Yearly BNSF coal train, Plymouth, MI

[CBT]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any information on the yearly BNSF coal train that is ran through Plymouth, MI. I would like to catch it since foreign power there is very rare

Thanks,

       Chris 

[blhanel]

Maybe that's the one that was noted yesterday on the Rochelle thread...

http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/231186.aspx?page=60#2885273

[CShaveRR]

More likely it was a Consumers Energy train headed for the plant in Essexville (near Bay City).  I'm assuming "yearly" is facietious, but I understand that those have gotten rarer.

Was it loads coming from the south and headed north (for the uninitiated, one can go to or from any of the four directions at Plymouth, so what sounds like it's overelaborative really isn't).  The BNSF power sounds very typical for those trains, and they probably have aluminum (or black-coated aluminum) gondolas with yellow-green rotary-coupler ends.  

[CBT]

Thanks, I have never seen it so i dont know what it looks like. Here is a video of it going through plymouth in 2010:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTBXBI6jNEU

And here is it going through durand michigan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYM8rbHVhEo

Thanks again,

              Chris

[Norm48327]

I'm going to guess that both are CSX trains with BNSF power (power by the hour).

The one in Plymouth is on CSX tracks and could  be going to West Olive or to LSRC at Flint. The one In Durand is headed south on the CN Holly sub.

CN did have the contract to deliver eastern coal to HESR for a time. Both likely came up from CSX at Toledo. CPOX reporting marks were on some of the cars and that says they would be going to or coming from Consumers Power plant near Bay City or West Olive.

[CShaveRR]

Norm, the West Olive trains come up diretly from Chicago, even tackling the grade between New Richmond and East Saugatuck.  Were they to take the old B&O east to Toledo, they'd be making a curve at Plymouth.

The train at Durand is going the low-speed route over a pair of OWLS diamonds.

[Norm48327]

Carl, That would be Powder river coal coming from Chicago. Not sure if West Olive still gets some eastern coal but they used to go through Plymouth. CN delivers western coal to DTE plants near detroit, and it comes through Durand but does not cross that diamond. It makes the turn from the Flint sub to the Holly on what is called the Chicago wye. Not sure about the date of the video showing it crossing the diamond. Haven't seen coal empties southbond on the Holly in ages.

As an aside, I took photos of the OWLS diamond being installed in 09.

[Electroliner 1935]

Saw the train (emptys I assume) this morning (11:10 AM) on the BNSF heading West through Westmont IL. DPOX reporting marks. And mostly green rotary coupler paint markings.

[CBT]

Thanks guys, just really trying to catch it!!

[admiral]

Summertime coal trains in Michigan are kind of rare.  Most of the powerplants are located on navigable waterways, and are supplied by lakes freighters.  CN owns the Interlake Steamship Company which has a fleet of 6 ships in it's own name, including 3 "1000 footers".  The flag ship, M/V Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest on the lakes at 1013 feet.  There are also 4 other ships under a couple of divisions of the company, one of which is the first "1000 footer" ever built, the M/V Sterwart J. Cort.  CN brings the coal to the Duluth, Minnesota harbor, where it is loaded into the ships, which then take it to various powerplants around the great lakes system.  If electricity demands outstrip the supply of coal that the ships can deliver, then you may see an occasional coal train to make up the difference.  Another factor is that DTE Energy (formerly Detroit Edison) was forced by the government to shut down 3 smaller, "inefficient", coal fired powerplants earlier this year.