Today while traveling home from Kenosha on HWY-31 back home to Racine I saw the UP Vulcan gravel trains parked down in Kenosha off of HWY-31 by the power plant, I have seen these trains all the time but never really gave it much thought until today. Can anybody give me an overview of the operation, like how many trains a day and where do they go to or come from? How many more years can they even get rock out of the Racine Ives quarry location?? That quarry has been there for years and years. I also thought that I read in another post that the Bain Farm sub was for sale by the KCS, so are the rock trains going bye-bye[?]
The trains run usually 2 round trips in summer, 1 in winter. After leaving Ives, they most often alternate destinations (one trip unloading at Bain, the return trip unloading at Upton, IL)
Two GP60s are the most common power, but sometimes a third unit is added. Trains are between 27 and 30 cars in length, with 28 (I think) being the average.
Finally, the Farm Sub (UP Kenosha Industrial Lead) is not for sale by KCS; that’s just the largely-abandoned Farm Yard in the middle of the city. (not the main line)
Are there any good spots in that area that you can do some spotting without getting interviewed by the local police? Hey gluefinger has there been any patched C&NW power doing these runs lately? Boy would I like to see that[dinner] I’m heading back down to Kenosha tonight, so maybe time permitting I will take a gander over there. I’m guessing they must run after dark since I only see Vulcan cars parked off of 3 Mile Rd. in Racine and never any motive power around. Does anybody know how long this operation has been going on for, is this a new operation or has this been going on for years now right in front of my eyes and I just never saw this until recently[X-)]
I would guess they started in the mid 90’s. I too would see the cars parked by the quarry but I never saw a train actually moving or with engines coupled onto it. I moved away in 2000 and I will check withh friends in Racine and see what I can find out.
Well as luck usually seems to have it I had no luck spotting tonight[banghead] All I saw was the red and faded red/pink Vulcan cars down at the offload facility in Kenosha, but did manage to see a UP coal train heading to the power plant. Went down by the bike trail on 3 Mile Rd. and only saw the Vulcan cars. Maybe they are running less because of the holidays?? Does anybody know how many more years they can pull rock out of the Ives facility before it fills with water?
A friend of mine works at the hardware store on Douglas Ave. He works there part time and he says he has heard the train rolling by in the evenings while he is at the store.
As for how long the quarry will last, that is tough to say. They have moved back away from the both Charles Ave. and from 4 Mile Rd. The fencing and high weeds provide a view block and it is hard to judge where they are at in terms of digging. I lived up off 4 1/2 Mile Rd for 14 years and we would hear the blasting from time to time. The people around the quarry on Charles would raise cain with the noise, dust and some damage for the shock/concussion of the blast.
The company tried to buy some undeveloped land next to the quarry around Charles Ave. and the homeowners over there took that to court years ago.
They are forever pumping water as the water table in that area is quite high. When digging a footer for a foundation for a home in that area. You can watch the water seep into the area for the footer. That is only digging about 9 to 10 feet from the surface.
With the new power plant going in in Oak Creek. That will generate a lot more coal traffic up that way. They are discussing a overpass over the tracks at 4 Mile Rd, near the post office. There is a poosibility that Metra may run up to Milwaukee and use those tracks in the future. That line was down to just coal traffic and an occassional mixed freight train. It now seems to becoming a more active line again.
The circus train when they still used diesel engines to assist the steam engine came up to Milwaukee on that line.
I could see 4 Mile Rd getting an overpass its getting so built up over there even 3 Mile Rd could use an overpass. Glad to hear its becoming a pouplar line again. I think the line is part of the Kenosha sub? There is talk that in a few years there will be 14 daily commuter trips on that line so that will really get things hopping once again. I wonder if there is second the decision back in the late 80’s of taking out one of the mains and making it single track?
We had a nice little discussion about this operation over on The Fuzzy World 3um – linky (scroll down to the fourth message for the rock discussion)…
Oh, zardoz, you are mistaken – they are GP60s, though an occasional GP38/39(-2) will appear on the trains, and possibly a GP15-1 as well. Also, you’ve got the reporting marks wrong – no Y!
Even with the new and upcoming activity on this line, keeping the second main wouldn’t have made any sense, as it still would have needed maintenance ($$), and would likely still need rebuilding for much of the KRM (not Metra, they’re an Illinois entity) commuter operations.
Trains swing onto the south leg of the wye from the Farm Sub and head there via the Milwaukee Sub. I believe the EJE also serves the Vulcan plant here, and that it’s visible from I-94 headed south.
A couple of days ago we shipped about twenty of the VULX hoppers from this operation to one of our eastern connections–apparently they are no longer needed up there (can they get by with twenty fewer cars?).
If they are shipping out cars to other areas does this mean its the end of the rock trains in this area? I figured they had to be close to getting as much rock as they could from the Ives quarry, they have been there forever.