Homer mystery

[SousaKerry]

So a guy at work is telling me of a tale of an abandoned locomotive out West of Homer on the old Air Line. From Google Maps you can see a structure there at 42.131212, -84.846311. From his description it sounds like an old grain mill or mine load-out facility. There are no roads near the location so the only access is walking the roadbed. From my quick poking around the internet I have come up blank on what it could have been. Does anyone have any ideas? The guy at work said he saw it one day while snowmobiling down the old ROW apparently the property owner is in jail for stringing up a cable across the ROW that decapitated a young boy on a quad some years back.


https://www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2%B007'52.4%22N+84%C2%B050'46.7%22W/@42.1311155,-84.8478307,586m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d42.131212!4d-84.846311

[Hogger1225]

That's an old coaling tower. Went by it hundreds of times before the line was abandoned.

[NS3322]

So a guy at work is telling me of a tale of an abandoned locomotive out West of Homer on the old Air Line.

Did he describe the condition?

[GP30M4216]

It's a blip on the map southwest of Homer known as Clarendon. Here's some more info on the wonderful resource RRHX page:

http://michiganrailroads.com/clarendon-mi-coaling-tower

There have been a few other threads on this board in the past about the NYC Air Line, also referencing the coaling tower. Input "Clarendon" into the search box at upper right and research away!

Also, a few photos ca. 2010 of the Clarendon coaling tower near the bottom of this page: http://flickrhivemind.net/flickr_hvmnd.cgi?method=GET&search_domain=Tags&search_type=Tags&photo_type=100&sort=Date%20Posted,%20new%20first&photo_number=50&originput=nycrr&textinput=nycrr&noform=t&page=38&sorting=Interestingness&tag_mode=all (not my photos)

[SousaKerry]

Well the guy has a way of exaggerating his stories and most of them I think involve alcohol so it is not the most reliable source. Probably somebodies old farm truck parked under it and he thought it had to be a loco.

Before he came to work here he worked at the Ethanol plant in Albion, me thinks he sampled a little too much product.

[Super Chief]

For those tracking this line the power company has contracted a company to log out the ROW. Right now west of Three Rivers you can really see it along M-60. I've lived here since 1955 and it was never maintained like this. I would call it a 100 year cutting. If there are power lines running by the structure you would be able to see it someday.

[NS3322]

Does anyone know if it is possible to walk to the coaling tower?

[justalurker66]

There appears to be a private driveway off of "P Drive South" that leads back to the tower via the vacated ROW.
The property the tower is on is listed as a "vacant residential" zoned property under an individual's name.