State of Michigan

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This website has been archived from TrainWeb.org/pblarsenpics to TrainWeb.US/pblarsenpics.

I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I fell in love with trains when I was very young and loved watching the railroads in the area. My house was less than half of a mile from the old Grand Trunk Western mainline that ran from Durand to Muskegon. At one time a bustling piece of railroad that shuttled trains to and from the carferries at Muskegon, this line is now run by the Grand Rapids and Eastern and seems to be in quick decline. I cut my teeth railfanning the Chessie System/CSX line through Grand Rapids, with the old Pere Marquette's Wyoming Yard being a favorite hangout. On these pages, you will see a variety of photos, many of which are from the mid to late 1980's when I first started exploring railroads in the area. These photos include many shots of the CSX transition when you could find a wide variety of engines of different heritages wandering through Wyoming Yard, with many of these being GP-30's. Also be sure to take a look at my shots of the GTW on one of its last runs to Grand Rapids in 1987 before the Central Michigan Railway purchased the line from Durand to Muskegon and subsequently parcelled it up. These include pictures of the GTW switching the Grand Rapids Press, which also has just recently become a thing of the past. Although much of what I loved about Grand Rapids railroading has disappeared, I still have wonderful memories of this area and am in the process of capturing this in an HO model railroad that focuses on Grand Rapids' Fuller Jct., which represents a point where the GTW, Chessie System, Michigan Northern, and Conrail all came together. I hope you enjoy my pictures of Michigan!

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