Unfortunately, I don't know exactly. I'm just going by what I've read off newsgroups and what not. I would have loved to have followed the line better the past few years, but between job layoffs and where I'm at right now trying to get back on track, getting up there more often just hasn't been possible.
What I don't understand though, is that they seemed to have enough business to at least keep the track to United @ Eldora. (Unless for some reason the plastics plant couldn't send/receive cars at all off the CN line.) But again, perhaps that comes down again to the mentality that they really only intended to purchase the line for salvage value and to serve the plant only.
I think we've gone way off topic in this thread... probably best to move this part of the conversation elsewhere. Sorry about that MG. I didn't mean to steal your thunder.
No Problem.
From what I remember of the STB filings United Suppliers (fertilizer manufacturer) in 2008-10 held steady to dropped in carload freight (tanks). Eldora Plastics increased slowly (covered hoppers of plastic pellets as I recall). The Union Elevator I think was steady to dropping some. FS Albion went from 0 to making up any drop in US's and the Union Coop's business. I think they called total carloads on the abandonded section steady over 2008-2010. What the STB commented on was 2011 business was not included, they wondered about that since the filing came in 2012 and 2011 data would have been available. There was a flurry of traffic for the last couple of months before the track embargo in Dec of 2011 so I'm assuming the 2011 data would have showed a nice increase in carloads because United Suppliers, Eldora Plastics and FS were making sure they had full tanks while they had the chance, maybe the increase was longer/larger than that and that wouldn't bode well for an abandonment but that's speculation on my part. As I recall it was also United Suppliers that made the loudest stink in the media that they would be closing in Eldora because of the loss of rail service too, and their siding was the first one pulled to my knowledge. Before Liscomb and Albion (by the old depot location).
I wouldn't see any reason why the couldn't switch US or EP from the CN side, they'd have facing point switches at both US and EP but their was a nice double ended siding in Eldora by the county shed that they could have used for a run around and pushed to US and EP. It's alot shorter run than Liscomb to Marshalltown and they made that push at times. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2604288 That pic looks like tanks for United Suppliers to me going south through Eldora. If they came from Marshalltown they could just backed them in the siding on 3004's way north. It's a trailing point switch moving north, they'd have no reason to go into Eldora itself if they came from Marshalltown. I think you are right about the mentality of the ownership. I haven't researched it but I do hear the scrapper owner has a history of investing in lines and saying he's gonna replace ties and improve the line. He doesn't invest in infastructure(ties) and gets scrapping rights (either the contract or a increased percentage than his ownership %) as part of investing. He doesn't have an interest in growing the line's business. His interest is in scrapping IMHO.
Dan Sabin is a smart man and tries hard to drum up business and runs a good outfit. Either he saw something we didn't(which wouldn't be hard for me anyway 
), he had too much other stuff on his plate (Belmond to Forest City) or IARR ownership was bound and determined not to sell. I would have loved to see the IANR running that line, they could have made it work if anyone could.
