most recently, when Pole Town Assembly reopened, and it was clear CN would not be switching them, we tried to get trackage rights to the plant and to Conrail. With our plan, CR would not have to build a new spur from their Belt Line Industrial across a major road to the plant. We could switch the plant and use one mile of CN trackage rights to interchange with CR. But, even that was denied and CR built the spur.
If DIND can get trackage rights to CR, we believe that the additional connection and options would improve business prospects. For now CN is our only interchange partner.
I know some are not fans of Precision Railroading, and I understand their POV, but CN is on schedule most days and our customers like their service (although it costs more). So DIND has to stay focused on providing good service to justify the cost.
The 70 year old SW9 continues to run fine. We are in the market for a second unit because we can't afford to be down even for a day. I was offered a pair of MP15ac's which might be a little too much power and I don't need ac's on this line. I would consider straight MP15's or perhaps a later version SW maybe with flex coil trucks.
For now DIND's future is fine.
Started with three customers (Produce Transload, Schlaffer Iron & Metal (now Ferrous Processing) and EQ Detroit (now US Ecology). FP and USE remain good customers.
Over the years I have added Vesco Oil and recently City Recycling.
One interesting customer that I serviced shortly after start-up until it closed was the Detroit Incinerator (later Greater Detroit Resource Recovery). From around 2000 to 2006, CN would bring in 4-6 cars of trash, six days a week, from Toronto for burning. I would spot them quickly (due to odor) and pick up as soon as they were empty.
FP started out slow but after a year has been shipping 3-6 cars a week. Recently, Ferrous Processing moved some metal scrap shipments from NS to CN. Both CN and NS have access to a large steel factory east of Chicago. The steel plant is dissatisfied with NS's inconsistent service and their customer response. The transportation rate will be a little higher but with better service predictability it will cost less in the overall supply chain process and savings in storage/emergency truck service. Carloads will increase from 3-6 per week to 10-16 per week. The metal scrap yard will be switched three times per week instead of two. There remains a big upside for additional metal scrap shipments from here. Hopefully, if this new movement works out there will be more opportunities to grow the business.
USE has been a steady shipper from the beginning receiving 3-5 cars per week of liquid waste and shipping out 6-9 cars of clean oil. At one time they even received a few gondola's of dirty dirt. When EQD announced they would be building a large complex to handle dirty dirt we made our best effort to get them to locate on our line but they need more space than we had and ended up building along CSX in Romulus. About 2015 they picked up a big contract to ship their oil to a refinery out east. They now ship out 17-23 cars per week and with only four loading spots often require six days of service.
Vesco Oil is a relatively new customer. They originally received their cars in the Cold Storage yard but recently moved it to a fenced in location next to its building (on the main line). They average 2-4 cars a week.
City Recycling is a new customer. When we started operating the line in the late 90's they shipped a few cars then stopped. However, with the closing of the furnace at the steel mill on Zug Island their product is now going longer distances so they are willing to try rail again. To start they are shipping 1-2 cars every other week. When they require service the tank cars for Vesco have to be moved and re-spotted after CR is switched.
There is a persistent rumor of a logistics company looking for space to build a large produce terminal and receive large blocks of refrigerated box cars. Like those in Boston, Chicago and New York. DIND has space at the end of the line and the ability to give them immediate service day or night. We will see what happens.
Several times DIND has tried to gain interchange access with Conrail by getting trackage rights on CN for 1 mile but has been denied. Most recently, when Pole Town Assembly reopened, and it was clear CN would not be switching them, we tried to get trackage rights to the plant and to Conrail. With our plan, CR would not have to build a new spur from their Belt Line Industrial across a major road to the plant. We could switch the plant and use one mile of CN trackage rights to interchange with CR. But, even that was denied and CR built the spur.
If DIND can get trackage rights to CR, we believe that the additional connection and options would improve business prospects. For now CN is our only interchange partner.
I know some are not fans of Precision Railroading, and I understand their POV, but CN is on schedule most days and our customers like their service (although it costs more). So DIND has to stay focused on providing good service to justify the cost.
The 70 year old SW9 continues to run fine. We are in the market for a second unit because we can't afford to be down even for a day. I was offered a pair of MP15ac's which might be a little too much power and I don't need ac's on this line. I would consider straight MP15's or perhaps a later version SW maybe with flex coil trucks.
For now DIND's future is fine.