Durand Union Station: Railroad City, USA
Near Flint, Michigan
The small city of Durand, Michigan, carries the nickname Railroad City, USA, and it earned it. At the turn of the twentieth century, two major railroads crossed right here: the Grand Trunk Western and the Ann Arbor Railroad. In nineteen oh three the two lines built a shared depot, Durand Union Station, to handle the traffic.
At its peak the station processed hundreds of passenger trains each week, and the city's economy, hotels, and restaurants revolved entirely around the comings and goings of the rails. The station served as a Grand Trunk Western regional office for decades. Passenger traffic eventually collapsed, but the building survived, was taken over by the city of Durand, and is now maintained by a local nonprofit.
Amtrak's Blue Water train still stops here, the sole remaining echo of the days when Durand was one of the busiest rail junctions in Michigan.
