Station: Homer, Michigan
Michigan's Internet Railroad History Museum
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The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern depot at Homer. [Alan Loftis Collection] Below, a USGS map of Homer with the three rail lines enhanced. Where the LS&MS crosses the river, the pillings for the trestle are still in place in 2003. The MC's Air Line right of way is still easily visible. The DT&M line is very difficult to follow. [Dale Berry drawing]. |
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From: Railnet discussion group regarding the former junction at Homer, Michigan
Posted by: G M Meints (gmmeints@aol.com) on Wed, May 9, 2001 at 18:45
The New York Central was taken up between Litchfield and Albion in 1933,
except about 1/2 mile was kept from the MC crossing north to the flour
mill
on the south side of highway M-60. This half mile was taken up in about
1976. The Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee was taken up in July 1932 between
Tecumseh and Marshall.
The original MC station was 0.2 miles west of the crossing and later moved
to the east side of the crossing, although I don't have a date. The
original NYC
station was 0.5 miles north of the crossing. The DT&M station was
northwest of the diamond but I don't have its location. In those days
roads quite often
had their stations away from crossings of other roads.
The crossing was interlocked until 1933 and manned by MC levermen. I've
never seen a picture or heard anyone say, but it seems there must have
been
an interlocking tower, although I don't have its call letters. It was open
24 hours a day as long as the Air Line was a major operation, but that was
cut back
in the late 1920s. At about that same time the MC depot was moved to the
crossing and the MC agent worked in both the depot and the tower. At that
same time the NYC and DT&M all began using the MC depot rather than
maintain separate stations.
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Posted by Chuck Harthy on January 24, 2005:
Homer had three railroads. While the NYC eventually controlled all three lines, it was the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern than ran up Clay Street to the coal yard, Cortright Mill, and then on to Albion.
The 1916 plat map of Homer (and earlier versions) show the location of the three depots. The Lake Shore's Lansing Branch depot was on the west side of Clay Street, between Everett and Adams Streets (a block and a half, and on the other side of Clay from the monument company - Homer's oldest continuously operating business). The Lake Shore depot was converted into the Campbell Creamery, later Pet Milk. It no longer exists today.
The DT&M depot was on the west side of Hillsdale Street on the south side of what is now the high school parking lot. A retired township supervisor recalls assisting his father in removing a "mile of ties" as the DT&M was being dismantled. The DT&M depot was moved to a location where Depot Street dead ends into Byron and was known as the smallest "union" station in the United States. After many years of disuse, the building was torn down.
The Michigan Central's Air Line depot was on the south side of Depot Street at what is now Webster Street. After the railroad no longer needed the building, it was used for an agricultural supply business and eventually burned by the Homer Fire Department. A few rails and a "tin" building are all that remain in 2005.
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RE: Former junction at Homer, Michigan
Posted by: F Butters (Fbutters@aol.com) on May 10, 2001
When the Lake Shore's Litchfield - Albion line was taken up, the portion running
from the Air Line north to the old mill just south of M-60 was left in
place and
served as a siding off the Air Line for service to the Mill. The mill
closed in the late 60's, and the siding was torn out all but the last 300
feet or so in the
mid 70's.
The MC depot stood where the large concrete silos stand today across from
where Depot Street dead ends into Byron Street. I do not remember a tower,
but the MC depot was torn down to make room for the silos (about 1969 or
1970), which ironically lost their rail access when Conrail abandoned the
line in
the early 80's. Preserving the depot would have been a nice accomplishment
I think, but it was not to be.
The LS&MS Albion line, north of the Air Line, at one time had a network of sidings
serving various small industry between the Air Line and the mill (a coal
yard, etc.),
all of which is gone now. It was used by the PC for a time as a
maintenance / storage yard, but was in disuse by the time of early
Conrail. Although the
tracks are gone, the roadbed is still easy to trace.
The LS&MS depot stood near the current location of the monument works. I do
remember a
huge wreck on the Air Line just west of Byron street about 1964 or 1965 -
as I recall, a broken wheel and the resultant derailment propelled several
cars
into several fuel and amonia storage tanks which were situated on their
own siding between Depot street and the Main Air line. Quite a mess
including
evacuations for several days, etc.
I lived in Homer for about 30 years but much of what was there predates
current memory - other than the Air Line and a small part of the NYC