I was passing by the Southern Michigan Railroad Society Museum in Clinton when I spotted this futuristic looking two-toned blue locomotive. It reminded me of the cars in the late 50s. Built in 1960, the GMDH-3 was an experimental diesel-hydraulic switching locomotive by General Motors Diesel of Canada. It definitely stands out among the other railroad locomotives that I have seen. It looks like it was influenced by the space race although it is missing the tail fins that were prominent on the back of so many cars in the 50s. You can learn more about the Southern Michigan Railroad Society at their website HERE. 

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This beautiful wooden depot in Lake Odessa was built in 1888.  The depot was originally the property of the Detroit, Lansing, and Northern Railroad and eventually become part of the C&O Railroad. The depot served Lake Odessa for over 82 years until the last tickets were sold to passengers in 1971. The building unique because it is the only Russian Ornate-style depot in the state of Michigan. In 1987 the railroad sold the depot to the historical society which uses it as a museum.

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Michigan has a few train depots with a cone-shaped roof but the most well known one is called “The Witch’s Hat Depot.” It proudly stands in South Lyon. It is no longer used for passengers to ride the rais but is a historical museum. The historical marker next to it reads:

In the late nineteenth century, the community of South Lyon was served by three rail lines operating from the 1871 Pere Marquette depot, which burned in 1908. By the time this one-story Queen Anne depot was erected by the Grand Trunk Western railroad system in 1909, only two lines came to South Lyon. Featuring a rounded front and a conical roof, the wood-frame structure served as a passenger station until 1955. The City of South Lyon acquired the depot in 1975 and in 1976 moved it to this site. In 1981 the station began its service as the Witch’s Hat Depot Museum and community center.

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This steam powered locomotive sits in Sportsmans Park in East Jordan. It was relocated by truck to the park from downtown in 2017.  The locomotive pulled train cars for the East Jordan & Southern Railroad. It was started in 1901 to haul logs to sawmills in Bellaire. After the timber was gone it hauled material for the East Jordan Ironworks. By 1962 the foundry no longer used the railroad and the rail line ended. The old locomotive is spending its retirement in Sportsmans Park.

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This depot and substation in downtown Coopersville served the Grand Rapids, Grand Haven & Muskegon Railway, an electric interurban railroad that operated from 1902 to 1928. The train was powered by electricity and a third rail provided power in the country.  Overhead wires were used in cities and the tower next to the depot housed the power equipment and supported the overhead wires that came out of the top of the tower.  Frequent runs made travel possible between cities and outlying communities. The rising popularity of automobiles resulted in the decline of interurbans. The depot is now used as a historical museum.

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The Ann Arbor Rail Depot, located in the town of Shepherd near Mt Pleasant, was originally built in the early 1890’s and served the Shepherd area until the early 1960’s when the cost of rail shipping just could not compete with the trucking industry and passenger travel by rail had been long gone and given way to the automobile. The Chamber of Commerce purchased the building from the Ann Arbor railroad with the goal of restoring the building to its original condition. Over the past ten years the committee has been able to obtain several pieces of railroad history for display at the depot. Including and Ann Arbor Railroad caboose and Engine.

I also found this old photo of the train depot, I wonder where the people were going to?

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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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