Huron and Eastern Railway
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Vassar, Michigan |
| Reporting mark | HESR |
| Locale | Michigan |
| Dates of operation | 1986–present |
| Predecessor | Chesapeake and Ohio, CSX, Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway , Central Michigan, Saginaw Valley |
| Technical | |
| Length | 384 miles (618 km) |
Huron and Eastern Saginaw Valley Railway (reporting mark HESR) or more commonly known as Huron & Eastern is a short line railroad operating 384 miles (618 km) [1] of track[2] in The Thumb of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is one of many shortlines owned by Rail America, and was the first railroad owned by the conglomerate.[3]
HESR began operations in 1986,[2] over 83 miles of former Chesapeake and Ohio track in Michigan's thumb area. This track served areas in Huron and Sanilac Counties, roughly between Bad Axe and Croswell, with a few spurs to outlying small towns. On December 22, 1988, HESR acquired CSX Transportation's Bad Axe Subdivision between Saginaw and Bad Axe. On January 22, 1991, HESR again added more track to its system, acquiring a cluster of former Penn Central lines from the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway. This new track crossed the current HESR track in Reese, and allowed the HESR to now serve Vassar and Caro, among other towns. On April 30, 1998, HESR purchased CSX's Port Huron Subdivision from Saginaw to Brown City. The line beyond Brown City is still in place to Avoca, but has been out of service since the HESR acquisition.[4]
On January 26, 2004, HESR again increased in size with the acquisition of the Central Michigan Railroad[5], allowing the HESR to reach Bay City and Midland, as well as interchange with Class I Canadian National in Durand. Other than the abandonment of track between Richville and Saginaw (HESR had three parallel lines into Saginaw from the east), HESR has abandoned very little track.
HESR interchanges with Class I railroad Canadian National in Durand and shortlines Lake State Railway (including subsidiary Saginaw Bay Southern) in Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland and Great Lakes Central Railroad in Durand and Owosso.
The railroad's traffic comes largely from agricultural products, as well as industrial goods such as cement, fly ash, and chemicals. The HESR hauled around 34,000 carloads in 2008.[2]
References
- ^ http://www.railamerica.com/RailServices/HESR.aspx
- ^ a b c "RailAmerica's Empire". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. June 2010.
- ^ "RailAmerica restarts its engines". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. June 2010.
- ^ [1] http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/RRHXHome.htm
- ^ [2] http://www.thefreelibrary.com/RailAmerica+Completes+Acquisition+of+Central+Michigan+Railway+Company-a0112545410
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