Ogihara Expansion?

[BL2-1843]

Only because I heard talk of this on D708 yesterday, (11-4-11) while setting out an empty scrap gon at Ohihara in Howell, did I go out this morning to investigate. It had only been three weeks since I was there the last time, but in those three weeks, the entire area around the Ogihara rail yard has been cleared of brush, trees and forest like they did when the facility was first constructed around 1997.

When built, they installed four long rail spurs, plus a switch with a short spur to nowhere, which looked, when first graded, that it may sometime go inside a building, which was never constructed. Since that time, the area remaining vacant began growing scrub trees, which over time has turned into another forest of trees. In recent times, it has been very diffcult, when out there, to see how many empty scrap gons are in the plant to load, or how many loads there are to pick up, due to the growing trees. It has also been next to impossible in recent years to see the faclity while traveling I-96 in the summer, let alone in the winter with the trees void of leaves.

Not anymore, the entire area is once again completly cleared and voided of trees and forest. You could drive a small car across the land and not hit a thing. Question is WHY? Evidently something going on out there, but as one of the train crew members said yesterday, "Wow, they have really cleared this out for a new industry".

It has been a few years already, with the economy the way it has been, that Ogihara has gotten any auto parts car loads in, or out, as they have returned to just shipping out scrap loads like they did when the facility first opened. On the other hand, this land was developed as a rail facility, for anybody and everybody who wanted to use this yard for rail business beside Ogihara. Perhaps that time has now come. Or, they wanted to get a fresh start on new tree growth.

[AARR]

Is there a spur that goes inside Ogihara? How many tracks and how many cars can it hold?

[GrandTrunkFan]

No spur into the building but 4 sidings that look like they could hold plenty of cars:
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=r31bfg ... orm=LMLTCC

[AARR]

No spur into the building but 4 sidings that look like they could hold plenty of cars:
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=r31bfg ... orm=LMLTCC

So do they load and unload box cars from the yard tracks?

[Saturnalia]

wow, always saw those boxy-rack things from the highway, but never saw anyhting that hinted a spur was there. interesting

[BL2-1843]

The original building was built in the late 90s to ship out scrap from. The 5th short spur (about 50 feet long) was put it, so as to build a second building for the loading and unloading of auto parts in the future. When it came time for that happen, instead of building a second building, Ogihara reconfigured the rear portion of the original building, (the whole thing which housed scrap before rail loading) to load and unload 89 ft box cars which in turn cut down on the amount of scrap the building housed.

The four long spurs, which runs southward almost to the I-96 right of way, each held as many as 15 auto parts box cars, and who knows how many scrap gons. It would hold more grain cars than what the original grain elevator at Webberville held when first built (before another track was added).

For those not knowing it was there because it had grown up and over with trees for many years now, will be impressed on the view you now get from I-96, especially now that the I-96 RofW trees are void of leaves to see just how large this place is.

As mentioned previously, it has been nearly two years or more now since they have had any auto parts business by rail. As many as 50 auto parts cars were assigned to Ogihara service, for either GM or Ford. GM business went to Kansas City, Ford to Mexico. Inbound loads came in from Indiana, (Hummer) for Ogihara to do further work on, yet when completled, would be shipped out by truck. Those loads came in in smaller length auto parts cars.

[SD80MAC]

I always remembered driving by there when I was much younger, seeing big 89 foot Conrail, NS and CSX boxcars up almost to I-96. Hope to see cars there again in the future!

[BL2-1843]

Per the heads up from Dok, make a trip to Ogihara this morning (2-27-12) to find the first auto parts box cars are indeed there, first auto parts traffic in several years. Five 60 footer double door cars were at the plant, but unknown yet if they are loads coming in and out, loads coming in, empties going out (but with racks in them which makes them a load regardless) or empties coming in and loads going out.

Before the economy tanked and auto parts traffic at Ogihara ceased, they had four different contracts. One to Ford in Ontario (before they closed the plant) Ford Mexico, GM at Kansas City, all for outbound parts, and another from Hummer in Indiana which brought hummer parts in, which were later trucked out to assembly plants. The cars there today were all the same type type cars used for the Hummer business, unlike the 89 footers that went out to Ford and GM.

Three cars were over by the Dock Doors, the other two on the furthest away track, which were also blue flagged not to be picked up. This perhaps indicates parts came in, and the cars there may be held for parts to go back out. These two cars were NYC 218290 and CSX 166242 for anyone who may be able to tell where these cars at least came from. The other three cars there were lettered UP or SP.

Meanwhile, there were six scrap gons at the plant this morning, three loaded and three waiting to be loaded, and enough scrap in the plant to load the remaining three and then some. Last week, for the first time since they changed scrap contractors, (no longer Omni Source) two CSX gons went out loaded. The new CSX contractor has their own fleet of cars as the same 15-20 gons continually go in and out of the plant.

[AARR]

Other than the GLC I think this is the last customer in Howell or east. Looking forward to your updates Bob.

[BL2-1843]

Other than the GLC I think this is the last customer in Howell or east. Looking forward to your updates Bob.

Now that Pinckney Plasstics is closing AARR, Ogihara and GLC is the ONLY business east of Fowlerville. D708 was at Ogihara at 16:00 Monday afternoon, sat off 3 more empty scrap gons and anothe auto parts car. With no pick up, there are now 9 gons and 6 auto parts cars in the plant. Does my heart good to see the place filling up with cars again, and am even more glad they cleared the forest of trees out of there to get a clear view all the way to I-96. If not cleared, it would be very difficult to see how many cars were there, even in the winter with no leaves on the trees.

[BL2-1843]

For the sixth time since Feb. 22nd, D708 has sat auto parts box cars off at Ogihara today. Six of them this time. None have yet to go out and there are now 17 box cars in the plant. From what I now understand, auto parts traffic to Ford Mexico will begin towards the end of the month. 708 also sat off 5 empty scrap gons today and picked up four loads. They also had 21 cars for GLC, but only picked up a few. They had not been east of Fowlerville since last Wendesday. When this auto parts business starts, CSX needs to deligate more than two days a week to Ogihara. If Thermofil (Ashai Kasei North America) can get five days service, east of Fowlerville should at least get three.

[AARR]

Bob, Thanks for all the updates! It is my understnading Ogihara does not have any tracks that go into or upto the plant building. Parts and scrap have to be transported from the building to the yard next to Ogihara's building. Is there a dock or ramp for loading and/or unloading box cars?

[chapmaja]

Bob, Thanks for all the updates! It is my understnading Ogihara does not have any tracks that go into or upto the plant building. Parts and scrap have to be transported from the building to the yard next to Ogihara's building. Is there a dock or ramp for loading and/or unloading box cars?

That is correct. The spur that is coming off the line actually wasn't for Ogihara as I understood it. There is a plant next to Ogihara in the industrial park that was thinking about getting service as well. This is was the company between Ogihara and the old paper company plant. (IP I think). That part of the project never continued thus the spur to nowhere.

[BL2-1843]

The Rail Facility at Ogihara, mostly paid for by state and federal funding, was built for Ogihara and anyone else who wanted to use it for rail service. The original plan was for Ogihara to use it as a scrap loading facility, and the building for it was built on the west side of the rail yard. The run around track was built next to the main, one line into the facility which went into four long spurs running south to near I-96. A 5th, dead in spur, on the east side, was put in because Ogihara had plans on putting in another building, and that spur was to run inside the bulding when it was built. It never was. When the forest of trees grew back into this area, that was recently all cut out last fall, the thought occured that they may be going to put in a building there.

A seperate building was built, a metal blanking facility which may be a subsiderary of Ogihara, and far closer to the old Internaitonal Paper building, than the rail yard. Plan was to install rai into this building, and run a line off the rail yard paralleling I-96 eastward. Huge amounts of panel track sections were delivered for it but never put in. I was told Ogihara thought this was going to be paid for with state and federal funds as well, but when they found out they were going to have to foot the entire bill. they backed out and it never was installed. I am not sure what type of rail service this would have brought. Loads in, or loads out.

Regarding the originally built scrap building, it was 100% used for scrap initially, but when Oghiara got rail contracts to ship out auto parts, the back one quarter of this building was build into a dock area. The west side had a dock build for trucks to back into to unload the auto parts, and a dock on the east side, where the auto parts cars were spotted for them to load the parts from the dock into the cars. This is what will be done again this time.

[CSX_CO]

When this auto parts business starts, CSX needs to deligate more than two days a week to Ogihara.

Don't need to do more than 2 days a week if its not in the contract between CSX and Ogihara. All that would have been set up by a Sales and Marketing rep. If Ogihara didn't want to pay for more switches, then they won't get them.

Practice Safe CSX

[ChessieForever]

Ogihara now has the most railcars in its plant than at any other time since the rail facility was built. As of today, there are 36 cars in the plant with 31 auto parts box cars and 5 scrap gons. Auto parts service to Ford Mexico to begin any day now.