BO (Botsford) Tower Demolition

[Ben Higdon]

Those are interesting sheets. GREL was in Botsford for an hour. I remember the track being there but never saw anything move out the South Haven industrial. There is a move onto the South haven on these sheets.

Its interesting to use the sheets to follow yard job activity. At this time a morning job would work the PRR main, first running up to Mosel, then down to Upjohn, then back to Botsford. The diamond at Gibson was still in place (its mentioned on another sheet). One of the tower operators once referred to the "fleet" of yard jobs and locals that would come out the west end of Botsford in the mornings - you can see some of that here

[Dowagiac Train Dude]

“Its interesting to use the sheets to follow yard job activity. At this time a morning job would work the PRR main, first running up to Mosel, then down to Upjohn, then back to Botsford. The diamond at Gibson was still in place (its mentioned on another sheet). One of the tower operators once referred to the "fleet" of yard jobs and locals that would come out the west end of Botsford in the mornings - you can see some of that here”

I grew up in Dowagiac and remember a local coming to town every Tuesday and Thursday from Kalamazoo to service the three businesses in Dowagiac and then they would head south to Niles to switch out the businesses down there before heading back to Kalamazoo. My grandparents house was on East Railroad near the Ameriwood spur. I would ride my bike to the north and watch them switch out Jessup Door and then they would head down and switch out Ameriwood. I loved seeing the Conrail blue come to town. I think the best part about it though was that the crew would do their switching and then they would park the train in front of my grandparents and head over to Trackside Cafe on West Railroad St to have their breakfast or lunch. My mom worked at Trackside as a teenager and remembers the train crews coming in to eat. It’s pretty sad that there are no businesses using rail in Dowagiac now.

[PatAzo]

GREL mystery solved? Kt GTGower at Botsford was kept facing east so they could switch the east end with hand signals.

[Ben Higdon]

GREL mystery solved? KZLA/LAKZ are on the train sheets. KZLA carried GM auto parts from Kalamazoo straight into GM in Lansing. It usually left late afternoon with a pair of GP38-2. Scouting the web for KZLA I can across a short piece in Conrail In Brief about KZLA. It lists Grand Rapids as one of the origins for cars collected in Kalamazoo for KZLA. So perhaps GREL was dropping GM cars...

You are correct sir! I never thought to check the Conrail freight schedule for GREL for this time period (Sept 1982)...

I've never heard of a pickup/setout at Martin.

GREL Sept 1982 by Ben Higdon, on Flickr

[Ben Higdon]

Thanks for the links, and great stories! I could read a book of Kalamazoo stories like that.

Another question - the schedule for ELGR in Sept 1982 included a pickup in Kalamazoo.
The train sheets don't show ELGR going into Botsford.
I'm guessing this pickup made at Mosel Yd? I wonder if it was just empty auto parts cars from LAKZ, or any other traffic as well

ELGR Sept 1982 by Ben Higdon, on Flickr

[justalurker66]

Interesting to see Elkhart listed as "CT" ... probably because the hour difference due to Indiana not following Daylight Time? But CP-421 at the east end of Elkhart Yard is shown as "ET". So is it reflecting the entirety of the CR Kalamazoo Branch operating on ET and the Chicago Line operating on Central Time?

[Dan Cluley]

I'm curious what they did with the rest of the Lansing traffic in those days. By the late '80s they ran LAEL & INLA, but I don't see anything like those on the '82 sheets.

[Ben Higdon]

I'm curious what they did with the rest of the Lansing traffic in those days. By the late '80s they ran LAEL & INLA, but I don't see anything like those on the '82 sheets.

Lansing traffic came from Toledo until the late 80s as far as I know. Train was LATO/TOLA.
For a bit this was a turn to Willow Run if I recall correctly. LAAA/AALA I think.