Fishin' On The Flat by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A fisherman tries his luck on the Flat River as Mid Michigan #24 backs a cut of wheat hoppers across the old wooden trestle leading to King Milling. Once part of the Pere Marquette's "Turkey Trail" between Saginaw and Elmdale, by this point the western part of the line had been truncated to Greenville-Lowell. The last customer in Greenville had shut down a couple of years prior, and the once busy Mid Michigan was more or less consolidated with the connecting Grand Rapids Eastern (former GTW). GP9 #24 was the assigned unit on the GRE for the better part of a decade, having previously spent many years on the eastern half of the MMRR (Alma-Saginaw), and even a brief stint on the Michigan Shore in Muskegon.
Credit goes to my good friend Jon Hall for asking the fisherman to take a few steps further out into the river to help bring this wonderful shot together. 3/30/2007
Durand Jungle by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
CN's vegetation control for much of the 2000s was...lacking, to say the least. A pair of tired Illinois Central SD40-2s, the leader's hood doors flapping in the wind, are heading around the Chicago Wye to head down the Holly Subdivision. 9/16/2006
Incorrect Leader by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
One of the worst-looking classes of power on CSX leads L303 east out of Grand Rapids. 6/11/2024
Trio of Classics by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
CSXT #8467, CEFX #3126, and CSXT #8870 pull out of the even yard in Grand Rapids with a heavy S334 just after sunset in June of 2006. A little further east, I set up and shot a video of these SD40s screaming as they worked uphill out of town, but sadly the file has been corrupted. 6/16/2006
Approach Slow Watson, Wait, No by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A quartet of EMDs leads Marquette Rail's south-bound Z151 past the site of the former Watson St interlocker in Grand Rapids. Chessie searchlights guarded this interesting but no longer needed junction until 2017. 6/20/2024
The Rocket by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Central Michigan had been merged into Rail America's Huron & Eastern a little over a year prior, but things were still looking pretty much the same as train 702, "The Rocket", arrived in Durand on a cold December Day in 2005. GP40-2W #9712 and B30-7AB #2002 are seen leading the train around the Port Huron Wye, taking head room before backing into the yard. This would be the one and only time I would see 9712 in its CMGN lettering, as it was patched for HESR the following year. As of June 2024, it had just recently departed the HESR for the NECR as HESR #3036 after nearly 30 years of working in the Mitten. 12/3/2005
Lansing by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A stopped CN west-bound is awaiting a recrew near the BWL plant in Lansing. The smoke stacks are known to the local Lansingonians (Lansingites?) as Winking, Stinking, and Ned. Leading the train is CN 5400, the very first SD50F. 2/22/2007
MQT Recrew by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
In the early days of Marquette Rail, the trains were long, but the track was still good for 40 in most spots. Even with being able to run that fast, the amount of switching on the trip to Grand Rapids and back would often be too much for the Baldwin-based crews to do in a 12 hour shift. Recrews were common, and Comstock Park was a spot they would frequently park the Z151 for the next crew. On this evening, the new crew was just coming on duty and was in the process of firing up GMTX 2648, GMTX 2676, GLLX 3001, and GMTX 2652. The bulk of their train was still south of the North Park crossing, which they would shortly back up to collect.
GMTX #2648 was built as Penn Central GP38 #7727. All 5 of MQT's GATX Geeps were returned in 2011 after they purchased 5 ex UP GP38-2s from GATX. 9/6/2008
Chatsworth Stop by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Tired Metrolink F59PH #862 leads a north-bound commuter train into the station at Chatsworth. The train were switch directions here and head back to Los Angeles. The F59PHs provided many years of service for Metrolink, but as of last word they had all been stored or outright retired by new EMD F125s, save for the 7 that had been rebuilt to F59PHRs.
Heavy-haul commuter rail has always fascinated me. Having grown up being most familiar with Chicago's Metra, SoCal's Metrolink, with its fleet of F59s and Bombardier bi-levels, seemed very foreign to me the first time I encountered it. And sure, I know electrics are more efficient, but there is something just plain awesome about watching a cowled EMD blast off from a station stop with a train of commuters in tow. 3/9/2011
Cold, But Sunny by
Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Rolling south along the old New York Central is Huron & Eastern 702 on bright February day. A trio of former Central Michigan motors do the honors on this day. GP38AC #8804 was originally built as a B&O GP40, coming to the CMGN from Helm Financial after a rebuild in 1988. C30-7 #5086 and B30-7 #5492 are both former Burlington Northern units, the latter originally being from the Frisco. Today, #8804 soldiers on as HESR #2026, while the GEs have been scrap for over 10 years now. 2/8/2011