Kalamazoo/Battle Creek MI

[dale8chevyss]

Going to be visiting the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek MI area at the end of the month.  Good places to do rail fanning, museums, etc?

 

Thanks

[MidlandMike]

The Battle Creek Amtrak station is on a short joint operating section of rail shared by CN/GT and the State of Michigan/ Amtrak Wolverine corridor.  CN's Chicago-Eastern Canada line would be the busier line.  I believe NS still has trackage rights to run locals on the SOM/Amtrak corridor.

I lived in Kalamazoo 40 years ago, but things have changed.  Amtrak's line runs along the north side of downtown, and the Grand Elk freight line runs along the east side of downtown.  The connection runs from the old PRR/GT&I station (along the I-90 business loop) to BO Tower (still standing?) a block north of the business loop.  CN's branch into town also connects near the PRR station.  There has been much de-industrialization in town, and the last of the paper mills has closed down.  Probably the biggest industry left in the area is the GM/Fisher Body auto plant SE of town.

[MidlandMike]

The nearest rail museum is the Little River RR, about 35 miles SE of Battle Creek:

http://www.littleriverrailroad.com/

 

[MidlandMike]

MidlandMike

...

I lived in Kalamazoo 40 years ago, but things have changed. ...  Probably the biggest industry left in the area is the GM/Fisher Body auto plant SE of town.

 

Well, more has changed, as I was reading about the Fisher Body Plant, was shut-down, and the plant converted to a successful industrial incubator.  Nevertheless, I see by Google Earth image that there is now only one track to service the facility, and the nearby yard is filled with covered hoppers, maybe just for storage(?)