Photos: Trip to Michigan, Part II

Little River Railroad #110 approached Main Street in Owosso, Michigan with an "Hourly Excursion" on 25-July-2009.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site features the excursion trains at the Train Festival in Owosso, Michigan. An "Hourly Excursion" train ran about four miles out of Owosso behind Little River Railroad's diminutive Pacific #110, and "All-Day Excursions" ran to Alma, Michigan and back behind either the City of Portland, Oregon's "Daylight" #4449 or former Nickel Plate Road Berkshire #765. Scenes from 24 to 26-July-2009 include a walk around downtown Alma, Michigan during an excursion layover.

Photos: Trip to Michigan, Part I

Some of the four-day attendance of 36,000 at the Train Festival in Owosso, Michigan wandered between steam locomotives, model railroad pavilions, and railroad maintenance equipment on 24-July-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site begins coverage of my recent trip to Michigan on 23-27-July-2009. This set includes a trip on VIA Rail Canada from Toronto to Windsor, Ontario, a look at downtown Flint, Michigan, scenes around Owosso, Michigan, and scenes from the Train Festival grounds in Owosso including non-excursion equipment, the miniature railway, and model railroad pavilion.

Travel: Three Days, Three Rides

A one-eighth scale model of a Pennsylvania Railroad diesel approached the loading location at the Train Festival in Owosso, Michigan on 24-July-2009

FLINT, MICHIGAN - Just about every possible aspect of railroading made an impression during the now-completed Train Festival in Owosso, Michigan this weekend. From purchasing railroad memorabilia to observing model railroads to operating a steam locomotives to taking night photos of trains, it was all possible, assuming one bought a ticket early enough since many events sold out. Train riding was obviously one of the options available. In my three days at the Train Festival, I decided to ride a train a day, and as it worked out, the trains became larger each day.


In a view taken from a trailing passenger car, the miniature Pennsylvania diesel paused near a whistle sign featuring a Keystone logo during the Train Festival in Owosso, Michigan on 24-July-2009

I spent a good portion of Friday checking out the Train Festival grounds, and one of the prominent features was a one-eighth scale miniature railroad. Both steam and diesel locomotives were operating on the route, and I ended up taking about a five minute ride behind a Pennsylvania Railroad diesel across the grounds.


Little River "Pacific"-type steam locomotive #110 powered the hourly runs during the Steam Festival; the peppy engine approached Main Street in Owosso, Michigan on 25-July-2009

On Saturday, I stepped up to full size trains. Throughout the festival, an excursion train ran hourly about four miles out and back, hauled one direction by a Great Lakes Central diesel and the back to the grounds by Little River Railroad 4-6-2 ("Pacific") #110. The eight-car train provided interesting riding options including cars from the original Chicago bi-level gallery commuter coaches from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. The brief ride was just a warm up for the next day.


Nickel Plate Road "Berkshire" #765 accelerated during a photo run-by at Ithaca, Michigan on 26-July-2009

On the last day of the festival, I rode the all-day excursion behind a "super power" steam locomotive, Nickel Plate Road #765. The 2-8-4 "Berkshire" easily handled the sixteen car train on a nearly 40-mile trip to Alma, Michigan and back. Included in this trip was a stop for multiple photo run-bys, allowing those riding the train to get pictures instead of just non-paying chasers (which I had been the previous two days). It was a fitting highlight to a complete railroading experience.

For more coverage of Train Festival 2009, visit the steam forum at Trainorders.com including a thread I started.