Finally Caught a UP Autorack heading East through Marengo

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw2suBe-9YM

Heard it coming while cleaning off my car. Its quite a snowstorm.

2

AN ALCO UNIT ON THE POINT??? LOL

3

Nah, point is a GP15-1, UPY 700

4

Definately a two pack a day habit.

5

I presume the train was coming from Belvidere. Have you heard anything about the status of things there? I heard a rumor about cutbacks beyond the one-shift layoff that had been announced.

6

Yeah, I heard that they will be shutting down the whole plant, temporarily, due to a supply chain issue. They cancelled an order with a supplier, which put the supplier into banktruptcy. I haven’t figured out why they did that.

7

There is definitely something about snow and fast moving trains.

8

An 11 car auto train, that is a model railroader’s dream. I take it that was an ABEBE or ABEBEB.

9

All the times I have crossed that line in Marengo and along rt 20 to Rockford and never seen a train. The UP must run to Belvidere at night. I have also been to IRM at Union many times and never a train on that line. Have to agree there is someting about trains and snow.

10

Usually there is a westbound at 5:45am every day as well as approximately 6pm and 9:15pm eastbounds. All told there seems to be 2 trains each way every day. Normally I am at work, so there may be more that I just haven’t ever caught.

11

My understanding was that the parts company declared bankruptcy first, which led to the closures. From ABC News:

Chrysler temporarily closing 4 plants

Monday , February 04, 2008 Posted: 01:55 PM

DETROIT (AP) - Chrysler plans temporarily to close four assembly plants and will shut down one shift at another. The automaker is reacting to the bankruptcy filing of one of its plastic parts suppliers.

About 10,500 Chrysler employees will be affected. Chrysler says the plants are in Sterling Heights, Michigan; Newark, Delaware; Toledo, Ohio, and the Belvidere plant in Rockford, Illinois.

The planned closings are the result of Dearborn, Michigan-based Plastech Engineered Products’ bankruptcy filing last week.

Plastech has 36 facilities and 7,600 employees in the United States and Canada.

The company makes engine covers, grill panels, moldings, metal stampings, door panels, floor consoles and safety restraint system components for Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Toyota, according to the part supplier’s Web site.

Mike