We spent the weekend in TC, Michigan and while there are railroad tracks in the area....including Cadillac, no trains or activity were spotted.
Staying in Cadillac Thursday night, we did spot a Sperry truck at a motel.
What railroads operate in the upper part of the lower penisula? What kind of traffic base is there? The tracks appeared to be in decent shape...no weeds and fairly well ballasted....just no sidings or industry tracks to speak of.
Ed
Whatever the current name of the Detroit & Mackinac is, operates into Gaylord. I don't think there is much of anything in the northwestern lower peninsula. I believe there is a decent sized plywood mill there. Near Alpena, there are a couple of large limestone/gypsum pit mines. I don't know how much is shipped by rail. Most goes out by boat (Great Lakes ship).
I live in Cadillac. The railroad thru Cadillac and Traverse city is the Great Lakes Central. It is a combination of the ex-Ann Arbor and GR&I/PRR/CR. GLC's portion of the Ann Arbor goes from its namesake city to the Yuma sand quarry about 20 miles NW of Cadillac. The covered hoppers of foundry sand are the main reason the line was saved by the state. I was worried when a new sand pit owner closed Yuma, but it has recently re-opened.
At Cadillac the line connects with the former PRR line to Mackinaw City, which has been cut back to Petosky. There is also the branch to Traverse City, which "T"s into a stub of a PM/C&O line a few miles in each direction to Grawn and Williamsburg. The segment to Grawn lost its (only?) costomer, a fruit packing plant. Near W'burg there is a building materials supply. In the Cadillac area there is coke unloading for area foundries, and a utility pole mill/yard. Not sure if they are using the potash loading facility. I beleive there is still some propane and cement business north of Cadillac. As far as I know, all these lines are still state owned, having been saved from abandonment. Both of these lines used to end at car ferries, but the ferries shut down in the early 80s.
Generally there is a daily train south of Cadillac. It generally turns at Clare, where it meets a northbound from Owosso. The line north of Cadillac is serviced as needed.
He's looking at the GLC/Great Lakes Central Railway made up of the old PC/T&SB....the railroad next door to the east at Gaylord is the Lake States Railway (old Detroit & Mackinac) which is thriving while GLC is just surviving.
Here is the Michigan rail map:
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/Michigan_Rail_430289_7.pdf
The other nice thing about Cadillac is that we get a visit from PM #1225 or NKP #765 about every other year. There is a wye to turn the locos. The big steamers are limited from going much further north of town by the Manistee River bridge. There are also diesel excursions a couple or so times per year, often in fall color season.
My son moved up to TC in May and we will be making trips up there from time to time. Nice country. TC is a money town, no doubt...at least in summer. I asked him about trains, he hadnt seen one all summer.
Wander through Grayling on LSRC coming or going to TC...
I would guess the TC branch is hurting since the fruit packing plant shut down. Every so often a passenger advocacy group will have a public meeting to try to gin up support for a Detroit-TC passenger train. While the state supports 3 different Amtrak corridors on downstate mainlines, it's hard to see that they would ever upgrade the tracks to TC for passenger speeds.
An alternate route to TC would be US 31 along the Lake Michigan shore. You pass Ludington and Manistee, where chemical plants and a paper mill support Marquette Rail. Ludington also has the coal fired Badger former car ferry, which still carries rubber tired cars.
The basically once a week run from Cadillac to TC usually consists of 2 gp38s or a gp38 and a gp35 and one to three cars of wood for the local lumber yard. It leaves town at about 3 miles an hour along Parsons Road and then right along US31 through Acme. The lumber yard is about 3 miles east on 72. It takes probably 2 1/2 hours to come into town, move the engines to the east end, switch the lumber yard and get out of town. Maybe a total of ten miles. Last week we had a stealth sd40 painted light gray with no markings. All other Great Lakes cemtral engines are medium blue in color.
Backshop Near Alpena, there are a couple of large limestone/gypsum pit mines. I don't know how much is shipped by rail. Most goes out by boat (Great Lakes ship).
Near Alpena, there are a couple of large limestone/gypsum pit mines. I don't know how much is shipped by rail. Most goes out by boat (Great Lakes ship).
Lake State Railroad runs trains from Alpena, I believe they carry limestone. Former Chessie system track.
Entropy, Chessie (oe any predecessors) went nowhere near Alpena. The Lake State Railway is the successor to the Detroit & Mackinac, whose original main line went from Bay City beyond Alpena up the shore to Cheboygan.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Entropy Backshop Near Alpena, there are a couple of large limestone/gypsum pit mines. I don't know how much is shipped by rail. Most goes out by boat (Great Lakes ship). Lake State Railroad runs trains from Alpena, I believe they carry limestone. Former Chessie system track.
The line is former Detroit & Mackinac. I hear they also carry fly ash for the cement plant.
The old passenger depot in TC is worth a visit. It is now the Filling Station brewery and restaurant but retains some of the character of the original building. BTW, the brewery got its name from being first located in an old filling station about a half-mile to the west - worth viewing if you are into art deco buildings.
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