MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — A century-old coaling tower built by the Michigan Central Railroad will be torn down next year, leading to a disruption of Amtrak service for up to two weeks, WCOE and WLOI radio report.
The massive concrete structure straddling the Amtrak-owned trackage, a local landmark dating to 1923 (some sources say 1924), will be demolished over a 14-day period, Amtrak’s Lorenzo Perez told the radio stations. The work is not expected to begin before September 2025 because of the process requiring approval from the Federal Railroad Administration before demolition can begin.
The project has been moved up by at least a year because of the structure’s deteriorating condition and the risk it poses to the eight Amtrak trains that pass beneath it daily — three round trips of the Wolverine and one of the Blue Water. During the work, passengers will be bused the approximately 60 miles between Chicago and New Buffalo, Mich.
Amtrak is seeking an exception to Michigan City noise ordinances to allow it to work around the clock to move the structure east of downtown Michigan City. The ordinance prohibits work between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Skyler York, the city’s planning director, told the station he will expects to grant an exception as long as Amtrak agrees to conditions he will submit to it in writing. Noise is not considered a significant issue because the area around the coaling tower is mostly industrial.
I remember a few concrete SPRR coaling towers on the UPRR Sunset route at Tucson, Mescal, Bowie, Lordsburg, and Deming, (and others elsewhere), that were finally demolished in the early 21st century in order to make room for the UPRR double track project there. I happened to witness the dynamiting of the coal tower at Lordsburg, NM. And the last coal tower to come down was in the Tucson subdivision was right at Tucson. It was said that Tucson’s demolition was delayed because a homeless person was living in the tower and it took quite a while to remove him, and I heard (???) he subsequently died or committed suicide because of that.
Why was the coaling tower built right on the mainline instead of a controlled siding?
I believe it was quite common in the steam era to have coal docks that spanned mainline tracks so that there would be minimal interruption to train schedules. On multi-track mains, such as the UP at Wyoming or Nebraska, as well as that dock pictured in the article, multiple mains were served by one dock. In some places, there were additional chutes to serve sidings. Recall also that a siding was needed for coal hoppers to unload into the underground bins that fed the tower. You can see the angled section for the bucket conveyor coming up from the left.
Surprised it hasn’t been designated a historic landmark immune from demolition. But there’s time between now and when demolition is scheduled. Expect a lawsuit from the historic designation nutjobs.
This isn’t the only coaling tower on the Michigan Central to have survived into the diesel years. There is, or was, a similar structure in the Livernois yard in Detroit.
Recall that the historic preservation nut jobs began with the failed efforts to prevent demolition of Pen Station in New York.