Durand Union Station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Durand, MI
Location	200 Railroad Street Durand, Michigan United States
Owned by	City of Durand (leased by Durand Union Station, Inc.)
Line(s)	CN Flint Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Yes; free
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: DRD
History
Opened	1903
Traffic
Passengers (FY2019)	13,622 (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station East Lansing toward Chicago Blue Water Flint toward Port Huron
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station East Lansing toward Chicago International Flint toward Toronto Preceding station Grand Trunk Western Railroad Following station Bancroft toward Chicago Main Line Duffield toward Port Huron Vernon toward Grand Haven Detroit and Milwaukee Division Gaines toward Detroit Lennon toward Oa-at-ka Beach Cincinnati, Saginaw and Mackinaw Division Terminus
Grand Trunk Railway Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Architect	Grand Trunk Railway Co. of Canada, and Spier and Rohns
NRHP reference No.	71000419
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 6, 1971

Durand Union Station is a very old and important train station located in Durand, Michigan. It's a special place because it was once a super busy center for trains. Today, it still serves Amtrak Blue Water trains.

The station was built in 1903. It was a major hub for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad and the Ann Arbor Railroad. It also had offices for Grand Trunk Western until 1974. Now, the city of Durand owns the station. A group called Durand Union Station, Inc. takes care of it. They are a nonprofit organization that works to keep the building and its area in good shape.

Inside the station, you can find three small museums about railroad history. There's the Michigan Railroad History Museum, which also has a gift shop. You can also visit the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Museum and the Ann Arbor Railroad History Museum. A model railroad club, the Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers, has a huge model train setup there. The station also has a big room for special events and parties.

The station is located where several important train lines meet. These include the busy lines of the Canadian National Railway. Other train companies like Great Lakes Central Railroad and Huron and Eastern Railway also operate nearby. There's even a freight yard just north of the station where all three companies use it. This makes Durand Union Station a popular spot for railfans, who love to watch trains. Many visit during the annual Durand Railroad Days Festival in May. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1971. It was also added to the Michigan Register of Historic Places in 1987.

History of the Station

Durand Union Station has a rich history in Michigan's railway story. It was built in 1903 by a Detroit company called Spier & Rohns. The station became very busy because the Grand Trunk Western Railroad and Ann Arbor railroads crossed paths right there.

In 1905, a fire almost destroyed the station, but it was quickly rebuilt. At its busiest time, about 42 passenger trains, 22 mail trains, and 78 freight trains passed through Durand every day. Nearly 3,000 passengers used the station daily!

Changes in Passenger Service

In July 1950, the Ann Arbor Railroad stopped its passenger service. This meant trains no longer went from Toledo to Frankfort and Elberta on Lake Michigan. Elberta was a place where people could catch ferries across the lake.

Into the 1960s, the Grand Trunk Western (which was part of the Canadian National Railway in Canada) still ran three trains a day. These trains traveled between Chicago, Port Huron, London, and Toronto. Some of these trains were called Inter-City Limited, International Limited, and Maple Leaf. Until 1960, Grand Trunk also had trains from Detroit to Grand Rapids and Muskegon. From there, passengers could take ferries across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee. People could also catch trains from Durand to Detroit and Bay City.

When Train Service Slowed Down

In 1971, the Grand Trunk Western stopped its last trains that went through Durand. These included the International Limited and other trains that went between Chicago and Detroit. By 1974, Grand Trunk Western decided to close the station because fewer people were using it.

The city of Durand stepped in to save the historic building from being torn down. In 1979, the city bought the station for just $1.00.

Amtrak brought train service back to the station in 1974. Today, Amtrak still offers daily passenger train service on the Blue Water route. This route goes between Chicago and Port Huron. You can't check your luggage at this station. However, you can bring up to two suitcases and personal items like briefcases or laptop bags with you on the train. From 1982 to 2004, the station was also served by a different train called the International Limited. This train was run by Via Rail and Amtrak and traveled between Chicago and Toronto.

See also

• History of railroads in Michigan