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Location / Name:
Durand MI, Shiawassee County
What's Here:
Ex GTW Depot
Diamond
Former GTW Yard
Rail Park with GTW Steamer and signals
GTW caboose across from the depot
Data:
GPS Coordinates: 42.909563, -83.983174
Phone A/C: 989
ZIP: 48429
Access by train/transit:
None
The Scoop:
Durand has one of my favorite depots, bar none, but that isn't the only reason to visit Durand. The Depot houses the Michigan Railroad Museum, the Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers, and last but not least, a small Amtrak facility.
The depot sits on a fairly active diamond, and almost everything coming thru Durand can be shot from the platforms.
Across the tracks from the depot sits GT caboose #75003, and not too far away in the Kiwanis Park is GT steamer #5632, baggage car #8812, and a well preserved WRRS wig-wig crossing signal - it's easy to find, as it sits under the water tower.
The entrance to the yard has always had a gate, but it was never locked until the 2009 timeframe, so access is not possible without going to a lot of trouble and trespassing. Darn.
Durand is in close proximity to Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Owosso, and Bridgeport, so don't pass up the opportunity to railfan those places if you are coming to the area.
Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
Jack Prange II
Jan Davis Ruthig
Eddie Gross
Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
http://www.durandnow.com/Stories-The-Pride-of-the-Railroad-City-A-Look-Back-At-2013-Durand-Union-Station.html
the above map in PDF format is available here
The Durand Union Station & the Michigan Railroad History MuseumGPS Coordinates: 42.909316, -83.982359
200 Railroad Street, Durand MI, 48429
989-288-3561
Their website is: www.durandstation.org.
Museum hours:
1 to 5pm on Tue, Wed, Thu, and Sun.
Friday and Saturdays, they open at 10am.
They're closed on Mondays and holidays.
The Museum has a nice display of Michigan railroad artifacts, as well as many nice displays in their spacious rooms (they are indeed lucky in this respect). They also have a well stocked gift shop, and had a run of special 4449 t-shirts printed up for the Owosso Train Fest 2009. You also have access to the turret, which offers a great view of almost everything, and used to be the command center for the Grand Trunk and Ann Arbor!
They also have a library which is open on Saturdays or by appointment.
The Depot is the focal point of the Durand Railroad Days, which is the first weekend after Mother's Day. Featured are a parade, carnival, demonstrations, and a craft show. For more info, check: www.durandrailroaddays.com.
The model railroad layout features a pike with over 1300 feet of track on two levels (close to 21 miles scale), and is fully DCC'd. It is modeled after the area, and the layout contains great replica of the Durand Depot. The club is open on Saturdays, 1-4pm.
The Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers
at the Kiwanis Park & Across the Tracks
Jan Davis Ruthig
The Western RR Supply Wig-Wag
the Grand Trunk Caboose
Coal Tower
photo by Jan Davis Ruthig
photo by Eddie Gross
Yard OfficePicture needed
Coming in from the interstate, this is the first signal you come to, a two head searchlight signal for the approach into the yard on the ex CM line from Saginaw.
Off the end of Russell at the interchange track are these two signals, this dwarf is the only one protected by a cage, it controls the siding.
Looking "south" down the double track towards Oak from the depot, and then looking further south from Oak (below at 4). If you love searchlight signals, this WAS your place. Finally on the right, a CN freight heading towards the depot at Oak Rd. They are all US&S signals.
Looking from Main St towards the depot.
Looking north towards Flint from Main St.
Crossing signals and equipment detectors on the single track at Main Street.
Forced hot air heaters are used in wintertime to keep the turnouts clear.
Looking both ways from Oak Rd on the left, and looking into the yard from the depot on the right.
The grade crossing signal as you come out of Russell onto Main St, and a "no horn" warning sign at most of the crossings.
Two sets of these signals protect the crossings by the bank on Oak and Monroe, these are on Oak.
The coaling tower buried inside the yard, and the double track main grade crossing on Oak Rd.
A GT geep passes the depot, picks up a few cars, then heads north towards Flint... a find buried in the yard, wish we coulda gotten closer.
You can't be everywhere at the same time, these two freights came thru town while we were getting shots of the GT geep above. Looking down Oak.
The pictures below are not mine, and were found via Google Images.
Back in 2009, Southern Pacific #4449 travelled cross-country to take part in the Owosso Steam Days celebration. The map above shows the route 4449 took in getting to Durand.
7FEB2009 - picture by traingirl21
7FEB2009 - picture by traingirl21
7FEB2009 - picture by traingirl21
Back on November 2nd, 2015, a train derailed several cars right in front of the station. Pictures are screen shots from the ABC12 video.
http://www.abc12.com/news/headlines/Train-derails-in-Durand-338791852.html
At the Fire Station.
You pass by this sign coming into Durand from Lansing on the interstate,
because of funding by the state, the future of the train is unsure.
Disclaimers:
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an
expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. Please Note:
Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals,
the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate
them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my
indexa page has a
list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you
with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike. If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made
to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan
guide is correct. Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand
words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so
far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take along good
maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get
lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free
when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice series of
county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the
railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic
map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a
really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although
they too lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will
show up on that page if known. Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia
must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
RAILFAN GUIDES HOME NEW 08/16/2009, 2/25/2016
These unsavory characters watch you as you make the turn
from Oak onto Main St (or vice-versa :-).
Pictures and additional information is
always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em,
or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! BE
NICE!!! Contact info is
here
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME
Last Modified 17-Aug-2018