train

Topping off engine number 5

Posted on November 23, 2007November 23, 2007 by farlane

Topping Off, photo by William Morrell Harmer

The photo shows some lumbermen loading the last few logs onto a logging train near Cadillac, Michigan somewhere around 1892. While looking around for something about Cadillac and logging, and on the City of Cadillac’s history page, I learned:

The Shay Locomotive was invented in Cadillac by Ephriam Shay in 1878. The Shay Locomotive was one of the first to have the ability to haul logs on uneven terrain, sharp curves, and up steep hills. Shay Locomotives were used throughout the United States between 1880 and 1945.

That sounded promising, so I went over to ShayLocomotives.com and found in their many pictures a photo of one of the surviving Shays – engine no. 5 in Cass, WV (official site. Take a look at that and tell me if you think they’re the same train. Probably not, but still, I’m thinking this one is a Shay.

Wikipedia’s Shay Locomotive entry says that Shays were built by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio. However six Shay Patent locomotives, known as Henderson style Shays, were built by the Michigan Iron Works in Cadillac.

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station

Posted on July 2, 2007March 18, 2025 by farlane

Michigan Central Station, 1921

The introduction to Detroit’s Michigan Central Station says the Michigan Central Station was designed by Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem, the firms who were the architects of New York’s Grand Central Station. It opened in 1913, and by the time this 1921 photograph (above) was taken, the Beaux Art ideal had been reached. The unique road configuration leading up to the Michigan Central, as well as the fine ambiance Roosevelt Park contributed to the scene, reveals itself to be absolutely necessary to complete the designers’ vision. (Courtesy of Manning Brothers Historical Photographic Collection)

By 1967 the main waiting room (right, click for larger view) was closed to travelers and used merely for storage; it is difficult to conceive of these splendid benches being relegated to use as a mere shelving system. Hanging on by a thread, the Michigan Central continued to operate without its restaurant or even the main park entrance. (Dave Jordano, Courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection)

In case you’re wondering, here’s a photo of the waiting room in its current state and here’s another.

The photos and captions are reprinted with permission from Detroit’s Michigan Central Station by Kelli B Kavanaugh. In addition to some history on Michigan Central Station and great old photos of the station and activity, the book includes some floorplans of MCS. It’s available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.

View other excerpts from Arcadia Publishing’s Michigan books at Michigan in Pictures and also be sure to check out MCS 7.2.7: Transformers co-star Michigan Central Station on Absolute Michigan for more photos and some great videos too!!

Saginaw Train Bridge

Posted on March 7, 2007March 7, 2007 by Michigan in Pictures

Saginaw Train Bridge, photo by n8xd.

Keith DeLong writes: This is a train bridge near St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan.

I recommend you check this one out bigger.

.exposure.detroit.people mover safari

Posted on January 3, 2007January 3, 2007 by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by tEdGuY49.

On December 30th, members of the Exposure.Detroit group took a photo safari on the People Mover in Detroit. Ted has a whole set of photos from the outing that you will want to check out and you can also click for a slideshow of a bunch of photos from the People Mover safari. (and you should – there are some really excellent photos there!)

The concept of a real-world photo outing ties in very nicely with an article about online communities extending to the offline world today on Absolute Michigan. It would be great to hear from folks about what they think of this.