Towns and Nature: Holly, MI: Tower: CSX/Chessie/C&O/PM vs. CN/GTW and 1885 Union Depot

Depot, new: (Satellite)

Mark Hinsdale posted

"High & Wide @ ..."

... along with an obvious amateur's early attempt at being "artsy." An excess-dimension special, northbound on the C&O, crossing the at Holly MI, June, 1976. Doug Hefty can fill everyone on on what a complete pain in the arse THESE were to operate... Photo by Mark Hinsdale

Doug Hefty Well, depending on how many miles it had to travel, we would get a teletyped notice, sometimes several feet long, with all of the restrictions. We'd put it in the "High/Wide" file until a terminal like Walbridge said they had the car ready to move and wanted our OK. First was to check to see what it said about "must not pass movements exceeding......." and make sure we had nothing running against it or that could pass it in the same direction with another wide load. Sometimes we'd also have to check with the Grand Rapids chief first. Then, we'd glean through the tome and type up a message that pertained just to the movement in Michigan. We'd have copies delivered to the train at origin, to Trainmasters and Term. TM's and yardmasters along the route of travel, and of course a copy to the train dispatcher. Then we just had to protect it however the instructions detailed. Sometimes it required having one train stopped while the other passed, walking speed through a truss bridge, etc. etc.

Chuck McAbee And with the restrictions they have today - they are more of a pain today than they were back then.

Terry L. Hunt When I was Road Foreman on GTW, I was the "expert". Every time we had one come on the property I was called to ride it. I recall one trip we were sitting at the end of double track at waiting for east bounds to come up the hill. One of the east bounds called the dispatcher and said that they had a dimensional also and were concerned about meeting us. As it was, all other trains had to contact us before meeting for instructions. The instructions were no more than 10 mph by the car and all window awnings had to pulled in on the side next to the car. The dispatcher went in to panic mode. I simply went back to the Schnable car crew and asked how long it would take to shift the car to allow the train to pass. They told me and I called the dispatcher. He was greatly relieved when I told him of the plan. We moved the car over and walked the east bound dimensional by. Needless to say the dispatcher was greatly relieved.

Doug Hefty At least it was easier with radios. I remember before that, it was all by written messages, or stopping a train at a signal and getting the engineer on the phone.

Peter Dudley shared
Holly MI, looking northwest from the CSX / Canadian National junction, October 1996.
Some have suggested that this is the .
Grand Trunk Junction (aka West Detroit, since 1887) was created in 1855.Carl Venzke posted
Holly, Michigan. The PM line to Ludington crossing the Grand Trunk Holly Sub. - Photo by C. H. Geletzke Jr. 10/25/96

Tim Shanahan updated
Holly Michigan

I presume this is the same tower.

Charles Geletzke Jr. posted
On December 22, 1989, we (the GTW) were delivering to the C&O (PM) at Holly, Michigan. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photo)

Jacob Hazlewood: What a wild interchange of tracks that used to be.

Charlie Whipp posted two photos with the comment: "Today's Flickr photos...This two shot sequence fits nicely beside yesterday's post of Seaboard 8079 North at Holly (MI) and also covers tower Tuesday. This southbound showed up soon after I arrived in town from the north. I'm betting yesterday's post was in the hole 8 miles south of Holly at Clyde waiting for this southbound empty hopper train with SBD 8904 (EX ACL 1028) to clear him. Since I was a kid, I LOVED (!) EMD's big SD45's, especially when they were working hard and this one, being solo, was really sounding off working through the curves at Holly. As the train was snaking through the village, I walked up a bit to snag the tail end passing by the tower at the junction with the Grand Trunk. Doing the honors was Seaboard Coast Line 0738. More at Holly tomorrow. Both 9-5-1987 on Kodachrome 64."

Depot

Street View, May 2025, looking South and those are the PM tracks in the foreground. The GTW tracks are behind the depot.

Charlie Whipp posted

Today's Flickr photo/An epic caboose hop. Continuing on from my postings at Holly from the other day when I got sidetracked for a few days, here is a shot of one of the coolest caboose hops I remember seeing while I had camera in hand. GTW GP18 4703 along with GP9 4930, GP 38-2 5828-27 showed up running westbound (now Northbound since the direction change) just in time to get the Holly depot in the sun. Trailing the engines was one of the GTW's 1980 International Car Co's wide vision cabooses. It looks like the clouds almost got me here, I'm sure glad that they didn't!

I had a good chat with the maintainer that day who was covering the regular maintainers territory while he was on vacation. Part of the old station baggage room is visible in the left hand corner of the frame. Sadly, it was later torn down. The station sits but unfortunately has been surrounded by cyclone fencing. Sorry about the hop-scotching around but I am known to get easily distracted LOL. 9-14-1987

Charlie Whipp posted

If I had the time, I used to like to take a ride on Saturday or Sunday along the nearby GTW Holly Sub or Chessie's Saginaw Sub. In the 70s and 80s, there was plenty of action to be had and both railroads sported interesting signaling and even an occasional depot. On this particular day, I started out at Durand and worked my way down to Holly, stopping at Gaines to catch a Trunk train at the station. I usually liked to hang out around Holly for a few hours before heading back. In those few hours, you could almost be guaranteed to see a few trains, sometimes several. On this particular day, Chessie supplied two coal trains, an empty southbound and this loaded train heading north with Seaboard System power, crossing the GTW's Holly Sub.

I liked the way the Chessie curved its way through the Village, passing the old (1885) station on the north side of the building. At the time of this photo, the GTW signal department was using the depot as a base in the area and, if you look carefully, you can pick out the roof line the old tower at the diamond which had been closed up in the early 60s but still housed equipment. Amazingly, this old tower still survives in 2023 after being closed for over 60 years. Power for this northbound load was SBD SD40-2 8079 (EX LN) and SBD U30C 7280 (ex ACL 3024). 9-5-1987 Kodachrome 64. Today's Flickr photo

Charles Geletzke Jr. posted
On June 8, 1992, while working GTW Train 5555 with the Jordan Spreader and the 5856 & 5716, we met a northbound C&O freight in Holly, Michigan. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photo)

Ty Gibson: Hey Chuck, what kinda work was the Jordan Spreader doing in June?

Charles Geletzke Jr.: Ty Gibson: Cleaning the ditches.

Larry W Harrell posted six photos with the comment:

Holly Rail Depot
Day trip to Holly yesterday. Narrative, Courtesy of Save our Depot Facebook page "The Holly Union Depot is a former train station located in Holly, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. We are working to make the Depot a "people place" once again by moving it to a new location 1,000 feet. Vintage postcard courtesy of Holly Historical Society. Color photos by Larry Harrell, Gator2Photography.

Jim Kelling shared with the comment: "Holly Michigan (Union Depot) to be moved."

Licat Photography posted

The sky over our Holly Union train depot today [Sep 10, 2025] was totally breathtaking.

Holly Mi

Mike Mishler shared

The depot is being moved because the railroads need the space to update their tracks and to make it more accessible to the public.

James Simpson - Independent Holly Journalist posted four photos with the comment:

🚂 Holly Union Depot Moved Today! 🚂
Today, the Holly Union Depot was moved to its new location on South Broad Street. This operation has been almost 30 years in the making, and today the building has finally been moved to the east side of Broad Street just across from Junction Street.
The Holly Union Depot was first established in 1886 and is a national historic landmark. Weighing in at 280 tons, the immense effort was spearheaded by Project Manager Peter Stouffer. The Union Depot was moved ~700 ft. to its new location over the course of about 6 hours.
I spoke with Robert Caster, a retired Holly firefighter whose father worked at the Union Depot as a clerk. He described the process of how messages were passed from a moving train to his father: a device would hang the message on a string from the train, and his father would have to catch it as the train went by. One can only imagine what OSHA would have to say about the practice today!
The “Save Our Holy Union Depot” website says the following:
“Holly’s Railroad/Depot history begins in 1855 with the construction of The Detroit, Milwaukee and Grand Haven Railroad. Passengers and goods flowed from Detroit to Pontiac and then Grand Haven in 1857. Henry Howland Crapo, a Flint lumberman, built a line which became The Flint and Holly Railroad and started connecting, in 1864, the Saginaw Valley with Detroit and beyond and started a statewide lumber boom! Holly became the first railroad diamond in the state and became a railroad center making a direct connection to Canada and East Coast through the Holly, Wayne, and Monroe Railroad in 1872. Large numbers of railroad workers lived in and around Holly and the repair and storage facilities were located in Holly. Because of this the Depot became the focal point of the community; not only bringing people and goods but also news and culture! The current Depot was built in 1886 after a devastating fire destroyed the first. It was considered one of the finest in the state and the rails helped to spur hotel, restaurants, and bars in Holly. The depot is a key part of Holly as a railroad center and was in service until the 1970s. It is a historical marker for not only Holly but also for the State of Michigan and Railway history overall.”
The project is not yet complete: although the building is at its destination this evening, much additional work to secure the foundation and renovate the building must be done. However, it is great news for the community that efforts to save the Union Depot have been successful, and a cherished part of Holly will be available for future generations to enjoy!
UPDATE
🛤️Why Move the Depot? 🛤️
The Holly Union Depot needed to be moved because it was too close to the railroad tracks. In 1999, safety regulations changed regarding how close a public building could be to railroad tracks.
According to the “Save Our Holly Union Depot” page on patroncity.com, the building will become a “a welcome center and tourism office where visitors can learn about Holly’s railroad history.”
💲Cost and Fundraising 💲
As of October 2025, about $900,000 had been raised from grants, fundraisers and donations. The renovations and other work needed to bring the building up to modern specifications will likely cost an additional $500,000 - $800,000.

Lincat Photography posted three photos with the comment: "History in the making and my photography is a part of it. The Holly Union Depot is officially on the move. What an amazing historic moment."

Mike Mishler shared

Lincat Photography posted four photos with the comment:

History was made today…… the Holly Union depot was moved into its new spot just before sunset tonight. It still has some stuff to happen before its permanently secured in its new spot.
Seeing the depot for the south side was breathtaking it still had some blue paint on it. This side was not in the public view being hidden by the factory and not viewed as much as the north side.
Today was amazing history making day for the Holly community. .

Mike Mishler shared

Jerome Landesman: Location please

Dennis DeBruler:

Old: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hENaECveKkNpeNAY7

New: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pd3c3ndDxKwJRG6b8