This came across my feed about the revamped Michigan Central Station. Please move it if needed. This seemed to be the logical section.
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Absolutely wonderful news!
@MartyE posted:This came across my feed about the revamped Michigan Central Station. Please move it if needed. This seemed to be the logical section.
Ford did an incredible job restoring it and spent an incredible amount doing it. They didn't have to too but what a great accomplishment. So glad it was saved.
@Sean's Train Depot posted:Ford did an incredible job restoring it and spent an incredible amount doing it. They didn't have to too but what a great accomplishment. So glad it was saved.
Agreed!
Peter
I like where they mentioned folks who had taken stuff returned it to assist in the reconstruction. No questions asked.
Very beautiful! I didn't see any tracks coming to the station. What is the intended use going forward for this restored beauty?
@LionelAG posted:Very beautiful! I didn't see any tracks coming to the station. What is the intended use going forward for this restored beauty?
How cool is that
Just saw they are having a concert headlined by Detroits own John Mellencamp to inaugurate it
This station was long an eyesore and symbol of Detroit's decline. It shines once again and folks can easily see that Detroit has changed for the better.
Every window in that building was broken. I don't know who had the replacement contract but I'm sure he has a smile on his face these days.
I don't believe there are any plans to resume passenger train service at this time. The line / route that Amtrak uses is north of the station quite a bit. If the Amtrak went to the reopened station, it would have to back out quite a bit in order to proceed to the other stations Northward . There is no thru connection North from the station. If there ever was, the tracks have long been pulled up.
Great story! There are other pieces about it worth the read as well, including interviews with Bill Ford. What a job. Story said one master craftsman in plasterwork spent over 400 hours remaking a decorative top on just one of the pillars. Kudos to Ford. Makes you want to go out and buy a new Ford!
My company, Quinn Evans, are the Architects for this project! While I am just the system admin and in the DC office, I get out to the MI offices several times a year. it's been amazing to see the transformation, from the empty and rusty shell to the amazing live workspace that is there now. Due to NDA's I am not allowed to show any of the photos I took of the work in progress. But please check out our website with more photos of the project! Michigan Central Station - Detroit, Michigan - Living & Heritage Design (quinnevans.com) This project has made us a bit of a train station firm, and we are working on Baltimore's Penn station and a station in Buffalo, because of NDA's I can't share photos, buts it's a neat place to work!
@rrgeorge posted:I don't believe there are any plans to resume passenger train service at this time. The line / route that Amtrak uses is north of the station quite a bit. If the Amtrak went to the reopened station, it would have to back out quite a bit in order to proceed to the other stations Northward . There is no thru connection North from the station. If there ever was, the tracks have long been pulled up.
The fright line is still very much in use! It connects to Winsor, via an underwater tunnel and trains pass almost every hour. There is serious talk about passenger service.
The freight line has always been in use. Problem is the freight line turns south to the river tunnel at the train station. The Amtrak line has to head north to get to the other stations. There is no trackage available for the train to continue on north from the station. Also (not that it matters since it is "our" money) the current Amtrak station in Detroit just went thru a major rebuild.
@LionelAG posted:Very beautiful! I didn't see any tracks coming to the station. What is the intended use going forward for this restored beauty?
They're a little hard to see since the building fills most of the image, and they are behind it (follow the yellow arrows):
The yards and the station tracks are long gone but the mainline is still very much there, and as already pointed out, is still quite active for freight.
Back in the day this line was an alternative NYC route (this portion on the former Michigan Central RR) from New York to Chicago, and running through Canada (on the former Canada Southern, or CaSo) between Detroit and Buffalo.
To the left, outside this picture about 1/4 mile, is the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor rail tunnel, which carries the mainline under the Detroit River and into Canada. To the right the mainline, now owned by Amtrak for most of its length, heads through suburban Dearborn and on to Ann Arbor, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Michigan City IN, and into Chicago. It has been upgraded for, and presently runs, 110 MPH passenger service from west of Ann Arbor to roughly the Indiana border.
A former post office facility (for many years known locally as the Detroit Public Schools Book Depository for its adaptation and reuse after the railroad stopped carrying the mail), can be seen as a much lower building to the left of it at the left edge of the photo. Both are part of Ford's plans to promote and host a resurgence in innovation in order to bring the future to the present more quickly, accelerating business development and ensuring prosperity for the company and the region.
The Depository, now know as NewLab, has been extensively remodeled as well, was completed last year, and is presently home to over 100 small startup companies operating under the umbrella term "mobility" -- a hopeful extension beyond the traditional automotive industry.
Ford will be moving its mobility development team into the station over the next 9 months or so.
Mike
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Love it! 
Nice to see the building was saved and restored. Glad Ford Motor had the vision and the resources to get the project done.
Too bad the old NY Penn didn't get the same love.
Wow, that's awesome, must have cost a fortune. What are they going to use it for, that building is huge.
Here's a better look towards the rear of the station, with the former sites of related trackage highlighted in color:
The blue highlighted area was for Station Tracks and Platforms, red for Post Office tracks and yard, and yellow for Coach Yard.
The double-headed yellow line is the present double-track, currently freight-only, mainline.
Mike
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