Hamilton Northwestern Railroad Co.

[Mike H]

I wonder what the range is on a transload site such as this. 15-20 miles?

I thought I read somewhere‘s on RailRoadFan.com that the WMI was transloading apples that were transported up to Traverse City Michigan for Gogo Squeez. So who knows what the actual range on a transload site could be.
Here’s an interesting thought. If Gogo Squeez transloaded those apples from the HNW opposed to the WMI I would assume it would save them some on transportation cost. Who knows what the future will hold for the HNW we may see refers and who knows what else in Fillmore Michigan.

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze shut the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

[GRHC]

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze crap the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

Thank you Mike H for clearing that up and the best of luck for a successful future to you and the Hamilton Northwestern.

I think fertilizer and chicken feed would be commodities that might be transloaded at Fillmore Michigan in the future.
The last time I saw a transload in Fillmore was somewheres around 1974 when the siding extended across Fillmore Rd. It was a John Deere combine for the local John Deere dealer. Back then there was a spot on the south side of Fillmore Rd. where equipment was offloaded.
I had heard that at one time there was an off line feedmill that did some transloading in Fillmore but I had never witnessed it for myself.

Update: 03/14/2024
The keystone facility in Hamilton Michigan has apparently started receiving inbound fertilizer shipments. Sometime in the last few days the Hamilton Northwestern brought in at least 3 tank cars. On 03/13/2024 they were observed sitting on the run around track inside the facility.
They have to spot those tank cars at the end of the siding inside the facility which means the Shuttle Wagon railcar mover should be kept busy.

[GLC 392]

I wonder what the range is on a transload site such as this. 15-20 miles?

I thought I read somewhere‘s on RailRoadFan.com that the WMI was transloading apples that were transported up to Traverse City Michigan for Gogo Squeez. So who knows what the actual range on a transload site could be.
Here’s an interesting thought. If Gogo Squeez transloaded those apples from the HNW opposed to the WMI I would assume it would save them some on transportation cost. Who knows what the future will hold for the HNW we may see refers and who knows what else in Fillmore Michigan.

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze crap the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

Not so much the case, the cars that came in were a disaster and loaded poorly, apples went everywhere when the doors were open, crates had crumbled in transit so the shipper lost the business for us.

[NS3322]

The keystone facility in Hamilton Michigan has apparently started receiving inbound fertilizer shipments. Sometime in the last few days the Hamilton Northwestern brought in at least 3 tank cars. On 03/13/2024 they were observed sitting on the run around track inside the facility.
They have to spot those tank cars at the end of the siding inside the facility which means the Shuttle Wagon railcar mover should be kept busy.

The tank cars are supposedly for ZFS' soybean oil transload. I believe this was formerly done at Waverly Yard in Holland.

[GRHC]

The keystone facility in Hamilton Michigan has apparently started receiving inbound fertilizer shipments. Sometime in the last few days the Hamilton Northwestern brought in at least 3 tank cars. On 03/13/2024 they were observed sitting on the run around track inside the facility.
They have to spot those tank cars at the end of the siding inside the facility which means the Shuttle Wagon railcar mover should be kept busy.

The tank cars are supposedly for ZFS' soybean oil transload. I believe this was formerly done at Waverly Yard in Holland.

Yes it was done at Waverly yard in Holland Michigan. In fact I saw a ZFS tanker driving into Waverly yard in the last three or four days. I do know at one time Hamilton Farm bureau and possibly CHS received tank cars of ammonia nitrate.

[pudgy]

Word is HNW is storing the empties for ZFS at a cheaper rate than CSX while they work to load them at Waverly. Not sure how accurate that is.

[TC Man]

I wonder what the range is on a transload site such as this. 15-20 miles?

I thought I read somewhere‘s on RailRoadFan.com that the WMI was transloading apples that were transported up to Traverse City Michigan for Gogo Squeez. So who knows what the actual range on a transload site could be.
Here’s an interesting thought. If Gogo Squeez transloaded those apples from the HNW opposed to the WMI I would assume it would save them some on transportation cost. Who knows what the future will hold for the HNW we may see refers and who knows what else in Fillmore Michigan.

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze crap the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

I don't understand why GO GO would not just have direct rail service in their Grawn plant instead of transload from 2 hours away in Walker? Was GLC just not interested, quoted way too high, or wouldn't commit to decent transit times?

[AARR]

Customers choosing to transload rather than using their direct spurs happens more often than I thought. Each situation is probably different but I would think cost is the primary factor, poor service from the direct railroad another, convenience another, and so on.

I don't understand why GO GO would not just have direct rail service in their Grawn plant instead of transload from 2 hours away in Walker? Was GLC just not interested, quoted way too high, or wouldn't commit to decent transit times?

[Standard Railfan]

I thought I read somewhere‘s on RailRoadFan.com that the WMI was transloading apples that were transported up to Traverse City Michigan for Gogo Squeez. So who knows what the actual range on a transload site could be.
Here’s an interesting thought. If Gogo Squeez transloaded those apples from the HNW opposed to the WMI I would assume it would save them some on transportation cost. Who knows what the future will hold for the HNW we may see refers and who knows what else in Fillmore Michigan.

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze crap the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

I don't understand why GO GO would not just have direct rail service in their Grawn plant instead of transload from 2 hours away in Walker? Was GLC just not interested, quoted way too high, or wouldn't commit to decent transit times?

It seems odd that apples are shipped to Michigan at all. We grow over a million pounds per year.

[MQT1223]

I thought I read somewhere‘s on RailRoadFan.com that the WMI was transloading apples that were transported up to Traverse City Michigan for Gogo Squeez. So who knows what the actual range on a transload site could be.
Here’s an interesting thought. If Gogo Squeez transloaded those apples from the HNW opposed to the WMI I would assume it would save them some on transportation cost. Who knows what the future will hold for the HNW we may see refers and who knows what else in Fillmore Michigan.

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze crap the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

I don't understand why GO GO would not just have direct rail service in their Grawn plant instead of transload from 2 hours away in Walker? Was GLC just not interested, quoted way too high, or wouldn't commit to decent transit times?

If you look at how the apples would get there via rail it would add another 3-4 days of shipping time. Sure you'd save on fuel with your trucks but not time. By the time (depending on where they come from) CSX handles the reefers in the 2-4 yards they deal with and class it then it gets handed off to GLC and sits at the interchange. Then GLC gets it and hands it off on various parts of the system. It takes almost a full week not to mention the handling just to get the cars up from one end of the state to the other when you can drive it in a few hours. Not like GLC goes to Traverse City every day either. Then you look at how they get it now, CSX gets the cars out of the Chicago area to somewhere that's somewhat easy to access via truck, unload the product then drive it nearly 3 hours north and you have the product in less then half the amount of time then via rail.

[chapmaja]

No apples were transloaded on the WMI & sent to Gogo Squeeze. MQT handled 2 test cars for Gogo Squeeze that got transloaded in Walker. I was told by some of the G&W employees that G&W messed up the move so badly that the owner of Gogo Squeeze crap the move down after unloading the test cars.

Mike H

I don't understand why GO GO would not just have direct rail service in their Grawn plant instead of transload from 2 hours away in Walker? Was GLC just not interested, quoted way too high, or wouldn't commit to decent transit times?

It seems odd that apples are shipped to Michigan at all. We grow over a million pounds per year.

I think this happened in a year where Michigan had a terrible crop due to weather.

[SD80MAC]

Happens all the time. Western apples are cheap.

[J T]

It seems odd that apples are shipped to Michigan at all. We grow over a million pounds per year.

Not a lot of Granny Smith apples being grown in Michigan.

[GRHC]

The Hamilton Northwestern transload yard located in Fillmore Michigan seems to be open for business. I’m not sure if these cars are being stored or if they’re being unloaded or loaded. It looks like there is a hose hanging off one of the cars to facilitate transloading.

The keystone facility in Hamilton Michigan is buzzing with rail activity.

[DLM]

Empty trucks for outbound GoGo Squeeze are hard to find in Grawn. Transferring the finished product to a warehouse in Grand Rapids gives you greater access to empty trucks. Bringing apples into Grand Rapids gives the transfer trucks something additional to take back north to Grawn. And the freight rate might be cheaper to Grand Rapids. The farther you are away from a major metropolitan area, the less empty trucks you will find.

I use to bring Washington apples into Michigan on 53' containers in the spring and fall when weather was not a factor. Since the apples were going right into applesauce production, it was OK if they got a little soft during the transit. But you did not want them to freeze or get to hot. All loads had a layer of Reflectix insulation laid over them. I have also arranged apple loads from Western NY to Michigan. I always moved sauce apples and never juice apples. Apple transfers generally occurred due to seasonal Michigan apple crop production and manufacturing contracts.

As a side note, there is lots of apple juice concentrate coming into Michigan from Chile in 55 gallon plastic drums. And a little from China. Many flavors of juices start with apple juice.

[TC Man]

Empty trucks for outbound GoGo Squeeze are hard to find in Grawn. Transferring the finished product to a warehouse in Grand Rapids gives you greater access to empty trucks. Bringing apples into Grand Rapids gives the transfer trucks something additional to take back north to Grawn. And the freight rate might be cheaper to Grand Rapids. The farther you are away from a major metropolitan area, the less empty trucks you will find.

I use to bring Washington apples into Michigan on 53' containers in the spring and fall when weather was not a factor. Since the apples were going right into applesauce production, it was OK if they got a little soft during the transit. But you did not want them to freeze or get to hot. All loads had a layer of Reflectix insulation laid over them. I have also arranged apple loads from Western NY to Michigan. I always moved sauce apples and never juice apples. Apple transfers generally occurred due to seasonal Michigan apple crop production and manufacturing contracts.

As a side note, there is lots of apple juice concentrate coming into Michigan from Chile in 55 gallon plastic drums. And a little from China. Many flavors of juices start with apple juice.

Thanks for the insight, DLM. So I'm guessing that there will never be rail service used directly at GoGo's plant in Grawn I would seem. Which is probably why they buried the tracks with fill and then paved over them.

[GRHC]

All of this apple talk and conversation is absolutely fascinating however it really has nothing to do with the Hamilton Northwestern at this point unless they start transloading apples or apple based products. So I’m going to post these photos of the HNW at the Keystone facility in Hamilton Michigan and a link to a couple of RailFanLandon YouTube videos of the Hamilton Northwestern in action to get the thread back on track. Lol

Note: these photos are cropped and I am not trespassing.
Here are the links to the videos I hope you enjoy them and please remember to like share and subscribe.
https://youtu.be/Wk3KnjKkvxU?si=33IS50IYU9d90li6
https://youtu.be/wQHLZS_FtcE?si=976cttPVzR4HyNJb

[MQT1223]

All of this apple talk and conversation is absolutely fascinating however it really has nothing to do with the Hamilton Northwestern at this point unless they start transloading apples or apple based products. So I’m going to post these photos of the HNW at the Keystone facility in Hamilton Michigan and a link to a couple of RailFanLandon YouTube videos of the Hamilton Northwestern in action to get the thread back on track. Lol
59B3CCF8-B8CB-4470-AEA9-5B16331CD173.jpeg
49996427-2007-44BB-938F-646C62D064B2.jpeg

Here are the links to the videos I hope you enjoy them and please remember to like share and subscribe.
https://youtu.be/Wk3KnjKkvxU?si=33IS50IYU9d90li6
https://youtu.be/wQHLZS_FtcE?si=976cttPVzR4HyNJb

Here's a couple of mine as well. The first video features our own SD80MAC and his skills on display handling a loaded 9 car train for Hamilton with a single MP15. He put on quite a show that day! The other video shows the inaugural operation of the HNW on the day they took over from CSX.

https://youtu.be/xTMXZrWXGzo
https://youtu.be/hgSzTWkoGlA