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The Huckleberry Railroad in Flint, Michigan 7/24/2009

After my 10:00 AM ride behind Little River Railroad 4-6-2 110 at Train Festival 2009, Matt Melzer and I drove back over to Flint and found the Huckleberry Berry Railroad located in the Crossroads Village Historical Park. We received our tickets with less than five minutes to spare and boarded the caboose for our trip on the Huckleberry Railroad.

In 1967, local individuals and organizations realized that many structures of historical importance in the Flint area were being destroyed, and plans for the construction of interstate highways and urban development would necessitate the demolition of additional buildings. There was also a realization that rural skills, equipment and crafts were being lost. The idea of a Farm Museum was proposed at the December 12th, 1968 meeting of the Commission by John West and Stanley Mahaffy and considerable interest was shown by the Commission.

On May 8th 1969, the Commission was appointed as advisory committee on historical preservation and the Genesee County Historical Society became involved with the project and was represented on the advisory committee. The Wisner Carriage Barn and Buzzell House, donated by the Highway Commission, were moved to the present site. The buildings were placed within the Genesee Recreation Area near the C.S. Mott Children's Farmland that had been given to the people of Genesee County by the C.S. Mott Foundation. The Carriage Barn was moved to the area in 1969; the Eldridge-Hamner House, located on land that had been purchased by the Commission in Genesee, was also moved to the Village site.

Eventually, ideas to create a farm museum and preserve buildings of historic importance merged into the concept of a rural village. Impetus came with the realization that the nation's bicentennial was fast approaching. In the summer of 1973, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the creation of a rural Crossroads Village as Genesee County's Bicentennial project and funds were appropriated for planning purposes. The plans for this hypothetical Crossroads Village evolved from the common characteristics of rural villages in Genesee County as depicted in the 1873 Atlas of Genesee County. The master plan was approved at the August 1974 meeting of the Commission, and in September and October, the Clayton Town Hall and Davison Depot were moved to the Village. The Village, dedicated July 4th 1976, became a reality.

Effort was made to furnish all of the buildings with artifacts of the period 1860-1880 and create an impression of a "living village" with the sights, sounds, smells and activities characteristic of that period. In addition to preserving buildings and artifacts, the Village serves as a place to demonstrate the crafts of the past. Thus, the Village, the Huckleberry Railroad and the Genesee Belle serve as valuable educational resources and tourist attractions. You can experience a day in the life for yourself surrounded by authentic and replica buildings and artifacts.

The Huckleberry Railroad was named because the train ran so slow, that a passenger could step off the train, pick some huckleberries and then jump back aboard the train. The Huckleberry Railroad began in 1857 as part of the Flint Pere Marquette Railroad. The line was built from Flint to Otter Lake then later to Fostoria. The Pere Marquette Railroad was absorbed by first the Chesapeake and Ohio and later the Chessie System, which became CSX Transportation.

Huckleberry Railroad 4-6-0 2, formally known as the 152 was built by Baldwin in 1920 for the Alaska Engineering Commission. It was used in the building of the Alaska Railroad by the Tanana Valley Railroad. At that point, the Alaska Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad from Fairbanks to the coal mines at Nenana and the gold rush town of Chantanika. Once the Alaska Railroad was converted to standard gauge in 1943, 152 was sent to the United States War Department in Seattle. Later it was sold to Davison Scrap Company in Stockton, California then purchased by Hal Wilmunder and relocated to the Antelope & Western in Roseville. In 1963, it went to the Camino, Cable & Northern until that line shut down in 1974. Hal Wilmunder then sold the locomotive to the Keystone Locomotive Works and in 1975, the Gennesee County Park and Recreation Comission purchased the Number 2 and began restoration. It is the only locomotive that has operated from the start of the Huckleberry Railroad to the present.

The Huckleberry Railroad's other operating steam engine is Denver and Rio Grande Western 2-8-2 464 "Mudhen" built by the Baldwin in 1903. The engine ran on the both the Rio Grande and Rio Grande Southern in Colorado in the 1940's before operatingn on the famous Silverton Train in the 1950's. In 1973, Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, California purchased the steam engine and used it for just one year due to low clearances of the counter weights and the declining mechanical state so they sidelined the engine. In 1981, 464 was acquired by the Huckleberry Railroad who started restorration.

Today either of these two engines will pull the trains on the Huckleberry Railroad.

Our train departed the Crossroads station.

Pere Marquette Railroad caboose A629 built by the railroad in the 1920's.

Extra cars if they are needed for a longer train.

Looking back at the water tower.

View into the park.

The tracks to the Huckleberry Railroad's shop.

Gennessee County Parks and Recreation Commission 36" gauge 2-8-0 4, ex. Colorado Railroad Museum 1972, exx. Ferrorcaril Mineral de Chihuahua 4 in Chihuahua Mexixo 1952, nee Ferrcarril Potosi & Rio Verde 4 built by Baldwin in 1904 is on display with a log train.

Mott Lake.

Running though the forest.

Crossing a small trestle.

Matt enjoying his trip in the caboose on the Huckleberry Railroad.

The author in the caboose.

Our route took us along this road.

Chesapeake and Ohio caboose 90865 built by Standard Tank Car in 1926 on display.

Rounding a curve.

The unspoiled forest.

Passing through the forest.

Crossing a trestle over a creek.

The switch at the eastern loop.

Rio Grande 464 leads the train around the eastern loop.

Proceeding to the switch.

The eastern loop switch.

Our route took us back through the trees.

The Huckleberry Railroad water tower.

Passing the passenger cars again.

The Crossroads station is from Davison, Michigan, eight miles from Flint, and is a Grand Trunk Western station built in 1900 and moved here in 1976 as a bi-centennial project.

Passing the station switch on the west end.

The bridge that allows water from Mill Pond into Mott Lake.

The west loop switch.

Rio Grande 464 took our train around the west loop.

The west loop.

The first track we were on when we started around the west loop.

The west loop switch.

The bridge just before the switch. The train returned to Crossroads station and I walked to the front.

Rio Grande Mudhen 2-8-2 464.

The steam engine being prepared for its next trip.

An interesting view of a steam railroad.

The caboose in which Matt and I rode, Huckleberry Railroad 0776, nee Coahuila Y Zacatecas 152 built in 1880.

The train was ready for its next trip at 1:00 PM. As we were both hungry, we decided to get something to eat but The Crossroads Cafe and the Mill Street Warehouse had limited menus so we walked over to Lake Mott and finally ordered at the Lake Side Grill.

The Gennesee Belle which takes people on a cruise of Mott Lake. Plenty of time passed and they called order 57, however we had order 40. Our food was then delivered quickly since the employee had misplaced our order slip. After a good meal, we started back to the car.

The 1:00 PM train returned to the Crossroads station, after which Matt and I left for the Saginaw Railroad Museum.

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