| The terms depot and station are used pretty much
interchangably. In most cases, the station is a depot and the depot is a
station. Elmdale is a station that is not a depot.
Elmdale is on the busy CSX line between Grand Rapids and
Lansing. The line was built by the Detroit, Lansing and Northern RR in the
1880's. This railroad became part of the Pere Marquette system around 1900.
Elmdale isn't much of a town; there are only a few homes on the gravel road
paralleling the tracks. It is more of a railroad junction, where a branch
turns north toward Greenville. It was a through route between Grand Rapids
and Saginaw up until the early 1980's.
The station in Elmdale was built as a control point, where
an operator worked the switches and signals, regulating traffic on and off
the main line. The building has a bay window facing the mainline. Inside
the bay window is the operator's desk, typical of any station. However, there
is no waiting room for passengers, and no place for storing freight in transit.
It was not a depot.
It was not a depot, but one could board a train there. Elmdale
was listed in the PM public timetables, as late as 1940, as a stop on trains
to Grand Rapids, Detroit and Saginaw.
Passenger trains were discontinued and the control functions
are now done by the machine in the big silver box just east of the station.
Elmdale Station is abandoned and will likely will be torn down
soon. |
