On the Main (three of four)

I usually chase only the Traverse City Turn of the Great Lakes Central—which is on a branch of the former Grand Rapids & Indiana. Today I got a heads-up that a train would be traveling northbound from Cadillac to Petosky and so gave chase.

Here the train is seen in Kalkaska, Michigan, with a wonderful extant station there in the going-away shot.

On the Main (three of four)

I usually chase only the Traverse City Turn of the Great Lakes Central—which is on a branch of the former Grand Rapids & Indiana. Today I got a heads-up that a train would be traveling northbound from Cadillac to Petosky and so gave chase.

Here the train is seen at Grand Kal Road, along US131, and then in the small burg of South Boardman, Michigan.

On the Main (two of four)

I usually chase only the Traverse City Turn of the Great Lakes Central—which is on a branch of the former Grand Rapids & Indiana. Today I got a heads-up that a train would be traveling northbound from Cadillac to Petosky and so gave chase.

Here the train is crossing over Highway 131 and then nearby on the edge of Fife Lake.

On the Main (one of four)

I usually photograph the Traverse City Turn of the Great Lakes Central—which runs primarily on a branch of the former Grand Rapids & Indiana. Today I got a heads-up that a train would be traveling northbound from Cadillac to Petosky on the main line and so was able to give chase.

Here the train is crossing over the Manistee River between Manton and Fife Lake—a shot I’ve thought about for a couple of years.

Summit City

This is the Traverse City Turn of the Great Lakes Central. This rural spot is to be found just east of Summit City, Michigan. This branch line was built in 1872 by the Grand Rapids & Indiana and would later become part of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Winter Action

One day after the winter solstice finds the Traverse City Turn making its way up the hill back toward Walton Junction and the main line.

This branch line was of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, became part of the Pennsy (later Penn Central/Conrail), and is now operated by the Great Lakes Central. This job has worked Beacon Recycling in Traverse City and is now returning to Cadillac, Michigan. This spot is between Kingsley and Summit City.

As Night Falls

In this image, the Traverse City Turn, of the Great Lakes Central, is alongside River Road well south of Traverse City, Michigan. The diminutive train is making its way up the former Grand Rapids & Indiana branch line to the main at Walton Junction. (This railroad, built in 1872, would be folded into the Pennsylvania in 1918.)

The train, moving slowly, has another eighteen miles on the branch, then another twenty on the main to its home base in Cadillac.

Branch Line

This is where Kingsley Road crosses the former Grand Rapids & Indiana branch line to Traverse City, Michigan. The line was built in 1872 and later became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad; it’s now operated by Great Lakes Central.