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Due to the increasing number of ex-PM structures listed on this Web site, this section of the Web site has been broken into several pages by geographic region.

PM Structures Still Standing In Western Michigan

This list encompasses known former PM structures that are still standing in Michigan, west of a line running north and south through Lansing, and south of US-10. Many of these are not actually preserved, per se, rather they are simply standing. Structures that are in imminent danger of demolition are indicated.

In its current state, this list is not intended to represent a comprehensive list of every last ex-PM structure still standing.

Baldwin, Michigan

• Depot This depot stands at the location where the Petoskey Division and Ludington Division mainlines crossed, near the intersection of Eighth and Aster streets. It is still used by CSX for storage.

Trains once ran all four directions through the junction in Baldwin, but now only enter and leave through the south and west sides of town, as the trackage to the north was removed in the mid-1950s, and that to the east was abandoned and removed in the early-1980s.

• Coaling Tower This concrete coaling tower is typical of many of the coaling towers used by the PM on its mainlines. This example sits along the former Ludington Division mainline at Baldwin. A slightly different concrete coaling tower still stands in the yard at Ludington.

  This tower is slated for demolition.

Photos by Eric Adlof.

Bangor, Michigan

In addition to serving the PM, this building at 541 Railroad Street has served as a toy train factory and an Amtrak stop shelter. Shown in a 1984 photo by Art Million, while it was still home to Kalamazoo Toy Trains.

Until 1996 it was used as a shelter for passengers waiting for Amtrak's trains 370 and 371, the Chicago-Grand Rapids Pere Marquette, but now Bangor passengers must use a bus stop-style shelter.

In 1998 and 2000, the Great American Station Foundation named the Bangor depot as one of its "Ten Most Endangered Stations", due to the vandalism to which it had been subjected and the fact that the city of Bangor and CSX had yet to arrive at an agreement to preserve the structure.

Since 2000, it has been converted into a community center, with a second story added to it. Its outlook is considerably more positive, now.

Belding, Michigan

This rather substantial brick structure sits in Belding along the Mid-Michigan Railroad's ex-PM "Turkey Trail" line, now cut back to Elmdale-Greenville.

Clare, Michigan

This unusual "L-shaped" depot formerly sat at the junction of the PM's former Ludington Division mainline and the former Ann Arbor railroad, as shown here.

It has since been moved a few blocks east, where it sits along Fourth Street, at the foot of Beech Street, accompanied by ex-C&O caboose #90630.

Elmdale, Michigan

This station sits along the interchange track between CSX and the Mid-Michigan Railroad at Elmdale, west of the old line to Freeport.

This station is slated for demolition.

Evart, Michigan

The community of Evart restored this large ex-PM depot along Street for use as a bus station, office space and a community center. It sits along the former right-of-way of the PM's Ludington Division, two blocks south of US-10, between Eighth Street and Ninth Street.

Grand Haven, Michigan

The 1928 PM Grand Haven depot, at 333 Jackson Street, shown before its purchase and restoration by Pere Marquette Partners. It is now used as an office building.

An article by Art Million in the November, 1997 issue of PM Tracks describes the history of this depot and its restoration.

Grand Ledge, Michigan

This freight house is located where state highway M-100 crosses the tracks on the north side of Grand Ledge. It is still used by CSX for storage and office space. This station burned to a total loss in a fire on September 19, 2020.

Grant, Michigan

• Depot - The ex-PM Grant depot, located along state highway M-37 has been restored for use as a railroad-theme restaurant.

• Water Tower - Located behind the ex-PM Grant depot, this may be the last wooden water tower standing along the former PM. It has recently been used by the local volunteer fire department to refill their water truck.

Photos by Robert VandeVusse.

Greenville, Michigan

The former PM Greenville depot, located along Court Street, served as the Greenville office for RailAmerica subsidiary Mid-Michigan Railroad until the Mid-Michigan was abandoned through Greenville and the tracks removed in 2009. It currently sits along the Fred Meijer Heartland Trail, boarded up and unused.

Hart, Michigan

Following the abandonment of the line from Mears to Pentwater, this wooden depot was the structure the farthest north on the former Chicago & West Michigan route from Allegan through Holland, Muskegon and northward. Shown here in its original location, it has since been moved to Hart's Historical Village, along Union Street on the east side of town.

Robert VandeVusse photo.

Holland, Michigan

Depot - This distinctive brick structure sits at Eighth Street (Business Route I-196) and Lincoln Avenue. After serving the PM and the C&O, it has been extensively renovated for use as the Louis and Helen Padnos Transportation Center, which now serves as a station stop for Amtrak's Chicago-Grand Rapids Pere Marquette.

Pere Marquette caboose #A967, owned by the Holland Historical Trust, is being restored in the northwest corner of the site.

Ionia, Michigan

Despite Ionia having been the home of a large shop facility for the Detroit, Lansing and Northern, and later the PM, only the former stores building still stands. It is now a part of the Standard Lumber yard on the east side of town, a couple of blocks south of the Grand Rapids Eastern's ex-GTW tracks.

Lake, Michigan

• Depot - Two story wooden depots are not terribly common on the ex-PM, and the depot at Lake (12 miles west of Clare) is perhaps the last one standing.
  
• Coaling Tower - This poured concrete coaling tower was erected by the PM in 1929. It held 250 tons of coal, and complemented the water stop midway between Saginaw and Ludington.

Photos by Jack Hengartner.

Lake Odessa, Michigan

This highly ornate wooden depot has been moved from its original site along the CSX mainline in Lake Odessa to the Lake Odessa fairgrounds, where it sits along Emerson Street, accompanied by an ex-GTW wooden caboose.

Lakeview, Michigan

This wooden depot has been surrounded by a feed dealership, which uses it as a storage building. It is southwest of the intersection of County Road 587 and Railroad Streets.

Ludington, Michigan

• Coaling Tower - This concrete coaling tower still stands at the south side of the Ludington yard, east of Franklin Street. It is of a somewhat different design than the concrete coaling tower at Baldwin.

  This tower is slated for demolition.

• Depot - This brick depot still stands along Franklin Street. It is somewhat unusual in that it is connected to a freight shed which extends from its east end, an atypical design for the PM.

  This building is slated for demolition.

Photo by Robert VandeVusse.

McBride, Michigan

The depot formerly at McBride, on the Elmdale-Saginaw "Turkey Trail", has been moved approximately ten miles southwest to Sidney, where it is now part of the Montcalm Community College Heritage Village. Also on display are ex-GT Railway 0-6-0 #7456 and an ex-C&O wooden caboose.

Photo by Eddie Gross, Eddie's Michigan Railroads. Used with permission.

Montague - Whitehall, Michigan

The White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce now occupies the ex-Chicago & West Michigan depot overlooking White Lake in Montague.

Robert VandeVusse photo.

Muskegon, Michigan

This classic brick depot, devoid of its platform canopies, once served PM and Pennsylvania Railroad passengers traveling to and from downtown Muskegon. At one time, this depot was home to the Muskegon Railroad Historical Society's collection of equipment, which included ex-C&O SW7 diesel switcher #5208, PM caboose #A950, ex-C&O wide-vision caboose #903315 (now at the West Michigan Railroad Historical Society's ex-TS&M depot in Sparta, MI), and a pair of ex-GTW car ferry idler flatcars (now at the GTWHS display site in Lansing, MI).

This building has been restored for use as office space.

Robert VandeVusse photo.

Shelby, Michigan

Along the former right-of-way of the Chicago & West Michigan route from Allegan to Pentwater and Hart, this depot is now used as the local police station.

Robert VandeVusse photo.

Six Lakes, Michigan

This depot, restored for use as a local museum, is located on the east side of Clark Street, between North Railroad and South Railroad Streets, approximately 1/3 mile east of highway M-66.

This depot is situated along the former right-of-way of the PM line connecting Howard City with Edmore.

St. Joseph, Michigan

• The depot at 410 Vine Street is currently used as a station stop for Amtrak's trains 370 and 371, the Chicago-Grand Rapids Pere Marquette. It also contains a restaurant.

This depot is shown prior to the renovation it underwent in the 1980s.

• This swing bridge, located just north of ex-PM St. Joseph depot, spans the St. Joseph River, just upstream of where it empties into Lake Michigan. All CSX traffic between Chicago and Grand Rapids crosses this bridge, including the current CP Rail run-through trains.

Photo by Art Million.

Vestaburg, Michigan

This now disused depot, sits along the abandoned right-of-way of the east-west portion of the former "Turkey Trail" line between Saginaw and Grand Rapids, between Alma and Edmore.

Watervliet, Michigan

This nineteenth century wooden structure still stands along the CSX mainline at state highway M-140. It is currently used by CSX as a storage building.

Art Million photo.

White Cloud, Michigan

The White Cloud depot has been moved to a location on One Mile Road, west of M-37. Thanks go to Elsie Pykonen for this information.

Tom Amrine photo.

Wyoming (Grand Rapids), Michigan

Back Shop - The massive PM back shop was used mainly for heavy repair of the PM's steam locomotive fleet. Built during the 1924 upgrading of Wyoming's facilities, the new structure featured 24 erecting and repair bays all serviced by a high-capacity overhead traveling crane. The lower part of the building, to the front of the picture, contained a large machine shop. In its last years as a railroad facility, the Wyoming back shop was the site of a Chessie System caboose rebuilding program. When that was terminated in the mid-1980s, the building sat vacant for a while before being leased to a company which now warehouses steel in it.
Diesel Shop - The brick diesel shop was built by the PM immediately after World War II to service its diesel fleet, which was being expanded by the addition of the passenger E7s. While heavy repairs are no longer performed at Wyoming, this building still stands and is used for occasional light repair work. The roundhouse, visible in the upper left corner of this 1971 view, was demolished in the late 1980s. Photos by John R. Milhaupt.

Other Structures Not Pictured On This Site

The following ex-PM structures are still standing in Western Michigan, but are not yet depicted on this site:

Big Rapids, MI Freight House New Buffalo, MI coaling towers

New Buffalo, MI depot replica New Buffalo, MI roundhouse

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The contents of this Web site are Copyright © 2024, John F. ("Fritz") Milhaupt, All Rights Reserved, except for the following items which are used with permission: Baldwin depot and coaling tower photos, Copyright 1995-1998, Eric Adlof; Hart, Ludington, Muskegon, Montague-Whitehall and Shelby depot photos, Copyright 1998, Robert VandeVusse; Bangor and Watervliet depot, Waverly roundhouse and St. Joseph swing bridge photos, Copyright 1998, Art Million; White Cloud depot photo Copyright 1998, Tom Amrine; Wyoming Yard photos Copyright 1999, John R. Milhaupt; Lake photos, Copyright 1999, Jack Hengartner. McBride Photo, Copyright 2001, Eddie Gross; Benton Harbor crossing tower photo, Copyright 2001, Robert VandeVusse.