The Huckleberry Railroad is a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

heritage railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

located in

Genesee Township, Michigan The Charter Township of Genesee, or Genesee Township, is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. In the Public Land Survey System, the township is survey area township 8 north, range 7 east. The population was 21,58 ...

, near

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 ...

. The railroad operates alongside

Crossroads Village In Colonial American history, a crossroads village is a settlement that was situated where two or more roads would intersect. The owners of farmland along a frequently traveled trail, path, or road, often paralleling a water route, would plan a ...

, both of which are owned and maintained by the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission. The railroad received its name due to the story that a person could jump off the train, pick wild

huckleberries Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...

, and re-board the train without difficulty, as it traveled so slowly.

History

What is now the Huckleberry Railroad began operating in 1872 as part of the Flint River Railroad. The

Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM) is a defunct railroad which operated in the U.S. state of Michigan between 1857 and 1899. It was one of the three companies which merged to become the Pere Marquette Railway. Early history The F&PM was c ...

later extended the branch line from Flint to Otter Lake. It later came to be known as the Otter Lake Branch. Eventually the track was extended by another from Otter Lake to Fostoria, for a total of from Flint to Fostoria. The

Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

abandoned the Otter Lake to Fostoria line in 1932, and the Otisville to Otter Lake line a year later. The Huckleberry Railroad began operations in 1976 on the remaining line when the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission opened Crossroads Village. The train station used by the Huckleberry Railroad at Crossroads Village is the former

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 ...

station from nearby Davison. On April 23, 2020, Genesee County Parks Director Barry June announced that the railroad and Crossroads Village would not open for the 2020 summer season due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. A late opening was planned in October 2020. It was the first time that the attraction had been forced to delay opening since it was first opened in 1976.

Locomotives

The Huckleberry Railroad owns several locomotives and many pieces of rolling stock. Two

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

(#152 and #464) have been restored to operating condition to pull vintage wooden passenger cars along the shores of Mott Lake.

Locomotive Roster

In Service

*12: Formerly Bethlehem Steel Co. #12, it is a General-Electric 45 ton diesel locomotive purchased from McHugh Locomotive's & Equipment Co. in trade for former engine #7, which was a nearly identical GE 50 ton locomotive. *152: Formerly

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

1920 Baldwin #152; #152 underwent restoration starting in 2016 and returned to service in late July 2018. *571: Formerly Badger Army Ammunition

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

HSG #571 *585: Formerly Badger Army Ammunition

HSG #585

Out of Service

*464: Formerly

Denver & Rio Grande Western The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

1903 Baldwin K-27 "Mudhen"; #464 is currently undergoing a rebuild. *3: Formerly Quincy & Torch Lake 1894

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

#3; #3 is on a 99-year lease from The Quincy Mine Hoist Association, Hancock, MI. *4: Formerly Potosi & Rio Verde 1904 Baldwin #4; #4 is on display by the main line.

In media

In 2009, Crossroads Village was the set for the feature film ''Alleged'', which is based on the 1925 Scopes Trial. The Huckleberry Railroad is shown in the film. It starred

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in ...

as defense attorney

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

and Fred Thompson as prosecutor

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

References

External links

Railroad's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huckleberry Railroad Tourist attractions in Genesee County, Michigan Heritage railroads in Michigan 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Narrow gauge railroads in Michigan Transportation in Genesee County, Michigan