Note on the photos used. They are ALL from the internet of various sources. Probably somehow protected and if anyone squawks, I'll take them down. Since none of this stuff still exists, I doubt there is any harm. Any credit information I have on them is left in tact.

Background

Over the past several years, I've become increasingly dissatisfied with my current layout. While it came together exactly as planned, it lacks in operational possibilities and for me, provides no reference to anything specific. The name of my page is Wabash Model RR but my actual RR has no resemblance whatsoever to the Wabash RR. At the time of planning and building, I didn't particularly care. I just wanted a place to run some trains. However, recently I've become more interested in actually modelling a portion of the Wabash.

You see, My grandfather use to work for the Wabash RR in Ohio. He was laid off during the depression and as soon as the Japanese dropped the bombs on Pearl Harbour, he was called back to work and sent to Detroit. His job was that of a fireman. Recently while going through some train stuff my mother gave me after he passed away, I discovered some of his old time books. These books show what day he was on which train, and what his job was. Sometimes he worked the yards at Oakwood, sometimes he was a Hostler at Delray, while others, he was an engine man (or fireman depending on the era) on one of the passenger trains out of Detroit. Through looking at his time books, the locomotives he signed on to, and actual Wabash passenger schedules from the day, the named passenger train he saw the most action on was the Wabash Cannonball. Train numbers 1 and 4. From studying his time books and matching station numbers to employee time tables, he would start out in Detroit Michigan and go to Montpelier Ohio. The Cannonball actually terminated in St. Louis, Missouri at their famed Union Station. Grandpa didn't have any particular love for the railroad, to him it was just a job. In the early 1960s he became the chairman of the BLF&E, which I believe is now the Brotherhood of Locomotive Trainmen. He retired in 1973 and that was the end of his railroad career.

What I'm planning and the Research

The portion of the RR I've decided to try and cram into my basement, in HO scale is Grandpa's portion of that Cannonball run. From what I can tell, he would start at the stub end of the run at Fort Street Union Depot in Detroit, work his way to Montpelier, and then work the returning train. That was a typical day for him.

Fort Street Union Depot (FSUD) was a modest sized stub end terminal located at the corner of Fort and Third Streets in Detroit. It was built in 1893 and demolished in 1973. What makes this station of particular interest to me is the way the trains had to get up there. The terminal also served the Pennsylvania until 1959 and the Pere Marquette (and later the C&O) and of course the Wabash RR for it's entire existence in Detroit. The station was finally closed in 1971 or 1972 after the Amtrak takeover of passenger service. All of their operations were moved over to the Michigan Central terminal in Detroit.

Postcard photo can be found anywhere on the net

1971 photo

Overhead of the terminal around 1952 or 1953

Fort Street is the road on the very left of the photo and the platform sheds can be seen leading from the station. The passenger station is on elevated ground compared to everything next to it. Directly to the right and about 10' lower in grade is the Pere Marquette freight terminal. This photo was taken at a time when they were extending the Lodge (m-10) freeway to Cobo Hall in Detroit. The highway then ran under the terminals beginning at Fort Street. The main freight house of the PM facility was rebuilt just after this photo was taken. You can see a white looking wedge shaped building near the top center of the photo. That building had been modified for the freeway tunnel. If you struck a line adjacent to it and ran it to Fort Street, you would have about the path of destruction to the terminals.

The Platforms were always the same length from the time of building. The sheds however ended short of them. The white looking extensions were added during World War Two to accommodate the increased passenger traffic during the war. Fast freight facilities for the station (mail, REA, etc) are on the leftmost part of the station. A chunk of it was also removed when the freeway was installed underneath.

Traffic for the stations was controlled by the 6th street tower which Is visible near the end of the longest passenger shed to the left.

The Michigan Central also had a passenger terminal in this area but it burned down and was moved to it's current location. Until the 1960s however they did have a major freight operation between the photo above and the Detroit River.. Note in the 1971 photo above, this facility is gone.

Part of what makes the FSUD so interesting to me isn't so much that it is the origin of the Wabash Cannonball, but the way trains use to get to it. Near 15th street, several blocks south, there is/was a concrete ramp with two tracks on it running along Jefferson Ave. The ramp ran 3 blocks and carried the trains up to a steel viaduct which began at 12th street. Adjacent to this incidentally is where the Wabash 12th Street freight terminal stood. Just north of the boat yard.

If you look at the left of the photo about 1/3 the way down you can just make out the ramp. The 12th Street Terminal is almost dead center top near the river. There is an outbound freight house and an inbound as well. On my layout, chances are good that only the outbound will be modelled (As I actually have the blueprints for that building). Anyway, below is an overhead photo of what this area looked like a couple years ago..

Fort street can just be seen in the upper left of the photo. The buildings that line it are still there and most are abandoned as of 2 years ago anyway... The ramp can be seen as well. Back in the day, Jefferson went straight through. Along the ramp is was more of an alleyway but was somewhat well kept. Now it looks like a battle field with craters that would swallow most cars. The Norfolk Southern now owns what is left of the boat yard (between here and the Ambassador Bridge) and it is pretty much fenced in. They may stick some cars there once in awhile but it doesn't appear to be used for much of anything anymore. Anyway, in the early 50s, the building in the center labelled (incorrectly) 12th St. Terminal was probably some sort of freight house but doesn't appear to have been associated with the Wabash. It backs right up to the ramp leaving little room between them. The Free Press building wasn't there and 12th street did not curve onto Jefferson as it does now. I think the building was actually erected in the early 1980s.

Also near the boat yard, at 21st street, the Pere Marquette had an engine facility and also a coach yard. If I'm not mistaken, this is where the Wabash Passenger equipment was serviced and switched.

Here is a photo zoomed out from the one above showing the entire boat yard area as it stood in 2002..

The tracks on the ramp are long gone and in the photo it looks like a lot of it is overgrown with grass. You can see there is little more than some storage activity going on here anymore.Here is the entire area as it stood in 1949. You can see the throat to the Michigan Central Station at the top left of the photo.

Above is a 1930s photo taken showing the viaduct. The Freight train doing the ops is probably a Pere Marquette train as their terminal was accessible only from this viaduct.

Continue to Part two... The other side of the Ambassador Bridge..