C&O Freight House in Plymouth MI.

[Great Bear 72000]

      I have an HO scale model kit for the C&O freight house that is located in Plymouth MI.  The kit was offered by a company called Wayfreight Models sometime in the early-mid 1970`s.  The freight house itself still exists in Plymouth (I have found some photos of it on the Internet and you can even see it on Google Earth!) but it was moved at some point to a place across the tracks from where it was originally located. 

     What I am interested in knowing is how the tracks serving the freight house were arranged.  The photo of the prototype that is a part of the instructions isn`t clear enough for me to tell.  There was a loading dock that extended out from one end of the building that apparently followed the curve of the track the building sat next to.  Since I am building a free-lance railroad, I am not interested in building the model as it existed in Plymouth, but I want to understand how the tracks were originally done so I can better design a place for it on my layout.  Thanks for your all`s help.

 

                                                                                       David

[dknelson]

I can't answer your question but I can say that in my experience, this is the very sort of question that the railroad historical societies can either answer or find the person who can.  They may have the track charts or photos or memories you are looking for.  They may even have published an article on Plymouth MI

The C&O historical group has a website.  http://www.cohs.org/

Dave Nelson

 

[Tonymm]

 David,

 

The February 1973 Model Railroader has an article (Four Routes into Plymouth) by Jim Hediger that may have your answer.  I did a quick (< 10 minutes) search for my copy but didn't unearth it.

 Tony 

[odave]

Several people familiar with the Plymouth area frequent the forums at www.railroadfan.com and www.michiganrailroads.com. Each site has a historical section - it might be worth a post, membership is free.  You could also contact the Pere Marquette Historical Society, via their website.

[Great Bear 72000]

     Thank you all for your replies.  While my collection of magazines goes back to the early 70`s, I don`t have the Feb, 1973 issue of MR.  However I did find a copy on Ebay and it is now on order.  And I did find some more information about the freight house on the Pere Marquette web site.  Thanks!

                                                              David

[PlymGuy]

Hi there Great Bear, you are in luck, if you are still in need of information on this.  I happened upon your post via google when I was looking for the same model kit you have, as this subject is near and dear to my heart. You see, I probably know more about that freight house, as it existed in the 1960's and 1970's, then anyone, except maybe some old timers who used to work for C & O at the Plymouth station or the nearby yard, if they are still around.  If they are and are reading this, I would love to hear from them, they might remember me and definitely would remember my grandfather the town historian.  He was a train buff and had quite a collection of railroad books.

Anyway, I grew up a block away from that freight house and the train station across the street from it.  When I was a kid, I used to play around and inside (and under) that freight house at least once a week, climbed in and on the boxcars there, and on the old freight hand pull carts that at that time were very old.  I remember well the day they moved the entire freight house across Starkweather street in the 1970's - that was quite an event. I also remember that huge freight scale in the freight house.  I believe I may also have some family photos of it, maybe at some point if I find them I can post them here.

Incidentally,  when I was a kid I got into model railroading and I remember well when Model Railroader did an article about the railroads in Plymouth, and also remember that ad about the freight house model in their magazine but I never bought it. I think a reason why I did not buy it, was because from the photo, I did not think it was an authentic representation of the house, but today I could make it look exactly as I remember it.  Back then though I was just looking at the photo of the model from the perspective of a twelve year old kid who was used to building models but not used to doing scratch built stuff.  Today though I think I will have fun with it.  Anyway, and luckily after all these years, just this evening I found a mint condition in original packaging model on ebay and just bought it over 30 years later, so I am anxiously awaiting getting the kit and putting it together.

I really don't know if I will build an HO layout, but it sure will be fun building this kit even if I just put it on the shelf somewhere in the house.  So at this point I think the best thing to do is to wait for the kit to arrive and after looking at the plans to see if they are accurate, I will post again here in a week to let you know.

In a nutshell though, to answer your question, on both the north and west sides of the freight house until it was moved, there were two docks - freight platforms, the north platform ran the entire length of the north side of the freight house and extended west of it and ran between the main line and the spur.  On the north side, two sets of tracks ran parallel to the house - the line that went east west through Plymouth from Detroit to grand Rapids. On occasion when I was a small boy, when the passenger trains stopped in Plymouth before passenger service ended, they would unload freight - not much, on the north side of the house, using their hand pull carts. I remember it like it was yesterday. On the west side of the freight house, there was a single track spur which ran parallel along the long dock, and the spur dead ended into the square west platform - this platform was butted up against the west side of the freight house.  The west platform had a ramp leading to the dirt parking lot so loading and unloading from and to the parking lot was possible.  When I was a kid though, this platform was rarely used for freight.  On occasion box cars were parked on the rail spur for loading/unloading, but not very often - if rail cars were there, it was mainly for long term storage.  Back then most of the freight was loaded and unloaded on the north side of the long platform at least from what I remember.

When I get the kit, I will compare that to my childhood memories and try to find some photos and them post back here in a few weeks.

Cheers!

[Great Bear 72000]

     Thanks for your message!  I got a copy of the Feb. 1973 issue of Model Railroader that has a photo of the freight house before it was moved.  The photo helps me to understand how the tracks to it were arranged which in turn will help me when I get around to building the kit I have. 

                                                           David (Greatbear72000)

[PlymGuy]

You are welcome. Incidentally I just received the kit today and noticed a typo or two in the instructions, when I get around to building it I'll post the correction.

By the way anyone, what is the best glue to use on basswood? The kit is basswood and I used to use Ambroid on model planes when I was a kid

[DouglasJMeyer]

Ok I am lost did they move it accross the tracks or across the street or both? I have lived around the area for my whole life but then i am not that old. It sits now where I allwas remember it being so I am worndering about the move. It is kind of odd. I really know very little about the C&O in michigan. I can tell you all about track layouts in WV but not so much about Michigan.

Doug M

[PlymGuy]

Hi Douglas.

The answer to your question is both. The old freight house sat exactly where Station 885 now stands. They moved the freight house in order to save it and also to build the building for the railroad themed restaurant, now called station 885. However, the original plan was to have a train style restaurant and station 885 came later. Here is what I mean.

Originally, the railroad track siding that butted into south loading dock of the C & O Freight House when it was in it it's original position (those tracks have since been removed to make room for the station 885 parking lot -  they ran parallel along the main tracks which border the parking lot), were gong to be used by the owners of the restaurant. They moved the freight house, brought in several old passenger rail cars and parked them on the siding and started construction of the station 885 building and after that was done they planned on restoring the rail cars which butted in to the west side of the restaurant.

The rail cars were built in I believe the 1920's or 1930's and were in a state of terrible dis repair. I remember this as if it was yesterday, because when I was a kid, my friends and I could easily get inside of the rail cars, all of them, and play around all day on them as long as we kept our eyes out for the Plymouth cops who would chase us away if they saw us LOL. We were never bothered by the railroad cops there because it was now private property. I remember going into the passenger car bathrooms and pulling the flush lever for the toilets, and it would open a flap in the toilet bowl and you could see straight down onto the ties and gravel! Yep, back then they dumped crap and pee on the rails disgusting wasn't it?

Anyway, the plan was, to have the main building, now station 885, serve as the main portion of the restaurant, and to restore the rail cars as part of the restaurant and serve customers who were seated in the rail cars their food. The building was to be physically connected to the rail cars and customers would board them from the building's west side.

Unfortunately, the rail cars were in such a bad state of dis repair, and due to the extremely high cost at that time to restore them, the plan was abandoned, and the building that station 885 is now in, construction was also abandoned for a long time I think a couple of years. I remember well playing around inside that empty carcass of station 895, for a long time all there was, were exposed cinder blocks, the roof and a dirt floor.

Quite a while later the old rail cars were removed because they became an eyesore and the plan was changed, into what is there now.

When I was about 11 or 12 I remember taking my Polaroid camera there and taking a snap shot of the half finished station 885 think I still have the photo around here somewhere.

Where the freight house sits now, there used to be a restaurant called the Coffee Cup, it was kind of nice, a cheap diner and folks who were waiting to catch a train or who just got off the passenger train service would stop at the restaurant. The Coffee Cup burned down though in the mid 60's.

[CSXPAID]

I to am halfway through building this model I also grew up around the area but in my lifetime it has always been at the current location I remember when it was a hobby shop!!! I came across the kit at a hobby shop in Livonia before christmas and had to have it I paid $10.00 for it

 

Also to I should point out that I am a Conductor for CSX and before my relocation to Willard Ohio I worked out of plymouth and went by it everyday!!!

 

 

[CSXPAID]

This is it so far the building, roof and sign are temporaroly in place for the pics!!!!! I plan on putting lighting and an interior in the office area of the building

 I will post pics as it progresses

[PlymGuy]

NEATO!  Great job!

When did you start conducting for CSX?  I assume since you say that you always remember the freight house being in the location that it is in now, that you were not a couductor during the 1960's when passenger service - which ended in 1971, was still provided by C&O...

[CSXPAID]

I grew up in Canton, I am 27 and have worked for them for 7 years

[PlymGuy]

 Cool.

I sure wish they would bring passenger service back.  I have many fond memories as a boy taking the train from the passenger station on Starkweather Ave. to downtown Detroit with my grandfather.

We would walk only one block down to the station, buy a ticket for a few dollars, get on the blue and gold Chessie diesell and be in Downtown Detroit in about an hour.  It was so much fun.  When they ended passenger service, most folks in Plymouth at that time were sad to see it go.

[CSXPAID]

I dont think it will ever happen again!!! Just like everything else in Michigan, The rail business is slowly dying there

[Great Bear 72000]

CSXPAID, I like the photos!  I will keep copies of them for when I get around to building my kit.  Also, there is a Plymouth Freight House kit on Ebay right now.  The bidding stops around 4am PST., Thursday.

                                                       David Greatbear72000

[CSXPAID]

Hey thanks alot!!!!, I have a bunch of little details for it on the way to my place now I will post pics as more is done!!!!!

 

[PlymGuy]

Just curious, what kind of glue are you guys using on this model?

I used to use Ambroid when I was a kid, just wondering what's the best glue for basswood...

[CSXPAID]

All I ever use is thin and gap filling CA (super glue)!!!

[CSXPAID]

Well I finished some of the interior!!! This stuff is really really small but the office interior walls ans the bathroom is near complete!! The toilet is coming!!!!

 

 

Later,

DEVLYN

 

[PlymGuy]

Hey DEVLYN that looks great!  When I was a kid the freight house was mostly locked up so I did not have much of an opportunity to go inside, I was mostly goofing around on the outside and the platform.  However, there was a short time when I was around 11 or 12, they left the door unlocked, and although I don't have vivid memories of the office, one thing I do remember well, is that there was this huge freight scale closer to the west wall of the house, maybe about 1/3 of the way into the building and closer to the long south wall than the long north wall and on the opposite end of the office area which was near the street. The scale was made of case iron, with those circular counter weights, and the scale platform, where one would place the freight to be weighed, was wood, actually it was part of the wood floor and flush to the floor so that it was easy to just slide the freight onto the scale. It was really neat.

Anyway I don't know if anyone makes ho scale “scales”, but if you are interested in doing something like that it would be fun.

I'm looking forward to starting to build my kit, maybe sometime this spring. I[ll be sure to post some pics when I get to it.

[CSXPAID]

Thanks plmguy the middle of the freight house where the freight door are will be unfinished so I have somewhere to put a terminal block for all the lighting!!! the opposite end of the freight house will look like the inside of a warehouse area!! The roof will be removable. Woodland scenics makes a freight scale in one of thier figure kits I believe its called depot workers I plan on adding details like that in that part of the building!!!

 I will post pics as it progresses

 

Later,

 DEVLYN