I love this little red depot in the middle of downtown Dryden. It seems a little out of place but then after reading the Historical Marker in front of it, I know why.

here is what the sign reads:
This area now known as Dryden was settled in 1834. By 1880 it was a hamlet of about 300 people. A marketing center surrounded by rich farm land, it turned to the railroad to increase its prosperity. Its citizens, spurred by the Local Ladies Library Association, contributed $11,000 to help defer construction costs in order to bring the railroad to Dryden. On October 3, 1883, the Pontiac, Oxford, and Port Austin Railroad passenger train rolled into town. Over 500 spectators, the Thornville cornet band and a cannon were on hand to salute the train.

This modest board-and-batten structure was erected in 1883 as a depot on the Pontiac, Oxford and Port Austin Railroad (known as the Pollyann and later named Pontiac Oxford and Northern). As with most small-town depots, it soon became the center of community activity. In 1884 it was the setting of a gala “leap year” party. Purchased by the Grand Trunk in 1909, the station continued to be used for passenger service in 1955 and as a freight agency until October 9, 1973. It was moved here in 1970 and opened as a museum in 1981.

This Saturday I will be at Charlin’s Book Nook in Frankenmuth selling and signing books. If you’re in the neighborhood stop by and say hello. 

Books are available from my website HERE or from Amazon HERE

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Standing tall in Detroit’s Corktown district, Michigan Central Station was the main intercity passenger rail depot for Detroit.. Built for the Michigan Central Railroad, it replaced the original depot in downtown Detroit, which was shuttered after a major fire on December 26, 1913, forcing the still unfinished station into early service. Formally dedicated on January 4, 1914,  At the time of its construction, it was the tallest rail station in the world.

At the beginning of World War I, the peak of rail travel in the United States, more than 200 trains left the station each day and lines would stretch from the boarding gates to the main entrance. In the 1940s, more than 4,000 passengers a day used the station and more than 3,000 people worked in its office tower. Among notable passengers arriving at MCS were Presidents Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt, actor Charlie Chaplin and inventor Thomas Edison.

During the rise of the automobile and the decline of passenger rail service after WWII the train station slowly became obsolete and by 1988 the last passenger train pulled out of the station. The station has been featured in several films Including Transformers , The Island  and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Lost In Michigan wall calendars are On SALE this weekend, they help me with expenses to do this website, I hope you will take a look at them HERE

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if you have been following me for a while you know I like taking pics of train depots, just about every town in Michigan has one. Some are in better condition than others. I love this adorable red brick train station in Howell. I also like the red caboose next to the station. I find a lot of old cabooses around Michigan. It’s been a long time since I seen a caboose on the back of a train, the last time I remember seeing one was in the 70’s when I was a kid. I wonder if I could by one now and the train would pull me along on the tail end. I wold love to see Michigan from and old caboose.

P.S. I get a lot of requests to get pics of the library in Howell. I was there last summer and the library was being worked on so I could not get a pic, I hope to get back down there soon and get a pic of the library, it is a magnificent building.

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