Durand Union Station is a historic

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

in Durand, Michigan. The station, which now serves

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Blue Water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

'' trains, was originally a busy

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding ...

and Ann Arbor Railroad station, as well as a local office for Grand Trunk Western, from its construction in 1903 until 1974. It is currently owned by the city of Durand and leased by Durand Union Station, Inc. a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to the

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

, restoration, and maintenance of the building and its surrounding property. The building also houses three small

railroad history ''Railroad History'' (initially, ''The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin'') is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society since 1921. ''Railroad History'' consists primarily ...

museums: the Michigan Railroad History Museum (which doubles as a gift shop), the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Museum, and the Ann Arbor Railroad History Museum. Also in the building is a model railroad club, the Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers and its large layout, and a ballroom for special events and parties. The station sits at the junction of

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

's busy mainline interchange of the

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

and Holly Subdivisions. Additionally,

Great Lakes Central Railroad The Great Lakes Central Railroad is an American Class II regional railroad, operating in the state of Michigan. It was originally called the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway , which was formed on August 26, 1977, to operate over former Penn Cen ...

and

Huron and Eastern Railway Huron and Eastern Railway is a short line railroad operating of track in The Thumb and Flint/Tri-Cities area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., who purchased it from RailAmerica in 2012. Its ...

operate near the station, and a

freight yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...

used by all three carriers is located just north of it. It is one of Michigan's most popular locations for

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

s to visit, especially during the annual Durand Railroad Days Festival in May. The station was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 6, 1971, and the Michigan Register of Historic Places in 1987. The station's lessees are currently attempting to raise $50,000 for building repairs.

History

The station is an important part of railway history in the state. Built in 1903 by the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

firm of

Spier and Rohns Spier, Rohns & Gehrke was a noted Detroit, Michigan architectural firm operated by Frederick H. Spier and William C. Rohns, best remembered for designs of churches and railroad stations. These were frequently executed in the Richardson Romanesque s ...

it had a high volume of rail traffic as the

Grand Trunk Western The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holdi ...

and

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

railroads crossed at that location. It was almost destroyed by fire in 1905, but quickly rebuilt. At its peak, 42 passenger, 22 mail, and 78 freight trains passed through Durand on a daily basis. It serviced almost 3,000 passengers a day.

Final years of peak passenger service

In July, 1950, the station lost northwest–southeast service with the Ann Arbor Railroad's terminating passenger service, which went from Toledo to Frankfort and Elberta on Lake Michigan. (Elberta was a launch point for ferries north and west across Lake Michigan.) Into the 1960s the

(operating in Canada under the

) three trains a day operated as part of Chicago - Port Huron -

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

- Toronto trains: ''Inter-City Limited,'' ''

International Limited International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

'' (only making stops on the eastbound trip), ''La Salle'' and ''

Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...

.'' Until 1960 the Grand Trunk also into ran through trains from Detroit to Grand Rapids and Muskegon, where ferries could be boarded, for travelling across Lake Michigan, to Milwaukee. From Durand passengers could also board Detroit - Bay City

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

Decline

In 1971, the Grand Trunk Western terminated its last trains through Durand. These included the ''International Limited,'' its Chicago-Detroit ''Mohawk'' and an unnamed duplicate itinerary train with that route.''Official Guide of the Railways,'' September 1971, Canadian National Railways-Grand Trunk section, struck from timetable In 1974, the GTW decided to close the station due to declining traffic. The historic building was going to be torn down, however, the city of Durand filed for an injunction to stop the demolition and eventually purchased the station in 1979 for $1.00.

restored service through the station in 1974 and today Amtrak continues to provide daily intercity passenger rail service on the ''Blue Water'' route between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

, a remnant of the Grand Trunk service. Baggage cannot be checked at this location; however, up to two suitcases in addition to any "personal items" such as briefcases, purses, laptop bags, and infant equipment are allowed on board as carry-ons. From 1982 to 2004, it was instead served by the modern incarnation of the ''International Limited,'' operated jointly by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

and Amtrak between Chicago and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

References

External links

Durand Union Station, Inc Official SiteDurand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers Official SiteDurand Union Station / Michigan Railroad History Museum on Facebook

{{authority control Amtrak stations in Michigan Durand Railroad museums in Michigan Museums in Shiawassee County, Michigan Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Former Grand Trunk Western Railroad stations Spier & Rohns buildings Railway stations in the United States opened in 1903 National Register of Historic Places in Shiawassee County, Michigan 1903 establishments in Michigan

History

Final years of peak passenger service

Decline

See also

References

External links