One for Raildudes dad to chew on

[J T]

(of course, anyone else who might have info about this feel free to answer as well)

Ok, this lonely piece of rail has been intriguing me for YEARS. The first time I spotted it was shortly after moving to GR in '99. It's located at the corner of Taylor and Sweet, and from what I can gather, it's part of an old spur off the GT line, and it followed along Taylor and connected to the mainline three blocks to the south.

The thing that intrigues me the most is that it appears this old spur crossed the street. But on the other side of the street there is an old house, which looks to have been there at least 40-50 years or more, making the date of this rail/spur quite old. I see stuff like this and wonder why they left it there.


1. Looking south. The MMR line crosses Taylor about three blocks down. The crossing signal was just out of my frame to the right.




2. The old brickwork along the side of the rail is VERY intriguing!

[i995impalass]

Thats at the end of Taylor St & Sweet St, by Monroe top of the hill

[Raildudes dad]

Part of the old suburban line street car line. Connected on the "north" end to the PM & PRR. An old timer told me he remembers freight motors delivering coal cars from CP to the Vets Facility.

Link to a map http://hometown.aol.com/chirailfan/grrmapt.html

[J T]

Part of the old suburban line street car line. Connected on the "north" end to the PM & PRR. An old timer told me he remembers freight motors delivering coal cars from CP to the Vets Facility.

Link to a map http://hometown.aol.com/chirailfan/grrmapt.html

Wow. It's amazing when you think about all the rails that used to run through this town at one time or another. How long ago would you estimate this rail line was in use?

[GRHC]

Part of the old suburban line street car line. Connected on the "north" end to the PM & PRR. An old timer told me he remembers freight motors delivering coal cars from CP to the Vets Facility.

Wow. It's amazing when you think about all the rails that used to run through this town at one time or another. How long ago would you estimate this rail line was in use?

The Grand Rapids Railway ceased operation on 8/23/1935 so almost 89 years ago.
Aerial photos from 1947 still show the footprint of the line to the veterans facility however it’s impossible to tell if the tracks are still in place. It is possible that this section of line remained in use and was taken over by one of the steam rail roads after the Grand Rapids Railway was abandoned.


Portions of the line were abandoned beginning in the late 1920s

This photo appeared in the Grand Rapids Harold on the final day of operation recognizing those who worked on the line.

Here’s a 1924 map of the system.

Note: United SuburbanTransportation (former GR H & C trackage) ran from Jenison Michigan to the Grand Rapids city limits until the connection was severed. United Suburban Transportation utilized the Grand Rapids Railway to reach their terminal in downtown Grand Rapids from 1926 untill 1932.
The GR GH & M also utilized Grand Rapids Railway trackage untill it was abandoned in 1926
I hope J T that I’ve been able to answer your question so that you may now have closure.
Is the section of track In your photo still in place in 2024?

[GRHC]

Part of the old suburban line street car line. Connected on the "north" end to the PM & PRR. An old timer told me he remembers freight motors delivering coal cars from CP to the Vets Facility.

Link to a map http://hometown.aol.com/chirailfan/grrmapt.html

Topographical maps show the line had a connection with the GTW at the corner of Taylor and Matthews Court then running along Taylor Street as seen in J T’s photo.
The line then ran past the veterans facility eventually crossing the Grand River north of the veterans facility ending at the Western Michigan State Fairgrounds in Comstock Park. At Comstock Park is where the Grand Rapids Railway had a connection with the PM and the PRR.

This image from a 1918 topographical map shows the Grand Rapids railway line running past the veterans facility.

This is an image showing the Grand Rapids
Railway the veterans facility and the power plant taken from a 1912 Sanborn fire map.

[~Z~]

Is the section of track In your photo still in place in 2024?

Noppers - Was there in a 2011 street view, but gone in 2014 when they redid the sidewalk. Looks like 2016 they completely redid the street and sidewalks again as well.

[GRHC]

Part of the old suburban line street car line. Connected on the "north" end to the PM & PRR. An old timer told me he remembers freight motors delivering coal cars from CP to the Vets Facility.

Here’s a photo and postcard images of what the line used to look like in and around the Grand Rapids Michigan Soldiers Home.