New Times Two

I had agreed to go take some photos where the railroad that is behind my house goes under the freeway. This is for the Mason County Non-Motorized Trail Commitee I'm on.

Just for the record, here's what that looks like. Not too exciting.

But there are some new things to show you. I did walk this section of tracks once long ago, but I wasn't taking pictures. It was so long ago, the freeway wasn't finished, although it was under construction.

There is another Saginaw distance marker. This one is 134 miles. The one behind my house is 130 miles. I'm sort of surprised these are being kept up because the current line, Marquette Rail, no longer connects to Saginaw. Those markers are from when this was main line of the Pere Marquette Railway which was in operation from 1900- 1947.

But far and away, the most interesting thing is those brown lines beside the tracks you can see in the first picture. Here they are again.

This is welded rail sections laid out, I assume for replacement of the regular track. Now this is extremely interesting! I've seen it being laid in New York, but couldn't get pictures as we were going by in a car.

I paced out the sections of rail and they seemed to be about a quarter-mile long. I have looked this up, and that is accurate. But how did they get those long pieces here? They are transported on specially connected flatcars. I'm not sure why they were dropped in bundles of 8.

Anyway, traditional rails are about 39 feet long and are bolted together. Those joints are what makes the "clickity-clack" of the train. However, for heavy loads or high-speed travel, the longer sections are the way to go. These are welded together in place.

Here's a video that shows the whole process of laying these and repairing the track. It's long. But if you just want to see the cars that unload the long rail sections watch from minute 6 to 10.



I sure hope I manage to catch some of the actual work when they put this down.

The other "new" thing is that I am going to switch out my current Scripture verse to keep in mind for my life. My most recent one was for the big NCT hike, and it was II Samuel 22:37- "You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way."

But I'm going to concentrate on keeping this one in mind now. Isaiah 43:18- “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."

I love to learn new things. I don't want to get stuck in a rut just because I am getting older. I don't want to let the mistakes of the past weigh me down. I'm going to look forward to however many more years I have to see what new things God has in store for me!

I edited and worked on projects in the morning. The afternoon was filled with errands and bell choir. I did get in some miles with the walk beside the tracks and then all the trails at the Methodist Church and some in the School Forest.

Miles walked in 2026: 96.3

Beside the tracks, then Methodist and School Forest trails, 3.4 miles.

See Marquette Rail

Newer, Bigger Shuttlewagon

You know I'm always keeping my eyes open to see the adorable little switcher engine they use atthe Packaging Corporation of America, PCA, in Manistee to move rail cars around. See the link below for a pretty good picture of it.

It's often out of sight, and I don't go past there just every week.

But, looky, looky! They got a new one and it's bigger. It's still made by Shuttlewagon, but it's called the Navigator.

Note that the front is longer, which probably means more motive power, and that there are 8 wheels that run on the rails, while the smaller one only has four.

I suspect, because it can drive right off the tracks on those big tires, that this is kept in storage when it's not actively switching cars which is probably why I don't see it 8 out of 10 trips past there.

PCA is one of the main reasons that Marquette Rail still actively runs to Manistee. And I hope it keeps thriving. The main line is Grand Rapids to Manistee. The line than runs in back of my house is also Marquette Rail, but that is a spur to Ludington for Occidental Chemical.

Today was a bit fractured. I had a meeting in the morning, and cleaned a space for the Christmas Tree (yes, Om is getting in that mood). Managed to get a fair amount of my other things done, but nothing was in a block of time.

See Shuttlewagon

Miscellaneous

  If yesterday was congested, today was miscellaneous and as flighty as the phoebes on my deck. I worked on a lot of different projects. I took pictures of a lot of different things.

We'll start with some new flamingoes in the lawn just down the road from me. There is quite a collection now, but you haven't seen these ones yet. I'm pretty sure they are getting ready to open a dance studio for their neighborhood.

While out doing errands, I had to wait for the train at a grade crossing with gates. That was neat- I got to see more of the train at one time than when it passes behind my house. They have one of the engines with the new paint scheme on this line now, but it's not the lead engine.

Then I stopped for some quick shots at the Pere Marquette River Flats. This is where the river begins to open into Pere Marquette Lake (where the Badger car ferry is docked). It's a huge cattail marsh. You can see more of the open water at this time of year.

Finally, the first and last pictures of the day- the new and the old, both textural. The first is a sugar maple tree loaded with flowers. New life.

I'll end with the broken-down cattail stems and leaves from last year in the marsh. Past life.

In other news: It's really all other news- wow. Got my car, did laundry, did accounts, did volunteer stuff, did other stuff, went to UPS, ate too much. Didn't finish hardly anything, but hopefully the progress I did make will build up to completed tasks soon.

See Congested

Get Outa the Way!

  You know what they say- "Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way! One should definitely get out of the way of an engine! Several trains went by today- seemed like more than usual. This is Marquette Rail- the line that goes in back of my house, but we were in Scottville when I took this picture.

It was a busy day on the home front. It was probably good to stay out of our way too. We were on a roll! The hiking was limited to a walk to Scottville and back. We went shopping at three stores, planned tomorrow, and did three loads of laundry. I know I show you clothes on the line almost every year, but it's one of my favorite spring milestones. Of course, the new ropes all stretched, but we'll tighten them up later!

We visited with crafter friend Chris, and Cathy. We cleaned out the cars. We thought we would start a trailer project, but didn't get to that except for getting out the extension cord and discussing it. However, we did start another little project. Stay tuned. Will reveal all tomorrow.

And that is enough for one day! Tomorrow is?... some of you know.

See Crash

Marquette Rail Bridge, White Cloud

  As I was driving home yesterday, I got to feed another of my hobbies- that of being a railfan. It's something of a mystery that I'd never noticed this bridge before. Granted, I don't drive this route terribly often, but this is certainly not the first time I've done so.

The White River passes just south of White Cloud. Yes, this is the same White River that I have hiked to twice in the past few months. Here's the view downstream. The water is moving at a pretty good clip. This picture is taken from the road bridge.

But what caught my eye was the view upstream.

Wait! What? I had to stop and walk back to take pictures!

This is a wood trestle railroad bridge. This is part of the same line that runs past my house, Marquette Rail. Near me, it runs east-west. But at Baldwin, it turns south and goes to Grand Rapids. This is on that track. What I'm telling you is that this is an active rail line.

Want a closer look?

So far, I haven't been able to find out anything specific about this bridge on line. It's a typical type of construction for the 1800's. The line was formerly the Pere Marquette- probably Michigan's most famous railroad. However, they formed in 1899 by buying up several other lines. One of those was the White River Railroad, which ran from White Cloud north to Bitely. However, the White Cloud station was north of the river. It was at the junction of this line and the Chicago and West Michigan which connected with Muskegon that the PM also bought.

So, my best guess is that the Pere Marquette Railway built this bridge when they extended the line south to Grand Rapids. However, that doesn't seem consistent with the fact that bridges of this contruction type were usually made earlier.

The uprights were pile driven into the river bed. The outer ones angled to provide stability- the same principle as a flying buttress. This type of bridge construction is uniquely American. Of course, the really huge ones were out West.

I'm fairly amazed to find even a small one still in use.

In other news, believe it or not, I wasn't incapacitated from yesterday's hike. I painted for six hours, and finished that job. I'll admit I was getting tired, but hadn't checked the time because I wanted to finish. When I did see how long I'd been working, I knew why I was feeling tired. And, I did a little editing.

See Marquette Rail Big Sable River See White River trail bridge

Whistle Stop

 
Imagine my surprise when I got home from work and there's a train parked in my back yard! I should have taken a shot without zooming in, so you'd see what I see from my deck.

I have to say that I don't think I've ever seen a train stopped here. It's single track, so there's no way they were just waiting on a siding.



I had to go back and find out what was up.

You can see a spot of green in the window- that's the back of the engineer's jacket.



I hollered a "hello," and the engineer and conductor actually came out to talk to me. They were bored stiff. The track was being worked on between here and Ludington, where they were headed. Instead of telling them before the train left Baldwin, they were told en route that there would be a slight delay. Right. They'd already been there three hours.

I learned a couple of things. I knew Marquette Rail operated between Ludington, Manistee and Grand Rapids, but not the actual logistics. Two separate trains do the Ludington-Baldwin and Manistee-Baldwin routes. The cars are sorted at Baldwin and run by a third train to Grand Rapids.

I told the guys I'm a railfan, and had seen an engine with the new paint scheme out here only a couple of times. They said another one is in the shop being painted. So perhaps eventually I'll get to see pretty engines more often.

Told them about the fire the train caused this summer. He said that wasn't that unusual, and most of the time, they never even know it happened. Last year the train he was driving started a fire near Manistee that burned about 3 acres. Who knew that diesels caused so many fires?

Offered to make them some coffee, but they said they were good.

A few nice autumn pictures keep posing themselves. White birch against interesting sky.



Accountability Report:
Worked all day. Did some stuff this afternoon- I may tell you about that tomorrow.
No writing, although I have an hour yet before I have to go to work... we'll see if I can talk myself into doing anything. I have hopes for tomorrow afternoon.

	See New Owner, New Paint Scheme
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Gordon Road Rail Crossing- Part 2

 
I thought I'd walk down and see how the Gordon Road project is coming along. The Road Closed signs are still in place, but people are driving through. It's all paved now... it was the last of the dirt roads near my house.



I find it hard to believe this road is 3.5 feet lower than it was before, but perhaps the previous 10 foot clearance wasn't quite that low. I'm also pretty sure a long truck 13.5 feet tall would not want to try this.



I was hoping to find something else of interest on the way. Not much. I took the same route as last time, climbing up to the tracks and walking home that way.

Here's a report on the area where the fire was in August. Nice and green, some branches pretty black, but it looks like all the large trees will survive.



Once again the best scenes of the day are the dramatic skies. Sunrise, before and after the light hit the clouds.





It rained for a while while I was at work, but only the clouds are left now.



I'm pretty tired. The day shift was a little rugged- machinery not cooperating. No matter, I get to go in and do some more of it in a while.

	See Gordon Road Rail Crossing See The Fire
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Gordon Road Rail Crossing

 
I've said for years that the county would never pave this half mile of road because they would have to deal with the too narrow and too low railroad bridge over it.

Last week there was an article in the paper that Gordon Road in this section (and a few other roads) were going to be paved. Huh!

So I walked there to see what's happening. I woke up this morning with a cold. It's nothing now except a runny nose that won't stop, but on the premise that a walk is the cure for everything, I got out of my chair after dinner and hoofed it down there.



Looks like they are definitely going to improve the 10-foot clearance. See how far down they've dug.




They are about 2.5 feet deeper than the previous road bed. About to the bottom of the bridge abutment, I think.



Not sure what they are going to do on the side I'm standing on. When they dig the road bed lower there are two driveways that have to be dealt with. And they can't make it wider unless the bridge is replaced. Maybe they can just have warning signs for "one lane road."

Anyway, I climbed up and walked the tracks home.



Going to bed early, and I don't anticipate that the cold will be much of a problem tomorrow.

	See Marquette Rail- Up Close and Personal
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Rail Tales

 
Walked to town today to do some errands and came home by way of the railroad tracks. A train came while I was walking. That always makes me happy.



Before the train came by, however, I was looking at the hopper cars parked along a siding. Freight cars can come from anywhere, and these are marked Winchester and Western. Well, I think I'm a railroad buff, but this one was new to me.



I had to look it up.



Now I feel pretty dumb. It's a short line that runs in Virginia, West Virginia and New Jersey. But it's been in operation since 1916. You'd think I would have heard of it. Probably I have, but the info didn't stick. My railroad fan friend, Irene, will be appalled.



I took a close picture of the Marquette Rail engine as it went by. See the number? This is the same engine I saw the first time I spotted the new paint scheme after it was acquired by the Genesee and Wyoming line. They now own over 120 short lines!



The co-op grain elevator used to be serviced by the railroad. The loading chute still hangs in place, unused and forlorn.



Now, everything comes and goes by truck. I don't know why. The trains run every day.

	See New Owner, New Paint Scheme
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