Coopersville and Marne Railway
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 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Coopersville, Michigan |
| Reporting mark | CPMY |
| Locale | West Michigan |
| Dates of operation | 1989–Present |
| Predecessor | Central Michigan Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 14.28 miles (22.98 km) |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
The Coopersville and Marne Railway is a non-profit[1] tourist railroad and common carrier in West Michigan. It connects with the Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad in Grand Rapids. The company owns the track, which runs from Walker, Michigan to Coopersville, Michigan in Kent and Ottawa counties, approx 14 miles. It runs passenger excursion trains from Coopersville to Marne and back. Some are theme oriented while others are just train rides. They also service one freight customer, near the eastern end of the line, with cars of lumber.
As of 2008[update], one car in their fleet was selected to be handicapped accessible in the near future.[2]
As of 2022, the handicap-accessible car was still under restoration. No completion date had been announced.
As of 2023, the handicap-accessible car had completed restoration and is operational.[3]
The heritage of the line can be traced back to the 1850s, as the Oakland and Ottawa Railway. It later became part of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, being the mainline to Grand Haven where they operated lake ferries to transport cars across Lake Michigan. Ultimately becoming part of the Grand Trunk Railroad, it became a branch line after the Trunk moved its ferry operations to Muskegon, via a shared trackage route with the Pennsylvania Railroad from Walker to Muskegon, thru Conklin and Ravenna. The Coopersville to Grand Haven route became a lighter use branch line for the remainder of the GT ownership, eventually being cut back to Coopersville before being sold to the Central Michigan in 1983. The Central Michigan also purchased the Muskegon route, eventually abandoning and removing the rail to be sold or used elsewhere. This fate was spared for the Coopersville segment, however, as a General Motors owned facility in Coopersville had a strategic supply contract in place with the US military at the time, requiring rail access in case of wartime needs. The tracks had already began to be removed on the west end of Coopersville city limits, when this was discovered. The tracks were placed back into operation and the line was put up for sale, as the Central Michigan did not have interest in owning the line for lack of customers.
Locomotives
[edit]| Number | Original Owner | Type | Builder | Build Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | United States Army | 20-ton Switcher | Whitcomb Locomotive Works | Unknown | Non-Operational, stored. |
| 1395 | Canadian National Railway | 4-6-0 | Montreal Locomotive Works | 1913 | Non-Operational, cosmetically restored and on display.[4] |
| 2394 | Vermont Railway | RS-1 | ALCO | 1942 | Non-Operational, poor candidate for restoration. Former Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway. |
| 3049 | DuPont Chemical | 50-ton Switcher | General Electric | 1957 | Operational, secondary locomotive used on the railroad. |
| 5208 | Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | NW2 | EMD | 1949 | Non-Operational, used as a parts engine for #7014. |
| 7014 | Grand Trunk Western Railroad | SW9 | EMD | 1952 | Privately owned. Operational, main locomotive used on the railroad. |
| 7209 | Consumers Energy | 125-ton Center Cab Switcher | General Electric | 1949 | Gifted to CPMY in February, 2023, as part of the J.H. Campbell generation facility's planned 2025 closure. Was used as a switcher for coal gondolas at the facility. Source[5] |
Source[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "About Us". Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ "Renovation project aims to make Coopersville and Marne Railway accessible to everyone". Grand Rapids Press. 15 September 2008.
- ^ "FAQ". Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway. December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ Doria, Rosendale, Adriana, Katie (August 7, 2024). "Historic locomotive restored, on display in Coopersville". Wood TV 8.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "125-ton locomotive donated to Coopersville train friends group".
- ^ "Coopersville & Marne Railroad Company".
See also
[edit]
- Employer determination [1]
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