| Gera is about 12 miles east of Saginaw. In 1878 the
Port Huron & North Western started a 3-foot gauge railroad into Michigan's
thumb area, to serve the lumber industry. In 1881 the line had reached Marlette,
and by 1882, had been built through Gera, and into Saginaw. Another branch
of the railroad ran from Port Huron to Port Austin, on the tip of the thumb.
In 1889 the Port Huron & North Western was sold to the Flint & Pere
Marquette Railroad and converted to standard gauge.
The Pere Marquette was taken over by the C&O, which
in turn became part of CSX. In the 1990's CSX abandoned the tracks between
Port Huron and Brown City. The remainder of the line was sold to the Saginaw
Valley Railroad, which is part of the
RailAmerica shortline
empire. Tracks through Gera are operated by the Huron and Eastern, another
RailAmerica company.
The depot in Gera is very similar to another PH&NW
depot still standing in Palms, which is
on the other branch of the Port Huron & Northwestern. One might guess
that thers depots were a standard design of the railroad, and that these
are the original depots built for the opening of the railroad in the early
1880's.
In 1980, the depot was moved to a backyard of a home
on M-83 north of King Rd. where it is used as a hobby woodworking
shed. |
