These are notes I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
Mary Bernard posted eight photos with the comment:
Dowagiac, MI Depot -- 8 Pictures
Photoed by Duane Hall in November 1979. The 8th photo is the Google 2012 street view.
This is the third station built in Dowagiac by the Michigan Central and is now served by Amtrak's Chicago to Detroit trains the Wolverine and the Blue Water. A good description and history is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowagiac_station
DTS = D&TSL = Detroit & Toledo Shore Line Railroad; GTW-NKP joint, later GTW
Street View, Nov 2020 I noted the date because it has a coal train in it. The disappearance of coal trains is an aspect of industrial history that we can witness ourselves.
The orange nose of WLE SD40-2 #7025 stands out on the south end of CN's Lang yard on the north side of Toledo. Usually Lang is pretty packed in full of cars but it looked little empty on this particular morning.
Charles Geletzke Jr. posted Looking north at the GTW's (former D&TSL) Lang yard in North Toledo, Ohio on January 25, 2000. You will note the hump had already been removed. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photo)
A study in different lighting.
Charles Geletzke Jr. posted On January 9, 2008 we are looking north at the north end of CN's (former D&TSL) Lang Yard in North Toledo, Ohio. On the left is the yard office with Yardmaster's Tower, which was dismantled only several years later and on the right was the Hump Tower that once controlled the operation of the hump prior to its demolition. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photo) Charles Geletzke Jr. shared
The turntable still exists and a satellite image still has the hump tower.
Marty Bernard posted four photos with the comment: "4 of the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line RR Yard, Toledo. These are Duane Hall's photos from June 1982, Toledo, OH."
Tim Shanahan posted Battle Creek Grand Trunk depot 1910. Still stands today, the overhang and baggage room are gone. Although the bulit in baggage scale is still in place. One tower today houses two live cameras for the Virtual Railfan website.
Marty Bernard posted Here Is a Magnificent Depot. Grand Trunk Western's Battle Creek, MI Depot, Duane Hall photo, May 1985.
Benjamin Gravel posted two images with the comment:
On March 17, 1856, the architect William C. Rohns was born in Goettingen, Germany.
Designed by Spier & Rohns. Grand Trunk Railway System Station, 175 Main Street built in 1905 Battle Creek, MI.
1) Image of the station from Lost in Michigan, date unknown.
2) An image/floor plan featuring 175 Main Street from a 1906 issue of The Western Architect.
Currently: Commercial space
Jim Kelling shared with the comment: "Grand Trunk Western Railway station in Battle Creek, Michigan (to be visited on the RRSHS tour in June 2026)."
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Kurt Thornton posted This is the first Grand Trunk passenger station located between McCamly and Capital Avenue. It is the site of the city's present Intermodal train station.
Kurt Thornton posted In January 1906, this Grand Trunk Station opened at a cost of $75,000. It is located on Main Street. It is the present home of the Community Action Agency for South/Central Michigan.
Kurt Thornton posted The interior of the 1906 Grand Trunk Station.
Raymond Storey posted BATTLE CREEK MI Tim Shanahan posted Grand Trunk Railroad Depot, Battle Creek, Michigan - real photo postcard by photographer Louis Pesha - not posted, date c. 1910.
Street View Dennis DeBruler commented on Mary's post When a depot has such a distinctive architecture, it makes it easy to find it if it is still standing. 42°18'43.6"N 85°10'26.9"W
James Anders posted two images with the comment: "Battle Creek 1903 vs 2025."
Al Oxley: Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee Railroad
[Amtrak runs on former-MC tracks, but GTW and MC evidently shared a route through Battle Creek. DT&M came up from the south and terminated in this city.]
Marty Bernard posted Michigan Central Railroad's Dexter, WI [MI] Depot, Duane Hall photo, September 1991. It is still standing. Jason Nates: That is Dexter, MI and it is still standing. Dennis DeBruler: And according to Google Maps, the Ann Arbor Model RR Club is there. 42°20'25.6"N 83°53'02.1"W
Robert Daly posted two photos with the comment: "CB&Q station at Lisle, October 25, 1969. Building was on the north side of the tracks, an inconvenience for inbound commuters. It was moved to a museum site north of its former location upon completion of the new station."
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John Govi posted two photos with the comment: "I took these two pics December 13, 1964 when I lived in Lisle. The station had a stucco exterior, and the building between tracks 2 and 3 was wooden. I always considered both of these structures classic in design, and very typical of the CB&Q. I do remember that when you were in the platform building and a freight passed through, it was an adventure as it shook like it was going to cave."
a 2 and 3. Unknown Depot, Duane Hall photo, September 1992. [EDIT] Joe Novak commeted: "Old CB&Q depot, Lisle, IL. Moved not too far from where it sat originally. Now part of the Lisle Park District historical society. The move was in 1978." SURPRISE, I was the Temporary Agent substituting for the vacationing regular Agent at that depot one College summer (1964). Here is what it looked like then https://flic.kr/p/24azeg3
b 2 and 3. Unknown Depot, Duane Hall photo, September 1992. Chris Goepel: Not sure where this is, but it looks very much like a CB&Q depot. Joe Novak: Old CB&Q depot, Lisle, IL. Moved not too far from where it sat originally. Now part of the Lisle Park District historical society. The move was in 1978.
When I looked at my own photo, I noticed the bay window (agent's office) is not between the freight and passenger rooms. Given Chris' comment above, I wonder if this was typical for CB&Q depots.
CB&Q E8A 9976 E8A was built in September 1953, rebuilt May 1976 as BN E9AM 9906 with HEP, retired July 1992 and found a new home with MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) as 92.
In Lisle, IL on April 4, 1964. Note the depot was on the outbound side and the shelter on the inbound side had a stove for heat. The depot has been renovated and moved to a nearby park. Metra has totally redone this scene.
During the summer of 1965 I was the agent at this depot substituting for the on-vacation regular agent. The only task was to sell tickets for the Dinkys. The depot had no adding machine. This was before credit cards, so I handled quite a bit of cash each day. After I moved on to the next job of substituting for a vacationing agent or operator or leverman, I received notice that the agency was short $5 and some odd cents. I was not surprised since I had to add long columns of numbers each day to keep the books and had to make change for customers. And that amount was subtracted from my next check.
The historical location on the north side of the tracks surprised me because when I moved to Lisle in 1973 I remember an old white building on the south side of the tracks.
Across a parking lot from the preserved depot is the current Metra station.
Dennis DeBruler posted eleven photos with the comment:
A CB&Q Waycar on display in a heritage park in Lisle, IL.
41°47'58.2"N 88°04'14.3"W
41.799487, -88.070636
(Facebook has been deleting most of my comments that contain a Google Maps URL. It declares them a violation of Community Standards. But you can still use Google Maps if you copy&paste the GPS coordinates into the search field.)
License: Creative Commons Attribution: Dennis DeBruler (CC BY)
