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Re: (erielack) FW: CNJ - EL Coke Trains from Overseas

As I recall, we got quite a few of them in early 1975.  They were delivered to the DT&I at SJ Tower Lima.  The interchange was in the NW quadrant so we had to back the trains into the interchange and if I recall correctly the DT&I had to meet us.  I do remember that the interchange was too small to hold the train which is why I'm pretty sure they had to meet us.  The problem we ran into this move was the usual one of capacity.  The trains came too fast and the DT&I couldn't take them as fast as the EL could get them there.  I think that was more due to the steel company not being able to handle it all that quickly.  I'm pretty sure that the DT&I was taking them up to Zug Island. 
 
Anyway, we run them Kent to Marion with a regular Kent Division crew and then ran Marion to Lima with a east end Huntington crew and then deadheaded the crew to Huntington.  I'm not going to say it didn't happen, but I don't recall getting the empties back in unit trains. 
 
We started having to park them all over the place.  I know we had one sitting in one of the valuable C Yard receiving trakcs for quite some time.  And that was a real problem given there were only three tracks in C Yard.  I also remember getting into an argument with some one in the EL power desk at Cleveland.  He was moaning about getting deqadhead cabooses out of Marion because he needed them to run the coke trains out of the east.  At the same time we had at least two parked on the division so I questioned what the hell was the big rush.  Cause I sure knew I didn't want any more of the damn things till we got rid of the ones we had.  Too bad the EL couldn't have gotten more of this type of business on a steady basis. 
Keith Robbins
 
 
- -----Original Message-----
From: Smtimko_@_aol.com
To: erielack_@_lists.elhts.org; ShepRail@aol.com; paultup@comcast.net
Cc: KRinMich_@_aol.com
Sent: Sun, 6 May 2007 2:03 PM
Subject: Re: (erielack) FW: CNJ - EL Coke Trains from Overseas


It's always good to hear from Bill with valuable input such as provided here on the coke going to River Rouge.
 
In addition to what Paul B says about National Steel and Great Lakes Steel, we also have Ford Motor Company's huge River Rouge Steel Plant to consider.
 
On the EL, many extra trains were prefixed by the two-letter symbol of the destination, such as a unit coal train for Buffalo would be a BX, a solid switch train for Meadville would be an HFX, etc.
 
I previously noted that I did not recall the coke train operating over the Mahoning Division, and I'll stand by that---I don't recall them.  That does not mean that they did not operate over here.  
 
The information provided to date begs to make one think that they trains were few, and did in fact operate via Meadville-Kent and if the destination was River Rouge, perhaps they were routed via Creston-N&W, thus the SEX symbol, SE for Creston and X for extra.
 
Keith Robbins----your input?????
 
SMT






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