WAYLAND, MI
Wayland GR&I Depot; March 2005
| In 1857 the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad had won
a land grant to build a railroad from Grand Rapids to Traverse City. By 1869
they had made very little progress, having completed tracks only between
Grand Rapids and Morley. The state ordered the railroad to surrender its
charter because they were not meeting the terms. Desperate to save their
railroad, the Indiana interests behind the GR&I, turned over construction
of the line to the Continental Improvements Co., which was controlled by
the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania RR had just acquired the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne and Chicago, and saw the GR&I as a means to expand into Michigan.
Once Continental Improvements went to work, The Grand Rapids
and Indiana Railroad progressed quite quickly. Working from several different
locations at the same time, the line was completed from Fort Wayne, IN through
Wayland, and Grand Rapids as far north as Paris, MI in 1870. Indiana finally
had its rail line into Michigan. It was however, controlled by the Pennsylvania,
not local interests. The Pennsylvania took the land grants and had a nice
feeder to their main line.
The depot remaining in Wayland was likely built in the early
1870's possibly during the original construction of the line. |
Street Side and North End
| Sometime around 1900 or 1910, Wayland got a new, larger
passenger depot. The picture below shows this building, which did not have
a freight room. This building served as the passenger station until the end
of passenger service, sometime in the 1950's. Around 1960, the building was
severely damaged in a freight train derailment, and the railroad tore down
what remained. |
New GR&I Depot, with old depot in Background
| The railroad probably saved the old depot, and used
it just for freight. At some point in time, the door and window openings
in the waiting room end were covered over with matching boards and battens,
a second freight door was added to the track side, and the floor in the waiting
room and agent's office was raised to match the freightroom. All that would
have been quite a bit of work. It was probably all done by the railroad when
the old depot was converted to a freight station. |
New Freight Door, note patched window openings.
Wayland depot, with waiting room on right.
| So a very old depot still stands in Wayland; one that
has outlived not only its replacement, but probably all other GR&I depots
from that era. It is a bit of a surprise that such a historic building
has not been saved. |
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