Michigan Rail business news redux

[~Z~]

Re: Blue Oval facility in Marshall, site prep and excavation is well under way, and it is huge! It will have rail service from NS but again, as others here have noted, the details on exactly what that will entail is still pretty sketchy. That said, Ford has a very large section of property still untouched to the west of the new EV battery plant, and rumor is that a large new assembly plant may be built there after the battery plant is operational. Again, just rumors amongst those involved in the project, but thought share it anyway!

Construction at the Ford battery plant in Marshall is now on hold, Ford saying they don't know if they can make the batteries for a competitive price: https://archive.ph/mXYUo

[LansingRailFan]

Re: Blue Oval facility in Marshall, site prep and excavation is well under way, and it is huge! It will have rail service from NS but again, as others here have noted, the details on exactly what that will entail is still pretty sketchy. That said, Ford has a very large section of property still untouched to the west of the new EV battery plant, and rumor is that a large new assembly plant may be built there after the battery plant is operational. Again, just rumors amongst those involved in the project, but thought share it anyway!

Construction at the Ford battery plant in Marshall is now on hold, Ford saying they don't know if they can make the batteries for a competitive price: https://archive.ph/mXYUo

Purely negotiation tactic with UAW.

[Chip]

Purely negotiation tactic with UAW.

No, there’s way more to it than that.

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential ... ZtGexo1lp0

Then there’s the heat Ford is getting over the partnership with the Chinese firm.

In case you didn’t know, this isn’t the first time in recent history Ford has done something like this. They were starting to build a brand new assembly plant in San Louis Pitosi, Mexico when the corporate plan changed and they suddenly abandoned the project. It was much further along than this too, vertical steel beams were being erected when construction just stopped.

[NS3322]

Conrail began serving the new Home Depot Distribution Center in Warren on Wednesday, September 18th. It is located at the former GM Warren Transmission Plant property on Mound Road north of Nine Mile Road. First car in was GTW 384512.

Photos from Conrail President and COO Brian Gorton's LinkedIn:

[GP30M4216]

Conrail began serving the new Home Depot Distribution Center in Warren on Wednesday, September 18th. It is located at the former GM Warren Transmission Plant property on Mound Road north of Nine Mile Road. First car in was GTW 384512.

Photos from Conrail President and COO Brian Gorton's LinkedIn:

Cool! If only aerial maps were updated as quickly as LinkedIn. This is great news.

[Doktor No]

Having a unloading track like this one is WRONG. Look at all the cars that are placarded Unload This Side Only....the customer tends to get up set when you place them anyway...so you have to turn them. Easy enough if you have a wye track handy but not if you don't. We used to turn cars in New Buffalo for the lumber company down there at the turntable at the engine house across the tracks Easy Peasy. Same with the places in Grand Rapids...use the wye at the house. The way to circumvent that is have the track down the MIDDLE and unloading on either side of the cars.
Seems simple enough but when they refuse the car as loaded and it takes days to pickup, move and turn and then return....just makes things look bad for the railroad. Easily designed out of the equation if you THINK about it.
And what on earth did they receive in a GTW 90 foot box?

[AARR]

60' hi-cube with 16' double plug doors I think. Although I know there are some 60' box cars with two 10' doors and they do look like the 86' cars.

And what on earth did they receive in a GTW 90 foot box?

[GP30M4216]

I saw a blip on the news that Home Depot is planning to open a new distribution center on the site of the former GM Warren Transmission Plant in Warren, along Mound north of 9 Mile. I’m assuming it’s no accident that the eastern boundary of this parcel is the ex NYC Bay City line. Hopefully it’s a new customer site for whatever Conrail local works this section of industrial track.

Glad to see my prediction came true!

I thought that was an 86’ box too, Doktor No. I looked up the GTW road number though and ‘tis only a 60 footer. I didn’t realize many of those Grand Trunk relics were still rolling out there. I’d love to see some context photos of the Home Depot warehouse on the site.

[GP30M4216]

This is on Facebook but I think anyone can watch without logging in - drone video from a few weeks ago of the progress on the construction of the new Coastal Container Corp spur in the south side of Holland.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/886552319 ... tid=0NULKw

[DaveO]

track down the middle looses lots of valuable indoor storage space

[chapmaja]

track down the middle looses lots of valuable indoor storage space

I think a couple things go into the decision to have a track down the middle or on the side. One is the space needed / wanted for storage and the other is the design of a pre-existing facility.

Doc No makes a good point about the unloading of cars. If the track is on the side the load may be required to only be unloaded from one side (Depending on what the load is in the car), and as such, additional work may be required to spot the cars.

Depending on the layout of floor space, with a middle track may be able to be unloaded on both sides, allowing for faster unloading, but additional movement of product within the facility after unloading.

Certainly not as simple as just one factor going into the placement or a track for loading and unloading cars.

[joeyuboats]

I used to work near that plant, when it was GM. There were a few tracks on the east side(rear) of that plant, but there also was a track or two on the west side,(Mound Rd.) that entered from the north, and one was alongside an exterior wall--- that might be the one taken in the pic. It's been awhile since I was down there..............

[DaveO]

I used to work near that plant, when it was GM. There were a few tracks on the east side(rear) of that plant, but there also was a track or two on the west side,(Mound Rd.) that entered from the north, and one was alongside an exterior wall--- that might be the one taken in the pic. It's been awhile since I was down there..............

google aerial image show site was completely taken down to earth first

[Doktor No]

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3081914 Sure looked like a 90 footer in the pic. Must be the skewed perspective of the photo.

[David Lang]

I would have put money on it being an 86’ boxcar! Good thing I don’t gamble.

[GP30M4216]

A good rundown of what Ford plant assembles/stamps/builds what in Michigan and beyond:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ ... 394184007/

[GP30M4216]

As reported on another thread here, Coastal Container is expanding their facility on the south side of Holland and adding a rail spur. This will be on the csx mainline between the US-31 bridge and 48th street.

https://www.packaging-gateway.com/news/ ... r-holland/

Stopped by the new Coastal Container spur on the south side of Holland after work today and the construction looks generally complete. Extensive drainage work was done in the vicinity of the Industrial Ave. crossing. The track appears to be complete and the crossing is paved and striped. It’s still closed and needs signage for sure; not sure what other work is still pending.

[GP30M4216]

I swung down Industrial Drive to scope out Coastal Container’s new spur. The Industrial crossing is open now and all work looks to be completed….except for the derail. The derail is located near where the siding joins the GR Subdivision. It’s a heavy duty switch point style derail. It looks like a little more work is needed to finish it up. The switch rails are bonded and there is a relay box at the switch now which I assume might have an electric lock so the dispatcher can be certain the points are lined normal for the main. Can’t wait to see the boxcars start to roll in!

[GRHC]

Apparently the Endeavor facility located in Harlem Michigan has been sold and is now owned by a company named Keystone according to the word on the street.

[AARR]

Will Keystone continue to receive rail service?

Apparently the Endeavor facility located in Harlem Michigan has been sold and is now owned by a company named Keystone according to the word on the street.