A Train and Its Freight (M-BAPC-15)

While in the layout room working on content for my Mid April post (coming soon), I decide to change things for you the reader. In this post we are going to take a look at a train and explore in detail about each locomotive and carload of freight. Railroads exist to haul goods, so let's explore that more shall we.

M-BAPC-15

Manifest Bay City (Bay Yard to Port Huron CN Canada that originated on April 15th, 2016.)

- This is a unique manifest that runs twice weekly with traffic destined purely for CN interchange to Canada and New England. This is due to the interchange connection timing on the CN. The rest of the week all CN traffic rides the M-BAPH or Q-GRPH.

2 locomotives (6,000hp)

 11 Railcars ( 10 Loads / 1 Empty)

    MCIS 4052 (EMD SD40-2 3,000hp)

  MCIS 4059 (EMD SD40M-2 3,000hp)

RBOX43689 - loaded corrugated board

Origin: Mackinac City, Michigan

Destination: Brunswick, Maine

BNSF727059 - loaded aluminum ingots

Origin: Spokane, Washington

Destination: Oshawa, Ontario

GACX47801 - loaded sugar

Origin: Upper Huron, Michigan

Destination: Aurburn, Maine

WCOX7440 - loaded corn

Origin: Bay City, Michigan

Destination: Buffalo, New York

CN406569 - loaded paper rolls

Origin: Charlevoix, Michigan

Destination: Drummondville, Quebec

CGEX1147 - loaded soybeans

Origin: Grays Lake, Michigan

Destination: Burlington, Vermont

MCIS9320 - loaded malt barley

Origin: Gerhard, Michigan

Destination: Hailfax, Nova Scotia

MCIS7940 - loaded paper rolls

Origin: Charlevoix, Michigan

Destination: Toronto, Ontario

MCIS7943 - loaded paper rolls

Origin: Charlevoix, Michigan

Destination: Toronto, Ontario

MCIS5344 - loaded corrugated board

Origin: Mackinac City, Michigan

Destination: Woodsville, Maine

NS469806 - empty reverse route

Origin: Mackinac City, Michigan

Destination: Ayer, Masachusetts 

As you can see by each car the primary commodities on this train happen to be paper products and agricultural. Locals out of Bay City along with trains from Mackinac City help feed this eastbound flow. Depending on the connection and day of week, the train may be more tankcars and covered hoppers then the very present boxcar we see. This is prototypical practice as days of week, season, and industry demand all drive what you see on railroads. As modelers we can all represent this on our own layouts whether big or small. The key is establishing the purpose of your railroad and building the story around it. Hope you have enjoyed this type of post. Feel free to let me know your thoughts, and I can look to plan to them throughout the year. 

Have a great weekend!

GM