CSX on Conrail Shared Assets

[atrainguy60]

Gotta question regarding traffic on the north end of CSA (north of Milwaukee Junction) - does CSX still run any trains up there to North Yard/Sterling? I recall years ago when I would pass through that area, I'd catch both CSX and NS trains on Sterling Secondary, and there'd be a thorough mix of both's power in the yard. Nowadays, the rare times I head down it's all NS, and it seems like when I see trip reports it's all NS power. Did NS basically take all the business up there for the time being, or does CSX still run at least occasional locals?

[David Collins]

No, they did away with that probably close to two decades ago. I don’t know why, as I was very young when both CSX/NS ran to Sterling, but I do have vivid recollections of seeing CSX standard cab Dash 8’s and SD60’s of all variants that CSX owned sitting in Sterling yard.

On one day in June this past summer, Sterling was full of power, barely any room for more. A CP heritage unit being one of them, this photo only shows the power in next to the factory. There were like 4 other units from two other railroads parked on the servicing track just north of the 17 mile bridge. I can’t recall the last time I had seen so many engines there other than the days that CSX ran up there.

[GP30M4216]

I think Q304/Q305 ran to and from North Yard via the Lincoln Secondary to someplace in Ohio. I recall seeing Q305 heading south at Delray and navigating Carbon Works heading for the Lincoln. This ended around 2008/2010 I think.

[Manistique]

When I last poked around the CSAO lines in Detroit about ten years ago it seemed that NS power handled the line from North Yard to Sterling Yard with the former DTRR line to the Jeep plant. And CSX power handled everything out of old Junction Yard (also known as Livernois Yard), including the former Belt Line from P-Company Jct. off of CSX's mainline and the short former DTRR stub to a steel company. I also only recall seeing CSX power at River Rouge Yard on the south side of town.

The way CSAO works is that it has its own crews and switch the joint trackage for both NS and CSX, who bid for the long haul from the CSAO shippers, using NS or CSX power. So CSX and NS must divvy up the three major Detroit sections as to where their power will be working and keep them together? Another mystery.

I wonder about the old Union Belt Railroad? Is that still a seperate company? It was run the same way as CSAO using the owner's (there were many of the Detroit railroads that owned it together) locomotives (and engine crews) and UBD supplying the ground crews. Who owns it now and who runs it?

[BnOEngr]

I ran in and out of SAA from Split Date until about 2003-2004, when I was on 304/305. That train ran Stanley to Sterling Heights daily. The job came off sometime after I got off of it and all the SAA cars from CSX were then handled through CSX Rougemere, because the Detroit Terminal Sup't wanted to improve his car counts...

Cars are delivered to/from Rougemere & Livernois, then SAA handles them north from there.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

Q304/305 went away in 2008 during the recession. They were formerly original Conrail STTO/TOST.

Q233/234 came in late 2010 when NS lost the Chrysler Hicube business to CSX. Then were cut back to Walbridge in 2013 when Hicube business switched back to NS.

D717 ran flatcars with frames for the Dodge Rams to North Yard from Plymouth. Frames now come from the NS and D717 would run to transfers cars from Plymouth to Rougemere and back.

Y122 would transfer Conrail cars from Rougemere to Livernois and back during the day.

Now Conrail jobs move cars for CSX to Rougemere and between the different yards.

The last time a CSX engine was reported on a Conrail Job was in 2016. CSX has faded away from the Conrail scene in Detroit just as they have been across Michigan.

[SD80MAC]

In June of 2013, I shot one of the 4400 series ex Conrail GP40-2s that CSX normally assigns to the Shared Assets at Sterling Yard along with the LV unit.

Heritage on Conrail by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

[BnOEngr]

A little trivia for the modelers, the Atlas Penn Central 2-bay covered hopper is the same road number as the sand car that was at Sterling Yard.

[atrainguy60]

Thanks everybody for the info!