Unit coal train in Ottawa Yard, May 12

[Garry K]

I drove past the Ann Arbor RR's Ottawa Yard the evening of Tuesday, May 12 (on my way to a roller derby practice in the area), and noticed a long string of coal hoppers sitting there along with the usual boatload of autoracks. Does anyone know if the Annie has started handling coal trains these days? If so, where does it come from/go to?

I was speculating with Don Simon at Durand about the possibility of adding coal trains to an AA model railroad; it looks now like there is a prototype for that!

Unfortunately, I couldn't determine the reporting marks on the coal cars in the yard, and didn't have time to see if they were empty or loaded.

Garry K

[SD80MAC]

Probably storage would be my guess.

[AARR]

Storage or staging for another railroad. I've been told there'll never be coal trains on AA because of the beating the track would take.

I've speculated if NS/AA/GLC/CMGN could ever team up on some eastern coal moves the way CSX/SBS does. But I've been told that once you get to a 4th railroad involved there's too little money for everyone to make it worth it.

[MDH]

Were they bottom-dump hoppers or gons? Are you sure they were in coal service and not scrap, fluff, trash or something else? (just wondering/speculating)...

[sd70accsxt700]

Nope no coal, just old hoppers (of both types, bottom dump, and rotary) used in fluff and scrap service, as MDH said. If they happened to be for some reason, real used coal cars, then I would side with Jon, about storage

[Garry K]

The cars in question were modern aluminum rotary-dump hoppers. I still call them hoppers because they look like hoppers and not like gondolas!

Well, when I go to derby practice down Toledo way next week I'll try to get off the expressway and check things out a bit closer in Ottawa Yard, if I can.

Garry K

[gridejq]

The cars in question have been there for over a month now in storage for Detroit Edison...it is one of the eastern sets that CSX had

[chapmaja]

They are mostly DEEX open top hoppers. They are located at Urania siding, near Dundee, near Samaria and in the yard. It was late when I was in Toledo the other day so I didn't get over by Temperance Yard, but I would guess they have some stored there as well.