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Column for May 31, 2005
As I left off last time, I was going through the tunnel back
to Michigan. Suddenly, I'm transported back more than 100 years to May, 1904!
At Port Huron, I boarded the Day Express #9 to Chicago. I decided to pass
through Flint and as the train made its way to Lansing, there was an incredible
sight. I'm in the small town of Durand which has a 2½ story train station,
a whopping 239 feet long. As I looked around, there were six other trains
at the station. The Grand Trunk Railroad hired a photographer to take a picture
of the station with seven trains surrounding the station. You can see my
train, facing the camera on the upper left. On the other track going the
opposite direction is the eastbound #2, the Battle Creek-Port Huron Local.
At the lower part of the picture, the train at the lower left is #12, the
Detroit Express, eastbound from Grand Haven. Ahead of that train alongside
the station, the Steamboat Express also headed to Detroit. On the other track
going westbound is #19 from Detroit to Grand Haven. Behind the station are
two trains facing each other on the same track. On the left is Ann Arbor
Railroad train #2 headed for Toledo. On the right, alongside the far side
of the station is Grand Trunk Railway #33 bound for Saginaw and Bay City.
One of those two trains will need to back up to a siding to let the other
train through. This picture is the most famous one of the Durand Union Station
which was dedicated on October 1, 1903. 
It was
constructed in the chateau revival architectural style with Missouri granite
brick and Bedford cut stone with a slate roof. Inside, the interior had marble
wainscoating on the ground floor and oak woodwork. It contained a ticket
office, waiting rooms, ladies' parlor, gentlemen's smoking room, large corridors
and a handsome dining room with 'all the necessary appurtenances.' In the
second story there were offices for the general officials of the western
division, dispatchers, operators, sleeping quarters for personnel and Western
Union telegraph offices, all heated by steam. The cost of the structure was
$60,000 back in 1903. Yes, with six railroad lines converging on Durand, it became a major rail hub with the railroad becoming the reason for the town's existence. Five of the lines leading to Chicago, Muskegon (with a car ferry to Milwaukee), Bay City, Canada (via Port Huron) and Detroit, respectively, were operated by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad and one to Toledo by the Ann Arbor Railroad. Less than two years after the station was built, it was destroyed by fire on April 17, 1905. The station was quickly rebuilt and the new station opened on September 25, 1905. The only change on the outside was the style of the roof dormers. It was described in 1905 as a finer and more handsome structure than the former one and better adapted to the needs of the company. Again, the station has gray marble wainscoating, beautiful oak woodwork and a terrazzo floor.
The Durand Union Station would be the hub of bustling activity for the next
half century as trains were the primary means of intercity transportation.
The 1900s was the peak time for the railroad industry. In just a single day
during that time, 42 passenger trains, 22 mail trains and 78 freight trains
would pass through Durand. As many as 3,000 passengers used the Durand Depot
each day at that time. In 1911, half the population of Durand was employed
by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. Rail traffic declined gradually during
the 1920s when automobiles became popular. 
In 1960, the Grand Trunk dropped passenger train service between Durand and
Muskegon via Grand Rapids. In 1971, the new national passenger train service
Amtrak took over passenger train service from the private railroad companies
and the Durand Depot lost passenger trains temporarily. On September 13,
1974, passenger trains returned to Durand as the Amtrak Blue Water Limited
began its run between Chicago and Port Huron. But that same year in 1974,
Grand Trunk determined it could no longer justify the cost of maintaining
the huge train station and abandoned it. A trailer was set up to serve Amtrak
passengers in the depot's parking lot. The depot seemed doomed, but it was
too important a landmark for the people of Durand to see demolished just
like the roundhouse was in 1961. The community rallied to save the station
and in 1979, the city of Durand purchased the station from the Grand Trunk
Railroad for $1. On February 1980, the old depot became an Amtrak station
again, moving out of the trailer. Fund raising began to gradually restore
the Durand Depot, a project which is still on going. The depot received a
big boost on Christmas Day of 1990 when it was announced by the state of
Michigan that the depot would become the home of the Michigan State Railroad
History Museum and Information Center. The museum was established inside
the former dining room of the depot and shares space with the depot's gift
shop. Also, on the first floor is a model railroad club. 
As you walk around the station, you can see individual names inscribed on
granite embedded in the sidewalks of the station, people who donated funds
to help restore the depot. Around 10 years ago, I took a couple of pictures
of the depot back before serious restoration work began. The station had
an asphalt roof at the time. This year, I took pictures at the same locations
showing the restored exterior with the new red tile roof similar to the roof
the depot had during the railroad's glory days early in the 20th century.
The installation of an elevator next to the men's room allowed for restoration and development of the depot's second floor. The second floor contains offices, small museums dedicated to the Ann Arbor and Grand Trunk Western Railroads and a large ballroom in the former sleeping quarters.
Long term plans include moving the Michigan Railroad Museum into the now undeveloped second floor attic space over the former baggage portion of the depot. This would allow for the restoration of the dining room. The depot's current capital improvement fund raiser is the Centennial Fence Project to replace the old chain link fence with a more attractive steel grade fence with three 4-foot walking gates and an 18-foot double gate to barricade Railroad Street.
Today, two Amtrak trains stop at the Depot for the Blue Water Limited. The
westbound train arrives in Durand at 7:17 a.m. headed to Chicago and the
eastbound train arrives at 8:54 p.m. headed to Port Huron. Unfortunately,
you cannot buy your ticket at the quaint ticket window inside the station.
You must order your ticket by calling Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL, visiting
your travel agent, or going on line at
http://www.amtrak.com.
This year, the Durand Union Station celebrates its 100th Anniversary and that's a reason to celebrate! Check out http://www.duranddepot100thanniversary.com for a schedule of events. Before I symbolically board the train back to Flint, I'll mention other relevant links:
The Durand Union Station's official web site is http://www.durandstation.org/, http://www.michiganrailroads.com/ is a hobby web site for Michigan railroad buffs. The Durand Chamber of Commerce "Railnet" at http://www.durandchamber.com/ The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers at http://www.marp.org/
These are some of many web sites which include material about the historic Durand depot. There are many, many others you can find using your favorite search engine. Last month, a family-owned theater chain which operated several movie theaters in outstate Michigan was sold for $66 million to a larger theater chain. That's the subject of the next column.
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