In 1997, NARCOA members first rode on the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway (TSBY) northwards from Cadillac to Kalkaska, both in Michigan, on what was once the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad main line. In 1998 we rode southeast from Cadillac along the ex-Ann Arbor Railroad to Clare, then the following year we traveled west on the ex-Ann Arbor out to Yuma, where a sizable foundry sand operation ships out by rail. On September 23^rd 2000, a group of 9 motor cars retraced our 1997 route from Cadillac to Kalkaska. We had been scheduled to ride out to Yuma again but track work forced a most beneficial change of destination to Kalkaska. The State of Michigan has owned the railroads going through Cadillac for many years. The first operator of the north-south route through town for the State was the well-known Michigan Northern Railroad, to be followed in the late 1980's by the TSBY. The TSBY still operates as far north as Petoskey, but the days of rail service to Mackinaw City and the Chief Wawatam steaming across the straits to the Upper Peninsula and an interchange with the Soo Line ended in the mid 1980's.

When I left Kalamazoo at 6am that morning, the weather was warm and a light rain was falling. Since the forecast for later was mixed clouds and sun but no rain, I confidently took my open M9. I got my wish – sort of. The rain did stop but the further north I drove the colder it got and by the time Cadillac was reached the temperature was about 42 degrees. By then it was too late to go back and get a car with a cab. As in previous years we set on just south of the engine house, a total of 9 cars arriving. Toby Beck was our TSBY host, a man who had patrolled track for the Michigan Northern back in the days when it was 10 mph all the way up to Mackinaw City (now it’s a mix of 40 miles and 25mph track up to Petoskey). First up was a trip through the old-GR&I yard, where some of the tracks were being rehabilitated to allow the smooth passage of a planned excursion train next spring. This train will run from Ann Arbor or thereabouts right up to Petoskey every Friday, then return on Sunday. The hulk of stripped Michigan Northern GP7 1604 in distinctive green and white paint scheme that we saw in the yard back in 1997 had been cut up and disposed of. Potash and plastics hopper cars were present along with various MOW equipment. Three miles north of town, sharp eyes could pick out the overgrown roadbed of the Cadillac and Lake City Railroad curving away to the east. The next seven miles to the town of Manton were through the fields and backwoods of mid-Michigan, including a stretch in the Pere Marquette State Forest. Despite some extensive layering of clothes, I was feeling decidedly cold. When we reached Manton and stopped for a bathroom break, I hitched my car to Jim Lindholm’s MT19 so I could ride in his cab for a while.

Condition of the rail and trackbed were excellent, reflecting significant investment by the State of Michigan during the 90's and an effective maintenance program. In fact I don’t recall seeing any weeds at all on the main or hitting any low joints. Six miles north of Manton we crossed a substantial bridge over the Manistee River. Just past this bridge was Walton Junction, where the 25 mile long secondary to Traverse City angled off to the West via a full wye. Alas, the diminutive signal cabin here that was disused but still standing in 1997 was gone. The route from Cadillac is used daily by the TSBY. The largest amount of traffic, about 120 cars a week, goes to a cement distributor north of Kalkaska, then there is a good size plastics company at Petoskey that gets 4 or 5 cars a week. At Traverse City the railroad does business with a scrap yard and a cherry processing plant. North of the junction, we rode through more northern forest dotted with vacation homes and then stopped briefly at Fife Lake, a clear and most attractive lake. The reason why the stop was brief was that we discovered the ice-cream store had closed! We motored the last 15 miles or so to Kalkaska, mostly alongside US-131, which is the main road for vacationers headed north into Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Being close to the front of the convoy I did see a couple of deer leap across the track ahead of the TSBY hyrail.

At Kalkaska we turned the cars and after a quick lunch break at the golden arches, started back for Cadillac. The weather had warmed enough to make riding an open car a pleasure, with the added benefit that it was cool enough to eliminate the bugs that make open car owners feel so close to nature. I noticed a number of folk who took pictures or video of us going through. Perhaps in the small communities of mid-Michigan we will be talked about for some time to come when the railroad is mentioned. There were a few breakdowns and at one point, it looked like Dave Stroebe might have to simultaneously push and pull cars (very slowly) with his MT-14. However, this was avoided by the discovery that the plug wire had fallen off on the M19AA in front of him. One of the pleasures of riding an open car is that you feel like you’re in the scenery, not just a passive observer watching it from within a cab. Never was this truer than rolling southwards through the woods and fields of mid-Michigan on a sunny September afternoon. The mileposts drifted by and before we knew it, Toby was flagging us across the main road just north of the Cadillac yard. We were off the rails by 5:30pm, enough time for folks to have some dinner and make it home that night. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this excursion, especially the Mitzel family, who have never missed a TSBY trip yet, even though it’s a 6 hour drive away from their home in Illinois. Mike told me a few days later that 5-year-old Marcus’s final words after being put into bed that night were "When can we ride again?".

A big thanks to Toby for escorting us and to the TSBY for allowing us to ride on their rails again. They’ve given us 4 excursions totaling 340 miles in the last 4 years. In today’s era of distant mega-railroad corporations, they remain a friendly face to NARCOA members who appreciate a premier ride in Michigan.

*Photo at top is an October 1982 excursion to Petoskey pulled by Michigan Northern's ex-ACR Geeps, seen here climbing Gilbert Hill south of Manton.

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Last edited 28 January, 2018