Grandville Interurban

[MQT1223]

Since I am in the mood about finding pictures and info about railroads that are no longer with us I got another one that might be a little harder to find but just as interesting. Anybody know what the interurban line was called that went down 30th street in Grandville and later turned and crossed Ivanrest and 28th at the intersection? Lee St. was built on the right of way and follows the alignment of the road bed into Wyoming. Even the powerlines still exist in modern form, although since they are newer do not show signs at one point being the lifeline of a railroad. Do any pictures even exist of whatever line this is? If its the Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Muskegon I didn't think it went that south. I am pretty sure on one piece of info regarding this line, that it eventually would become a part of the Michigan Electric. ME was the Conrail of Michigan Interurbans, and consolidated most of Michigan's failing electric lines into one system before it too eventually shut down as well. I am assuming the Great Depression killed this line, as it did for 99% of Michigan Interurbans.

[Saturnalia]

It is definitely not the GR,GH&M

[trnwatcher]

There is a presentation at the Wyoming Public Library at 3350 Michael Ave SW on October 23 at 6:00 pm covering just this subject. Norm Krentel is the presenter. I've seen a version of this presentation before and it is very informative.

There is Facebook page on for this event under the title "Riding the Interurban Between Grand Rapids and Holland (1901-1932)". I found it in the Wyoming History room on FB originally.

[MQT1223]

There is a presentation at the Wyoming Public Library at 3350 Michael Ave SW on October 23 at 6:00 pm covering just this subject. Norm Krentel is the presenter. I've seen a version of this presentation before and it is very informative.

There is Facebook page on for this event under the title "Riding the Interurban Between Grand Rapids and Holland (1901-1932)". I found it in the Wyoming History room on FB originally.

So what interurban was it? And once it hit Grandville did it follow Chicago drive?

[trnwatcher]

It was the Grand Rapids and Holland Electric Road I think was the name. From 28th and Ivanrest it went down Lee St to 30th St in Grandville then out to Jenison where they had an interchange with the PM. The line then ran SW to Georgetown, Hudsonville, Drenth, Zeeland and to Holland. The line split on the south side of Lake Macatawa and headed south to Saugatuck.

Here is a quick little history of the line....https://sites.google.com/site/thisisreb ... rurban-era

[J T]

It was the Grand Rapids and Holland Electric Road I think was the name. From 28th and Ivanrest it went down Lee St to 30th St in Grandville then out to Jenison where they had an interchange with the PM. The line then ran SW to Georgetown, Hudsonville, Drenth, Zeeland and to Holland. The line split on the south side of Lake Macatawa and headed south to Saugatuck.

Here is a quick little history of the line....https://sites.google.com/site/thisisreb ... rurban-era

A bridge still exists southwest of Holland from when the line went to Saugatuck. I think the last interurban car over this bridge was around 1915.

[MQT1223]

It was the Grand Rapids and Holland Electric Road I think was the name. From 28th and Ivanrest it went down Lee St to 30th St in Grandville then out to Jenison where they had an interchange with the PM. The line then ran SW to Georgetown, Hudsonville, Drenth, Zeeland and to Holland. The line split on the south side of Lake Macatawa and headed south to Saugatuck.

Here is a quick little history of the line....https://sites.google.com/site/thisisreb ... rurban-era

A bridge still exists southwest of Holland from when the line went to Saugatuck. I think the last interurban car over this bridge was around 1915.

Very good link. Where is this old bridge located? I can't believe that much of it still stands in its current condition.

[J T]

Where is this old bridge located? I can't believe that much of it still stands in its current condition.

Southwest side of Holland, just south of where 32nd Street ends, off of 66th. In the first pic, if you draw a straight line into the woods from Partridge Lane, that is where the bridge is. In the second pic, I've placed it in the middle of the frame. You can just barely see the bridge...kind of a couple of curved verticals (I think which is a distortion of the satellite imagery). There is a portion of the bridge deck fallen into the creek which looks like a white sliver of a triangle in the image.

This bridge was on the ROW which was a part of the first alignment between Saugatuck and Holland. I think around 1915 is when they realigned the ROW about a mile and a half to the east. This section would have lasted only 15 years or so, as I believe they built it around 1900.

[J T]

Ok, I was close...that bridge was in use 1899 to 1913. After that they realigned the ROW from 1913 to 1926. Here is a map showing the dates, as well as PM railroad tracks going all the way to Ottawa Beach. A portion of that line still exists, ending at Aniline Rd along Douglas Ave (Ottawa Beach Road) and serving TLC aka Ryder.

[DLM]

Donald Van Reken wrote a book on this line about 20 years ago with lots of photos. You can find it at the Herrick Public Library in Holland.

[trnwatcher]

Donald Van Reken wrote a book on this line about 20 years ago with lots of photos. You can find it at the Herrick Public Library in Holland.

I found a copy of this book at a garage sale back in the 90's.

[SteveHiuzenga]

You can still see where the line went through Zeeland (it looks like an alley, but it's not accessable), and there is an out building in the parking lot of Zeeland Lumber on Washington that was a power station for this. They sided it a few years back, but before they did that you could see all the electrical connections hanging from the side of the building.

[MQT1223]

You can still see where the line went through Zeeland (it looks like an alley, but it's not accessable), and there is an out building in the parking lot of Zeeland Lumber on Washington that was a power station for this. They sided it a few years back, but before they did that you could see all the electrical connections hanging from the side of the building.

I am actually gonna pursue a caboose lamp from this railroad that I just discovered recently. How weird that it would turn up after I just learned about the road it came from.

[J T]

I am actually gonna pursue a caboose lamp from this railroad that I just discovered recently.

How did you come across that? Who/what/where?

[MQT1223]

I am actually gonna pursue a caboose lamp from this railroad that I just discovered recently.

How did you come across that? Who/what/where?

I got my sources... same source that I just got my Pere Marquette 1228 numberboard from and my Union Switch and Signal Teardrop bell from the Wabash. He is also my parts guy for when I need new old stock parts for switch and caboose lamps. When I get this video converter that I need for my new camera you will see all this stuff on Youtube. Those are my last big purchases for now. I need a job to pay for the converter and haven't had any luck lately.

[fmilhaupt]

The PM caboose body that is/was at a house on the west side of the 4300 block of 64th Street is said to sit/have sat on part of what was the old interurban grade between Holland and Saugatuck.

The house was put up for sale within the last few years, so I don't know whether the caboose is still there.

[J T]

The PM caboose body that is/was at a house on the west side of the 4300 block of 64th Street is said to sit/have sat on part of what was the old interurban grade between Holland and Saugatuck.

The house was put up for sale within the last few years, so I don't know whether the caboose is still there.

64th St. north of Saugatuck? I've never seen a caboose in that area. More details, please.

[Standard Railfan]

64th St. north of Saugatuck? I've never seen a caboose in that area. More details, please.

Hey JT. I just looked on Google Earth. In an image from 4/9/2011 there appears to be a caboose sitting to the west of the house at 4364 64th St.(that is the address Google Earth assigned) North of Saugautuck. You cannot see the caboose in the street view or the more recent overhead views due to the rather luxurious foliage. From what I can see the car has a silver or grey roof. I have no idea what the body color is.

Happy Hunting.

[fmilhaupt]

It is PM #A566. Here is a photo from about a dozen years ago:



from http://www.pmhistsoc.org/preservd.shtml#a566

[J T]

64th St. north of Saugatuck? I've never seen a caboose in that area. More details, please.

Hey JT. I just looked on Google Earth. In an image from 4/9/2011 there appears to be a caboose sitting to the west of the house at 4364 64th St.(that is the address Google Earth assigned) North of Saugautuck. You cannot see the caboose in the street view or the more recent overhead views due to the rather luxurious foliage. From what I can see the car has a silver or grey roof. I have no idea what the body color is.

Happy Hunting.

HO-LEE-FU*...there it is! I've been by that house a million times in my life and I never knew that was there. I'm gonna check it out tomorrow to see if it's visible from the road.