Shortline/Regional Railnews
Ann Arbor Heritage on Watco Lines
Former Ann Arbor GP38 No. 7802 was repainted by Watco in late June into an orange paint scheme similar to what it previously wore as a tribute to the venerable short line operation. Watco took ownership of the Ann Arbor in January 2013. WAMX No. 3879 leads a long cut of auto racks out of Ann Arbor’s Ottawa Yard in Toledo, Ohio, across Manhattan Boulevard on July 15, 2015.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL HARDING
CANADIAN SHORTLINES GLENN COURTNEY
Huron Central Railway
An eastbound train running from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury, Ont., derailed 15 cars loaded with steel in the Worthing- ton area of Sudbury on June 13. The line was closed until June 17. Leased locomo- tives NREX 3GS21B 2020 and SD40-2 5644 (former Canadian Pacific 5644) are still on the property but have not been used since some time in April.
Leased Power for CMQ
Three former Santa Fe GP35u loco- motives, 2540, 2561, and 2573, are be- ing leased by Central Maine & Quebec from Larry’s Truck & Electric. A pair of former Union Pacific SD40T-2s, PRLX 2856 and 2858, arrived on the property at the end of June.
IRON ORE ROADS DAVE SCHAUER
Missabe Power Paired in Proctor
A rare treat for Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range fans came in early July when CN assigned SD40T-3 403 and SD38-2 215 to work together as a switching set at Proc- tor Yard in northern Minnesota. Finding the last two DM&IR-painted and let- tered units operating together has been nearly impossible after CN removed the special air brake controls from 215 and permanently assigned it to switching duty at Proctor, where it has normally been teamed up with CN-painted sis- ters 211 and 212. The 403 retained its “straight air” and is used on ore trains
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RAILFAN.COM
where that special brake system is com- patible with DM&IR ore cars.
Bessemer Repaints
Bessemer & Lake Erie SD40T-3 901 arrived in northeastern Minnesota during the first week of July and was noted on Train L594 (Miscellaneous Road Freight) departing Two Harbors for Keenan. This unit had been in service on home rails until being replaced by Illinois Central SD70s earlier this year. While 901 was arriving in Minnesota, sister 903 departed former DM&IR rails for Quality Rail Services in Madison, Ill., for overhaul and likely repainting in CN colors. In early June B&LE 900 was released from QRS in fresh CN colors and was expected back in Minnesota where it had been assigned before being overhauled.
CN Operations
With mines in Minnesota operating at reduced capacity, Canadian National abolished Train L593 from Proctor to Keenan and is using a U730 “Thunderbird” crew and power set to run from Keenan to Proctor and return with freight traffic. This crew typically has a pair of former Chicago & North Western GE C40-8 locomotives for power. On days when a Thunderbird crew is not available, Trains L567/L568 handle this work.
CN has resumed seasonal moves of blast furnace trim (crushed raw taco- nite) from U.S. Steel’s Minntac mine to the port of Two Harbors. These 60-car moves are of interest in that they use the last remaining unmodified low-side “regular” DM&IR ore cars, most of which are over 60 years old.
Cliffs Natural Resources
In early June, CEFX AC4400CWs 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1016, and 1017 were noted on a dock in Montreal. These six had been leased by Cliffs to handle iron ore from the company’s Bloom Lake mine in eastern Canada, which is now shuttered. These units are similar to the eight leased by Cliffs for its Lake Supe- rior & Ishpeming operation in Michigan. The LS&I lease will expire in April 2016. In Upper Michigan, local interests are exploring costs and logistics to ship a substantial amount of remaining mag- netite ore from the closed Republic mine to the Cliffs-operated Empire mine for processing. One option is to relay seven miles of track on the former LS&I Re- public Subdivision to Humboldt where shortline Mineral Range would move the ore to a CN connection at Ishpeming. Empire is slated to close in early 2016 due to increasing costs to mine its ore body. This new source of ore might pro- long the life of the plant, which is served by CN and LS&I.
REGIONALS/SHORTLINES WEST GARLAND MCKEE
New Ethanol Facilty for Iowa
The city of Le Mars, Iowa, in partnership with the Burlington Junction Railway, completed an agreement on July 22 to welcome a new ethanol storage facility to be operated by Plymouth Energy. The five-year agreement includes an ease- ment to a vacant lot in the city’s indus- trial park. The new facility will have a capacity of 300,000 gallons, trucked in
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