Page 1 of 1

GTW #6323 Excursion to Grand Rapids - 1961

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 9:44 am
by SD80MAC
This may have been shared here before, found this neat video of Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 #6323 pulling an excursion into Grand Rapids in 1961. The majority of the film is of the engine sitting at the Leonard St. station, but the first scene is somewhere just east of GR. The audio is the train whistling through Ada, recorded "a few minutes before the first scene". I'm having trouble placing the shot. The photographer was clearly up on a bridge or large hill. The terrain doesn't really make sense for the Crahen, Beltline or Leffingwell overpasses, though I know a lot has changed in nearly 60 years. Anyone have any guesses?


Re: GTW #6323 Excursion to Grand Rapids - 1961

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 1:26 pm
by Schteinkuh
I remember that being mentioned as Leffingwell the last time I saw it posted

Re: GTW #6323 Excursion to Grand Rapids - 1961

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:07 pm
by tsinoms
I can see the hill shot being leffingwell before it was industrialized.

Re: GTW #6323 Excursion to Grand Rapids - 1961

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 4:47 pm
by MQT1223
There is also a neat photo of the 6323 crossing 28th st as well.

Re: GTW #6323 Excursion to Grand Rapids - 1961

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 7:44 am
by Doktor No
MQT1223 wrote:There is also a neat photo of the 6323 crossing 28th st as well.
Where would it cross 28th street at? Unless Rod Serling was on board as the engineer......."Imagine if you will..."

Re: GTW #6323 Excursion to Grand Rapids - 1961

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:09 am
by SD80MAC
Doktor No wrote:
MQT1223 wrote:There is also a neat photo of the 6323 crossing 28th st as well.
Where would it cross 28th street at? Unless Rod Serling was on board as the engineer......."Imagine if you will..."
One of the clubs in the GR area sponsored a trip from Grand Rapids to Jackson(?) over the NYC with the GTW 6323. Supposedly the big 4-8-4 turned the rail blue on the hill south of Caledonia because it was working so hard on a photo run by! The NYC men had said it was the biggest steam locomotive to ever run on the Grand Rapids Branch.