 |
|
 |
|
 |
Schedule of Our Family TrainsTrains Depart From The Historic Walled Lake Depot |
|
|
|
 Experience our vintage pre-WWII, open-air passenger cars |
History of the Railroad
The Walled Lake Scenic Railway is one of four railroad experiences offered by Train Travel Inc. and has been providing family excursions for over 23 years from the Walled Lake depot.
The route used today heads toward West Bloomfield Michigan and returns to our historic 1887 Walled Lake depot in about an hour. Wildlife such as swans, cranes, and blue heron can be spotted along the ponds and patches of water along the route.
This route was a railroad line originally built by the Michigan Air-Line Railway Co. in 1884 to connect Jackson and Pontiac. This railroad was originally formed in 1868, building several rail lines in this area, like many other railroad start-ups that occurred after the Civil War. In those days, these railroad start-ups were much like the “.com” start-ups of a decade ago, and each needed a marketing gimmick to attract investors. This railroad was named “Air-Line”, long before the invention of the airplane, in order to promote fast rail travel in a straight line, thus, “travel like you are riding on air”. Compared to the sparse dirt roads of the time, the name made sense. Over the years other railroads would use the name “Air-Line” in its name.
The Michigan Air-Line Railway Co. was up against a very powerful adversary who also wanted to lock up this area and the route to Chicago. The Michigan Central Railroad, part of legendary Cornelius Vanderbilt’s New York Central System, was quickly gaining ground and in 1886 the Michigan Air-Line Railway Co. was purchased by an affiliate of the Grand Trunk Railroad. This company kept it for 100 years before selling to Coe Rail Inc. in 1986. In June 2006, this railroad was purchased by Railmark Holdings, Inc. and re-named the Michigan Air-Line Railway Co. to reflect the history of the line.
Read about the history of the railcars »