#grandelk

[railwayhistorical]

Yard Power Returns

I figure this was a switcher job returning to the yard after working in town (Kalamazoo, Michigan). This is the Grand Elk Railroad, owned by Watco; the locomotive was built for the Canadian National as a GP40 wide nose in 1975.

The line visible here is the former Michigan Central (controlled by NYC, then part of Penn Central, Conrail, and finally Norfolk Southern). The railroad only runs on the MC just a bit (east/west) to get to the yard on the east side of town—its reserved for Amtrak’s regional services to Chicago. The Grand Elk runs north/south on other former NYC lines—between Grand Rapids to the north, and Elkhart, Indiana, to the south (hence its name).

Not a good shot as I have light from the setting sun streaming into my lens. But was here for another reason: to shoot the rising moon over the tracks (180 degrees from this point of view). In any case, this came around the bed to liven up my wait. In the end it was all I got as clouds totally obscured rising, near-full moon, alas.

One photograph by Richard Koenig; taken June 2nd 2023.

[railwayhistorical]

A Little Chase

While downtown trying to see some Amtrak, I ran into this Grand Elk train getting ready to depart Kalamazoo for points south.

Prior to the 5:26 Wolverine, I saw the these six-axle units moving back and forth over the Kalamazoo River—probably assembling the train. After the Amtrak went, I sat around a bit thinking the freight would be raring to go, which was the case. The second shot shows the train pulling out of the yard and crossing over Riverview Drive/East Michigan Avenue (east side of Kalamazoo).

I zipped ahead and caught the train crossing the Kalamazoo River again, but from a different angle. The rail line the train is occupying here is the former Michigan Central. Between now and the next image, however, the train will screech around a wye and take a former New York Central line south toward Elkhart, Indiana.

From the Kalamazoo River, I rushed over to Vine Street. There one will find an intriguing old signal—the letter “D” is for distant, or the approach signal, I believe, for the crossing back in the center of town. From there I jumped southward again to Kilgore Road, which lies on the border of Kalamazoo, for the final shot.

If one likes old EMD units, the power here is attractive. Number 4189 was built as an SD40 for the Chesapeake & Ohio, while number 4209 was built as an SD45 for the Chicago and North Western. Interesting to note here: the CNW had SD45s sans dynamic breaking, which are the only units like that I ever saw. Here, of course, this unit has been rebuilt—now sporting the dynamic break blister and missing the flared radiators so distinctive for the SD45.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken September 5th 2022.

[railwayhistorical]

Grand Elk Job

A Grand Elk train is seen here rolling through the very center of Kalamazoo, Michigan, after coming up from the south. It will make its way around the wye (from a former NYC line to the former Michigan Central line) and head to the yard just east of town.

The leased unit is a GP38-2 that was built in 1979 for Conrail—which indicates this unit could have plied these rails in an earlier era. Paper was a big part of Kalamazoo’s economy beginning in the latter quarter of the 19th century moving forward a hundred years.

Image by Richard Koenig; taken September 2nd 2021.

[railwayhistorical]

Northbound Grand Elk, Part Two

Continuing yesterday’s post, here are a few more shots of a northbound Grand Elk train arriving in Kalamazoo. In the first two images the train is approaching East Michigan Avenue. In the going away views one can see the tight clearances between restaurants in downtown Kalamazoo.

The train will soon round the wye onto the old Michigan Central, cross the Kalamazoo River, and roll into the yard on the east side of town.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken March 21st 2018.

[railwayhistorical]

Switch Engine; Grand Elk Railroad

Here we see a couple of things I ran across today in south-central Michigan, between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.

First is a locomotive, which I could see from US131, and wanted to check out more closely. It turned out to be GLLX number 4433; it switches CHS Agronomy, south of Wayland. The engine is an EMD GP9, built in 1954 for the Grand Trunk Western. It appears that the long hood is the front.

Then, just nearby, I saw this northbound Grand Elk local doing some work. These last four images were shot at 132nd Avenue, also just south of Wayland. The lineage of this line is Grand Rapids & Indiana, Pennsylvania, Penn Central, Conrail, and lastly Norfolk Southern.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken July 31st 2017.

[railwayhistorical]

Grand Elk, Part Two

Today I followed a local southbound job out of Kalamazoo. I first was able to catch up to it at Schoolcraft where the line (Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway) crosses the CN (Grand Trunk). The train then stopped at this business two miles south to pick up some covered Hoppers.

The power today is GMTX 2204 and WAMX 4009. The former unit is an EMD GP38-2 built for the Penn Central while the latter is a GP40-2LW built for the Canadian National.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken June 26th 2017.

[railwayhistorical]

Grand Elk, Part Three

This is the same southbound local I began with in yesterday’s post. The train is first seen off Muskrat Road, between Schoolcraft and Three Rivers, Michigan. With the second photograph, one will notice the lineage of the New York Central in the design of the signal just to the south at milepost 35.

I then set up for the train where the line crosses the St. Joseph River in the very heart of Three Rivers, and also saw it a few miles south of that town as it sped toward Indiana.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken June 26th 2017.

[railwayhistorical]

Local Action: Kalamazoo

This is a Grand Elk local job working down on the Grand Trunk branch into Kalamazoo’s southeast side. I had no idea I would see these folks down this way—it being the turf of the Canadian National (their yard and locomotive being near this location at Kilgore and Sprinkle). GMTX 2204, an EMD GP38-2, was built for the Penn Central in 1972.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken March 21st 2018.