Detroit-Chicago Amtrak 1988 Time-Lapse

[cnw8835]

Where is that over-the-tracks coal tower located?

Augusta Mi between Battle Creek and Kzoo
there is also one located south of New Buffalo

Thanks, Scott. I've seen / remember the one at New Buffalo. Don't remember seeing the one at Augusta (might be that CRS syndrome... )

The second one is at Michigan City, IN.

[JANGAJONGA]

That was amazing. cool to see willow run being used!

[GP30M4216]

0:23 I see Bay City Jct. on the right, immediately followed by the old Cadillac Fleetwood plant on Clark (where the overhead conveyor track crosses) and then West Detroit Tower, still open at this time.

Beginning around 0:31, you'll notice the entire west end (Junction) of Livernois yard is still intact with some traffic still being handled through here.

After blowing through the Dearborn station, you'll notice the double-track is still in place through Dearborn, Inkster and Wayne - I remember them tearing out the second track around 1990 or 91.

0:55 is passing Willow Run Yard, still very active with mixed freight traffic. Note the CR bay window caboose on the rail train at right.

0:57 is Ypsilanti, note very recently single-tracked with ties still on the ground. Just west of here (about .45 seconds or so lol) note the track which was in place switches from the old WB #1 track to the old EB #2 track.

1:31 Chelsea

1:50 East Jackson, followed by Jackson Yard (lots o' Conrail boxcars!) and a brief station stop at Jackson station.

1:57 The old overpasses climbing the hill out of Jackson

2:23 Albion. You blast by the bracket signals here, which remain in place today. The double-track remains in place west of here, although it looks like the old WB main is out of service.

2:46 crossing over to enter the double track on the east side of Battle Creek. Note the WB track is still in place but the control point from single to double is already operational, and the WB track is cut.

2:49 Kelloggs. So many industrial plants, spurs and sidings are still in place in BC that are no longer.

If you've been paying attention, you've noticed the code line still in place along the entire route. Out of service by this time, but still in place.

3:06 A brief slow down (or maybe a full stop) at the old holdout signal near the M-37 crossing, I believe.

3:12, Brief stop at CP-Custer. Old double-track remains in place but out of service to Kalamazoo.

3:33 MC coal tower at Augusta

3:50 Paralleling Michigan Avenue on the left side.....the train must have been going slow due to slow orders or work zones....the cars are going faster than the train.

3:56 The old WB track is cut again as Amtrak moves onto the WB track at CP-140 to enter Kalamazoo.

4:00 This is the Sprinkle Road overpass, the train stops at a signal I'm not familiar with and no longer exists. An EB Conrail freight moves out of Botsford Yard.

4:09 Georgia Pacific, followed by Botsford Yard. Two North Pass track remain on the right.

4:13 BO Tower, still in operation today, followed by the Kzoo station and then Western Michigan University.

4:15 Entering Amtrak territory....soon to single track at CP-147. The WB main has already been removed for several years on the Amtrak portion.

4:49 passing 350 at Lawton in the siding.

4:50 Note the old NYC signal still in place at the west end of the siding

5:21 Dowagiac

5:39 Niles

You don't really realize it when onboard, but the track is incredibly straight for long stretches west of Kalamazoo....a good place for high speed rail!

6:14 New Buffalo

6:23 MC coal tower Michigan City

6:26 Drawbridge and Michigan City station stop, followed by the crossing of the old NKP diamond at 6:29 which has since been removed.

6:30 Crossing the South Shore

6:49 Porter, joining the Water Level Route

6:51 Passing another Amtrak....the International I'd bet.

7:11 cool old NYC bracket signal, one of several seen along this stretch

7:21 Hick Tower and drawbridge

7:30 crossing onto the old PRR alignment and passing under the first of a ton of old PRR signal bridges. Hammond Whiting station stop immediately follows. Most of the PRR bridges are gone today.

7:37 Calumet River bridges

7:48 Englewood Tower on left, crossing the Metra

8:02 21st Street Tower

8:06-8:10 Chicago Amtrak Terminal.

This is one of the coolest videos I've seen. If there were a real-time version of this I'd definitely buy it. So much has changed since 1988! Of course.....this is what Obama was talking about when he said "High Speed Rail."

[Hogger1225]

You can barely make out Townline Tower where Greenfield Road crosses underneith. Townline was the Jct with DT&I? and marked the beginning of Livernois Yard

No that would be Schaefer. (DT&I diamond on the Junction yard running track).

That was Townline "shanty". You do not see Schaefer at all in this video. Schaefer is on the then Junction Yard Secondary, the closest you come to Schaefer in this video is maybe 1/2 mile, in fact, to get to Schaefer you have to take a diverging route at Town Line if you were coming the other way (east). Don't anybody argue this with me because I've made the trip several times on both Passenger and Freight.

[Hogger1225]

here is that over-the-tracks coal tower located?

Augusta Mi between Battle Creek and Kzoo

there is also one located south of New Buffalo

The other coal tower (besides Augusta) is just east of Michigan City, on the outskirts.

[redside20]

At 44 seconds you get a glimpse of Greenfield Village and a customer with a boxcar a little after that with the train at Telegraph Curve around 50

[Steve B]

Fascinating! But frustrating, since if it was at normal speed or close to it (even if it has to be split into a bunch of increments for YouTube) a lot more details could be noticed.

At the very beginning, I was startled to see Downtown Hudson's (and other since-destroyed stuff like the Statler and Tuller Hotels), shot from the People Mover.

[Ben Higdon]

You can barely make out Townline Tower where Greenfield Road crosses underneith. Townline was the Jct with DT&I? and marked the beginning of Livernois Yard

No that would be Schaefer. (DT&I diamond on the Junction yard running track).

That was Townline "shanty". You do not see Schaefer at all in this video. Schaefer is on the then Junction Yard Secondary, the closest you come to Schaefer in this video is maybe 1/2 mile, in fact, to get to Schaefer you have to take a diverging route at Town Line if you were coming the other way (east). Don't anybody argue this with me because I've made the trip several times on both Passenger and Freight.

He was making the point that it was Schaefer, not Townline, that was the junction with the DT&I.

[sd70accsxt700]

You can also see the remains of the hump yard at Niles also. Went out there quite a few year's ago and explored it.

[Hogger1225]

Ok, re-read a little slower with my other eye and a bug crawling on the screen to act as a moving comma!

[Ben Higdon]

I'd love to see this at 1/10th the speed on here. Is there relatively simple way to make that happen?

Looks like a GTW transfer caboose at Post in Battle Creek (just before reaching Baron (junction with GTW)).

Lots of tracks stand out that are long gone, such as one of the yard tracks in Ann Arbor, and Rumley Yd in Battle Creek. The switch has been removed to the north wye at BO in Kalamazoo, but the stub of the wye is still visible on the right.

The freight thats passed on the east side of Kalamazoo looks like WDKZ on its way to Albion (MWF).