Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

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SD80MAC
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Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

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The following is intended to serve as a guide for railfanning the Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad. Please be mindful of trespassing on railroad property and always be safe when around trains. This will hopefully be the first of several guides compiled on the railroads in western Michigan.

A Brief Overview:
What is today the Grand Rapids Eastern (GRE) was originally built in the 1850s as part of the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee’s mainline from Detroit to Grand Haven, and ultimately across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee via rail car ferries. Towns along the railroad included Durand, Owosso, St. Johns, Ionia and Grand Rapids. The line later became part of the Grand Trunk Western (GTW), who moved the ferry operations to Muskegon in the 1930s. The ferries continued to run until 1978. After that, the line gradually became less-important to the GTW, until finally in 1987 it was sold to the Central Michigan Railway (CMGN). The CMGN really had no interest in operating the line west of Owosso, and it quickly began to abandon sections while letting the rest fall into disrepair. In 1993, CMGN sold what remained of the GTW between Penn Junction (just west of Grand Rapids) and Ionia to Railtex Corporation, who began operating it as the Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad. The CMGN then abandoned the rest of the line between Ionia and Owosso. The GRE connected in Lowell with another Railtex-owned railroad, the Mid Michigan. Railtex was sold to Rail America in 2000, and the GRE and MMRR were included in the sale. The GRE and MMRR were operated as basically one railroad, with a crew generally working east from Grand Rapids in the morning, meeting in Lowell with another crew that worked south from Greenville on the MMRR, interchanging cars with each other, then going back to their respective points of origin. This practice continued until 2006 when both MMRR and GRE lost 2 major customers, Electrolux in Greenville and American Bumper in Ionia, which drastically reduced the amount of business on both railroads. After this, 1 crew worked the GRE and what little was left to do on the MMRR, which generally meant not going beyond Lowell. The MMRR north of Lowell was abandoned in 2009 along with the GRE east of Lowell to Ionia. In 2013, Rail America was sold to Genesee & Wyoming Corp, and today is operated as 1 of G&W’s 6 Michigan operations. While traffic remains steady on the GRE, it is a far cry from what it was 20 years ago. Assigned motive power as of early 2021 is EMD GP38-2 GR #2104, painted in G&W orange.

Grand Rapids:
Grand Rapids is the base of operations for the GRE. Their yard (which local railfans refer to as “Fuller Yard”) is located in the northwest part of the city along Ann St, and is the old interchange yard that GTW used to swap cars with Conrail and the C&O. The yard is 4 tracks including the mainline, and has an engine house which is used to store GRE’s locomotive when not in use.

ImageFuller Yard by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Looking west at Fuller Yard. The engine house is on the right.

ImageFuller Yard by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Looking east at Fuller Yard, with the yard office on the right.

At the east end of the yard is Fuller diamond, where CSX’s Grand Rapids Terminal sub crosses the GRE. The diamond is controlled by the CSX dispatcher, and the GRE must call either by radio or by phone to get a signal across.

ImageFuller Jct by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
While not uncommon, catching a meet at Fuller diamond can be difficult. Here Marquette Rail Z151 is seen northbound on CSX while GR #2104 waits for a signal to begin building their train.

ImageFuller Diamond by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
In another view just east of the diamond, MMRR #2057 and GR #2104 are building their train for the trip east.

The west end of the yard is not very accessible, and the mainline passes over Alpine Ave on a bridge. The eastbound approach signal for the diamond can be viewed from here.

ImageFuller Yard by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

ImageShovin' by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

West of here, GRE ownership of the line ends at the Grand Rapids/Walker city boundary, where the Coopersville & Marne Railway (CPMY) ownership begins. The GRE interchanges with the CPMY about a mile west of the yard at the old St. Mary’s cement spur off of Panell Ave.

ImageProperty Line by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A relatively new sign marks the spot where GRE ends and CPMY begins.

ImageShoving Back by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
GRE backing east from the CPMY interchange, passing the sign marking the beginning of the city of Walker.

ImageWestbound by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Westbound along Panell Ave, approaching the CPMY interchange.

ImageInterchange by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
GRE shoves a loaded lumber car up the CPMY interchange, after first pulling the pair of empties.

Immediately east of the diamond is a now unused siding that was once used by the GTW and C&O to interchange. There is a nice shot here of a westbound that can be taken from the pedestrian crossing where Broadway Ave used to cross the tracks.

ImageApproaching the Diamond by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Moving east, we come to the first grade crossing, Turner St. The westbound approach signal for the diamond is easily viewed from here.

ImageTurner Street by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

Looking east from Turner, a shot can be had of a train crossing the Grand River bridge westbound with a long enough lense.

ImageInbound GRE by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
One of the highlights of the line is the bridge over the Grand River. The bridge is most easily viewed from the north side via the Ann St. bridge. A cloudy day or very early morning is recommended for shooting here, as otherwise the train will be largely backlit.

ImageRiver Crossing by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
GRE crossing the Grand River in Grand Rapids.

The southeast side of the bridge is also somewhat accessible via some hiking trails people have made. Most of the land in this spot is owned by the city.

ImageGrand River by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A vertical shot showing the view from the southeast side of the bridge.

Just east of the bridge, the tracks pass over Monroe Ave on a classic girder bridge. There are many wires and power lines here, which can make getting a shot difficult.

ImageRelics by wm_railphotos, on Flickr
A westbound train crossing over Monroe Ave.

The first crossing east of the Monroe bridge is Taylor Ave, which can make for a nice eastbound shot in the morning.

ImageGrand Rapids Eastern by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

ImageMMRR 24 heads east by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

The line begins to curve almost straight south here. There is a large intersection where Plainfield and Leonard streets meet, and the GRE mainline bisects it at a 45 degree angle. On the southwest side of the crossing is the old GTW Grand Rapids depot, which now houses an irrigation company. It is also the site of the GTW’s old Grand Rapids yard, but only the mainline is in use these days. The irrigation company is generally tolerant of railfans and will usually grant you access to the old platform for pictures.

ImageGRE and the GTW Depot by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A westbound train passes the old depot and what remains of the old yard.

ImageGTW Depot by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound train is seen passing the depot, viewed from the old platform. In the 1970s, there was a derailment here, and some of the scars can still be seen on the platform.

ImageGTW Depot by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Eastbound passing the old depot, as seen from the old yard.

The next crossing east of the depot is Coldbrook St, which features some older railroad crossing signals.

ImageGood Morning, GRE by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr

The tracks continue south until they begin to curve back to the east. They pass under College Ave and I-196.

ImageThe More Things Change... by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Eastbound about to pass under the College Ave overpass. The grade is near 1% through here, so the trains will generally be working hard as they fight their way up the hill.

ImageUnderpass by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound train passes under I-196.

After going under the interstate, the tracks swing more eastward and cross several roads at grade through Grand Rapids’ northeast side.

ImageHill Assault by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
2 units crawl uphill eastbound, crossing Houseman St.

The track speed jumps from 10 mph to the maximum-allowed 25 mph through here, so trains will pick up speed as they head east.

ImageStep on the Gas by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound train is roaring in notch 8 as the engineer gets the train up to track speed, seen approaching Ball Ave.

ImageNearing Home by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A westbound train is in the process of slowing down as it crosses Ball Ave.

As the tracks continue east, they pass through a more industrialized area. There is a currently disused spur just west of Maryland Ave that used to be utilized by Rosewood products.

ImageMaryland Ave by wm_railphotos, on Flickr
Eastbound passing the switch stand for the old spur to Rosewood.

Just east of Maryland Ave is the first customer for GRE going east, Precision Poly. They get plastic pellets in covered hoppers. There is no access to this spur from the ground, as the tracks pass through a cut in this spot. However, one can get a nice shot of them switching here from the Leffingwell St. overpass located just a bit further east.

ImageLast Trip by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound accelerates after stopping to work at Precision Poly.

Directly east of the Leffingwell St bridge is another overpass, this one for M-37/East Beltline. Parking in nearby businesses is available, but crossing the busy road can be a bit hairy on foot. The tracks bend slightly here as they now head more geographically east.

ImageM-37 Bridge by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Looking west at an eastbound approaching the M-37 overpass.

Ada:

The tracks head east from Grand Rapids into to the city of Ada. On the west side of town, the tracks pass through a deep cut, and pass under two roads. The first of which is Crahen Ave. Wires make a good photo of an eastbound pretty much impossible here, but a nice shot can be had of a westbound from the bridge.

ImageDash Two-ing Through The Snow by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A westbound about to pass under Crahen Ave.

The next overpass is M-21/Fulton St. This is a very busy road, and recent bridge work has brought fencing on either side of the bridge. The shots are largely the same as what can be had from the far less busy Crahen bridge.

The next accessible spot east of the M-21 bridge is the grade crossing at Spaulding Ave.

ImageIt Wakes Me Up A Lot by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound approaching Spaulding.

ImageThrough the Woods by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A westbound approaching Spaulding.

ImageSpaulding Ave. by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
A view of a westbound crossing Spaulding a bit farther back from the tracks on the south side.

The tracks then curve northeast through some woods and emerge at the Alta Dale Ave grade crossing, a lightly traveled road with only crossbucks and stop signs for crossing protection.

ImageMorning Eastbound by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound emerging from the trees at Alta Dale.

ImageWestbound by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Westbound about to cross Alta Dale.

The tracks then curve southeast and cross Kullross Ave, which features some older style cantilever signals with nice mechanical bells.

ImageTrunk Memories by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
An eastbound approaching Kullross passing one of the many GTW “No Tresspassing” signs that still dot the right of way.

ImageSucker Hole by Jonathon Leese, on Flickr
Another view of an eastbound crossing Kullross, this time from a bit farther east looking back west.

Next we will continue through Ada and onto Lowell.
Last edited by SD80MAC on Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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AARR
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Re: Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

Unread post by AARR »

Excellent post! Thank you SD80!
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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C&O Dispatcher
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Re: Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

Unread post by C&O Dispatcher »

Very informative! My major exposure with this GTW line was mostly between Durand and Lowell and never explored west of there. What type of operating authority does the GRE use? I presume some variation of track warrant control? Also, does G&W dispatch all of their lines from some centralized location?

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SD80MAC
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Re: Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

Unread post by SD80MAC »

I believe they get a track warrant that allows them to work between milepost X and milepost Y. They do announce on the radio when they are departing and arriving into yard limits. They have no dispatcher that they talk to on the radio, other than CSX when they need signals across the Diamond.
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kd_1014
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Re: Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

Unread post by kd_1014 »

Very nice and informative post Jon

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SD80MAC
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Re: Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

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Updated with part of Ada. Work in progress!
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Raildudes dad
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Re: Railfanning Guides: Grand Rapids Eastern RR

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2 comments
Ada is a township. There is no Village of Ada. The area across M21 from Amway is unincorporated.
RailTex acquired Alpine Ave to Ionia as the result of a lawsuit over Pinkerton's acquisition of the GT trackage. Things might look different today if RailTex had been the high bidder for the GT trackage Pinkerton acquired.

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