New Honda Plant update!!!

[Bob]

A CSX crew started unloading the rail today, pulling it off the train with bulldozers.  Not sure if they finished today.  At the rate they were moving I am guessing they didn't.  The bulldozers are behind the "great wall" so there isn't much to see.  With all of the rail work CSX announced a few months ago, I am surprised CIND was able to get this equipment and crew.

According to a guy working at the new substation northwest of Honda, the transformer, which around 2:00PM was still sitting by the street dept. in Greensburg, is not related to Honda.  It is supposed to replace a defective unit in Napolean.  It will be trucked there on Thursday or Friday of this week.  The transformer for the new substation is going to be a higher voltage unit and he believes it is supposed to arrive in August.

A large amount of earth work happening today.  Looked like almost all of the heavy equipment was running (other times I was at the site it seemed to be either scrapers or backhoes and dump trucks).  They are moving a lot of dirt from a pond on the north side to the area which will host the ramp tracks (or the lot for finished product?).  Still no progress on the mainline grade at the north end of the property.

[scraphauler]

Drove past there today on my way back from Indy airport.  Welded rail train is now empty - the CSXT trucks where just packing up around 4PM (Wednesday 5/30)

[INprinter]

So, is all of that nice rail just laying there on the ground or did it turned into something useful?

[KM9X]

I thouhgt i would post two more old pics I had saved from somewhere, Greensburg rail yard in the old days. The big structure was called a coal tower, but that doesnt seem right. wonder if theyw ere hauling in gravel from Harris City or other quarrys and loading it out?
I dont find any other good interurban pics but the one real old one here, you can barely see the rails in the dirt!
Dan
http://km9x.tripod.com
km9x@earthlink.net

[Coach]

They cleared a lot of brush & dirt yesterday along the railroad between Vandalia & Hwy #3 in Greensburg for the new water main heading to Honda.

[CIOR]

Thats a Coal tower, remember they also had the tie in of the Louisville line too.  Greensburg would have been that midway point.

[scraphauler]

Dan -that coal tower in your pic is just a little east (toward town) of where the branch out to Lowes Pellets & Grain breaks off the main behind the car wash on 46.  Several of the yard tracks and the foundations for the coal tower and other structures survived into the 80's and where cleaned up by Conrail.

[KM9X]

That large electrical equipment that was on the special car near the street department is gone. The car is still sitting there on the main line. Bet they wish the old sidings were still here. Of course, several were where the Pd and Jail are now! Looks like some sidings will be needed somewhere on this line besides Sunman.
dan

[Bob]

Here is some more detailed info on the coaling tower at Greensburg
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Erailroad_towers_railroadmania/coal_towers_steam_locomotives/GreensburgIndianaCoalTower.html

Another pic of the tower from the opposite direction (w/train)
http://madisonrails.railfan.net/vgr/coal_550.jpg

A map of the former yard at Greensburg
http://madisonrails.railfan.net/nycshs/grnbrg.gif

[Bob]

Following are some pics of the transformer move on 6/1.

Positioning the trailer.

[Bob]

The transformer was loaded onto the trail by jacking it, then inserting a track underneath it and sliding it onto the trailer.  Cribbing was placed between the car and trailer to hold the track up.  Once on the trailer, jacks were used to lower it onto the bed.

[Bob]

Backing the trailer onto Monfort St.

[Bob]

Backing across Main St.  That guy riding on the corner of the trailer in the previous pic controls the height of the wheels and can also steer them.  This bad boy has 96 wheels.  When they drive it into the Firestone tire center for new rubber, I can only imagine the look their faces 


 

[Bob]

Heading out South 421 for Napolean.

[Bob]

A crew was working on the tracks at Honda yesterday in the area where they currently end (a little north of the CWR cars).  Except for the crew unloading the rail on Tuesday, no one appeared to be working on the tracks earlier in the week.  Earth moving is progressing on the west side of the property, in the area of the new mainline and ramp tracks.  A guy from Poindexter (I think) was inspecting the area along the tracks at the north end of the property.

[KM9X]

Great pics on that transformer move and detailing another use for the rail line!
Great information on the coal tower.. wow a piece of history and I would have never found that if it wasnt posted. Great job!
The eastbound tain went past the PD about 9pm Sat night and had a few grains cars, 1 gon I think, and that special car that had the transformer, and all the welded rail cars that were at Honda.. all headed back east.  Had a crossing light/arm malfunction reproted to us, called into the RR.
Maybe another load will come west to Honda next week.  I'll be working nights most of next week too...
Reporting from trackside(and I do mean trackside- our window is feet from the track!)
Dan 

[Bob]

The protection at both the hwy 3 and hwy 46 crossings are both malfunctioning.  The hwy 3 signals were completely out so the crew put fusees in the road.  On hwy 46, the signals didn't trigger until after the locomotive was already crossing the road.  Apparently the crew was aware of this and crept up to the crossing slowly.  Below is the train crossing hwy 3.

[scraphauler]

The gantry crane in Bob's pic as well as the unloading car permanently coupled to it where shoved back to Vandalia Road after this pic was taken and currently set there awaiting the return of a loaded railtrain.  I was told rail is loading at SDI in Arcola IN on CFE (didn't know SDI had a rail mill).  IF that is the case, look for loaded train to return toward end of week or early next week.

[KEITH_HARRIS]

SCRAPHAULER, THE SDI RAILMILL IS A RECENT ADDITION. I THINK NS SERVICES SDI. SOME OF THE FT. WAYNE BUNCH CAN GIVE A MORE UP TO DATE IDEA ON THE OPERATION. I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE AREA FOR 8 YEARS NOW AND HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAY OUT SINCE SEPTEMBER OF '05.. THEY WERE JUST STARTING THE RAILMILL AT THAT TIME. TRAINS MAGAZINE DID AN ARTICLE ON THEM.

KEITH

[Bob]

In reference to the two cars mentioned in scraphauler's last post, they pulled the whole rail train from Honda, pushed those two cars and the gondola into the siding behind (former) Greensburg Milling, pushed the rest of the rail train onto the track going to Lowe's, then grabbed those two cars and pushed them back out to Honda.  All this just to get that one gondola (or so that they could leave those two cars).  Luckily, diesel fuel is cheap 

Security guy says earth moving at Honda will go to one shift on June 15th.

There are a few construction projects that I was wondering about (had not seen them in any of the plans).  Anybody know what they are building here:
1. The big excavation just south of I74 and west of Moscow Rd.
2. Where 421 is being kinked to the west to accomodate the new interchange, it looked like they were putting in foundations for a building inside the kink, just northwest of the last building (when heading northwest) on the southwest side of 421.
3. Between 421 and I74, north of where they are building the new bridge across the interstate and just south of the water tower.  Almost looked like they were grading for building.

The wrong way to move a transformer:  http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18557