I was born and raised in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. I fell in love with trains when I was very young and
loved watching the railroads in the area. My house was less than
half of a mile from the old Grand Trunk Western mainline that
ran from Durand to Muskegon. At one time a bustling piece of railroad
that shuttled trains to and from the carferries at Muskegon, this
line is now run by the Grand Rapids and Eastern and seems to be
in quick decline. I cut my teeth railfanning the Chessie System/CSX
line through Grand Rapids, with the old Pere Marquette's Wyoming
Yard being a favorite hangout. On these pages, you will see a
variety of photos, many of which are from the mid to late 1980's
when I first started exploring railroads in the area. These photos
include many shots of the CSX transition when you could find a
wide variety of engines of different heritages wandering through
Wyoming Yard, with many of these being GP-30's. Also be sure to
take a look at my shots of the GTW on one of its last runs to
Grand Rapids in 1987 before the Central Michigan Railway purchased
the line from Durand to Muskegon and subsequently parcelled it
up. These include pictures of the GTW switching the Grand Rapids
Press, which also has just recently become a thing of the past.
Although much of what I loved about Grand Rapids railroading has
disappeared, I still have wonderful memories of this area and
am in the process of capturing this in an HO model railroad that
focuses on Grand Rapids' Fuller Jct., which represents a point
where the GTW, Chessie System, Michigan Northern, and Conrail
all came together. I hope you enjoy my pictures of Michigan!
