This little old wooden depot served the town of Six Lakes. It is located between Alma and Newaygo at the junction of M-46 and M-66. It is named for (you guessed it) the six lakes that are nearby. It looks as if it has been a while since any trains have stopped at this old depot. The sign on it declares it is now a museum.
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The Millersberg train depot looks a little different than other depots in Michigan. While most are made using lumber or bricks this one is made with concrete blocks. The town of Millersberg not far from Onaway suffered from three major fires. In 1908 the Metz fire swept through the town. In 1911 a fire in the summer burned over 30 homes and destroyed half of downtown. In 1929, a fire destroyed seven buildings and three homes in downtown.
The original depot built in 1898 burned down in 1914. This concrete depot was constructed in 1917 and has stood for more then a decade. The railroad abandoned it in the 1980 but it now used by the historical society.
P.S. The old railroad bed is now used by snowmobilers, cyclists, and hikers. If you are in the area and need a bathroom, they have a nice one next to the depot.
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This faded and peeling yellow caboose sits quietly next to the historic water tower in Gant. I was told the caboose is where the conductor rode along with the brakeman. Modern technology made the brakeman’s job obsolete and the caboose was no longer needed. That is why you see so many cabooses ( or is it caboosi or caboosen or whatever the plural is for caboose) sitting in retirement around the state.
P.S. if you want to know more about the water tower you can see my post HERE
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This little red train depot sits in the small town of Sparta north of Grand Rapids. The historical marker proudly mounted to the side of it gives a little history and reads:
In 1888 the Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway (TS&M) built this depot. It was one of six constructed that year on the line between Muskegon and Ashley. The depot typifies country “combination-type” depots; it sheltered passengers, the station agent/telegrapher, and freight. In 1928 the TS&M became part of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. The building was vacated in the 1940s. In 1973 the West Michigan Railroad Historical Society purchased and restored the depot.
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I was in Grand Haven and I saw an enormous steam locomotive on display and my first thought was, ” that looks like the Polar Express” but I knew it wasn’t since the 1225 is in Owosso. I looked at the number and it was the Pere Marquette 1223. I wondered what holiday that was and looking on Wikipedia it says that December 23rd is Festivus. Maybe someday the old train will be restored to working order and I can air my grievances on the Festivus Express, I wonder what town it would go to on its journey.
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I took this photo from the other side of the tracks on a freezing cold Michigan evening, but I love the way the Durand Union station looks all decorated for the Holidays.
Built in 1903 by the Detroit firm of Spier and Rohns it had a high volume of rail traffic as the Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor railroads crossed in Durand. It was almost destroyed by fire in 1905, but quickly rebuilt. At its peak, 42 passenger, 22 mail, and 78 freight trains passed through Durand on a daily basis and it serviced almost 3,000 passengers a day.
In 1974, Grand Trunk Western decided to close the station due to declining traffic. The historic building was going to be torn down, however, the city of Durand filed for an injunction to stop the demolition and eventually purchased the station in 1979 for $1.00 and I think it was the best one dollar investment in the state of Michigan.
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The Pigeon Depot was constructed in 1908 and served two railroad lines. In 1883 the Pontiac, Oxford and Port Austin Railroad, a north-south line, had been extended to Caseville and a depot was built at Berne, one mile north of here. Around 1886 the Saginaw, Tuscola and Huron Railroad built tracks through the Tamarack Swamp and crossed the north-south line at this point. This railroad stop became known as Berne Junction. Berne’s population dwindled as people moved to the junction where they established Pigeon in 1888. The Pontiac, Oxford, and Port Austin Line became the Pontiac Oxford and Northern and later the Grand Trunk Railroad. The Saginaw, Tuscola and Huron was absorbed by the Pere Marquette Railroad and then the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The Pigeon Depot presently serves as the Pigeon Historical Society Museum.
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This steam locomotive sits in R.A. Greene Park in Jackson. The Grand Trunk Western 5030 was built in 1912 and proudly pulled train cars along Michigan’s railroad tracks for years. On June 5th, 1923 A train was commissioned to take the Knights Templars of Michigan to a Masonic convention in Flint. The 5030 picked up passengers in Grand Rapids, Ionia, and stops along the way. As it was traveling near Durand the gravel roadbed gave way and the train derailed killing the engineer and fireman and three other passengers. 32 other Knight Templars riding the train were injured.
The locomotive was repaired and continued riding the rails of Michigan. It traveled to Jackson on a regular basis and after it was retired from service in the 1950s it was donated to the city. It is surrounded by chain-link fence, probably to keep people from climbing on it, but it feels more like a caged animal to protect people from getting hurt.
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This beautifully restored depot is the third railroad depot to serve the community of Williamston. It proudly stands along Grand River Avenue away from the railroad tracks. That is because it was moved to its current location in the 1970s. It was built in 1892 and after passenger traffic ended the depot closed in 1962. Saved from the wrecking ball it has been converted into a museum and an office for the chamber of commerce.
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This old train station stands in St. Louis in the center of the mitten on the pine river. The town’s popularity grew in 1868 when two men drilling for salt, found mineral water instead. People came from all around to bathe in the water. The old train station is now used by the St Louis Historical Society.
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