Huckleberry Railroad

The Huckleberry Railroad is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge heritage railroad located in Genesee Township, Michigan, near Flint. The railroad operates alongside Crossroads Village, both of which are owned and maintained by the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission.

Huckleberry Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersCrossroads Village, a county park in Genesee Township, Michigan
Reporting markHRR
LocaleGenesee Township, Michigan
Dates of operation1976 (1976)–present
Technical
Track gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Other
Websitegeneseeparks.org/crossroads-village/attractions/huckleberry-railroad/

The railroad received its name due to the story that a person could jump off the train, pick wild huckleberries, and re-board the train without difficulty, as it traveled so slowly.[1]

History

What is now the Huckleberry Railroad began operating in 1872 as part of the Flint River Railroad. The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad later extended the branch line from Flint to Otter Lake. It later came to be known as the Otter Lake Branch. Eventually the track was extended by another 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from Otter Lake to Fostoria, for a total of 19.5 miles (31.4 km) from Flint to Fostoria.

The Pere Marquette Railway abandoned the Otter Lake to Fostoria line in 1932, and the Otisville to Otter Lake line a year later.[2][3] The Huckleberry Railroad began operations in 1976 on the remaining line when the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission opened Crossroads Village.[4]

The train station used by the Huckleberry Railroad at Crossroads Village is the former Grand Trunk Western Railroad station from nearby Davison.[5]

On April 23, 2020, Genesee County Parks Director Barry June announced that the railroad and Crossroads Village would not open for the 2020 summer season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A late opening was planned in October 2020. It was the first time that the attraction had been forced to delay opening since it was first opened in 1976. [6]

Locomotives

The Huckleberry Railroad owns several locomotives and many pieces of rolling stock. Two steam locomotives (#152 and #464) have been restored to operating condition to pull vintage wooden passenger cars along the shores of Mott Lake.[7]

Locomotive Roster

In Service
  • 7: Former National Tube Works General-Electric 50 ton #7
  • 11: Former Badger Army Ammunition Plymouth HSG #585
  • 571: Former Badger Army Ammunition Plymouth HSG #571
  • 152: Former Alaska Railroad 1920 Baldwin 4-6-0 #152[7]; #152 underwent restoration starting in 2016 and returned to service in late July 2018.[8]

Out of Service
  • 464: Former Denver & Rio Grande Western 1903 Baldwin K-27 "Mudhen"[9]; #464 is currently undergoing a 1472-day boiler inspection[10].
  • 3: Former Quincy & Torch Lake 1894 Brooks 2-6-0 #3; #3 is on a 99-year lease from The Quincy Mine Hoist Association, Hancock, MI.
  • 4: Former Potosi & Rio Verde 1904 Baldwin 2-8-0 #4; #4 is on display by the main line.
  • 5: Former American Smelting and Refining Co. Plymouth JCD #5; #5 was sold to McHugh Locomotive Co. and leased to The South Park Rail Society in Como, Colorado in 2019.

In media

In 2009, Crossroads Village was the set for the feature film Alleged, which is based on the historic Scopes Trial. A Huckleberry train is shown in the film.[11] It starred Brian Dennehy and Fred Thompson.[12]

See also

References
  1. Huckleberry Railroad Genesee County Parks & Recreation Commission
  2. 1932 Railroad History Time Line MichiganRailroads.com
  3. 1933 Railroad History Time Line MichiganRailroads.com
  4. 1976 Railroad History Time Line MichiganRailroads.com
  5. Station: Davison, Michigan MichiganRailroads.com
  6. Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad not opening this summer WJRT ABC 12 News, retrieved 04-24-2020
  7. "Huckleberry Playtime – Genesee County Parks".
  8. FULL STEAM AHEAD: Engine #152 at Crossroads Village is back up and running WEYI-TV (NBC 25), July 26, 2018
  9. "drgw.org". www.drgw.org.
  10. Huckleberry Railroad Photocharter 2019, retrieved 2020-03-10
  11. Shaw, Liz (September 21, 2009). "Feature film "Alleged" starts shooting at Crossroads Village". The Flint Journal. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  12. Shaw, Liz (August 29, 2009). "Brian Dennehy, Fred Thompson to star in film shooting at Crossroads Village". The Flint Journal. Retrieved October 31, 2019.

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