OLIVE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Friends of the Coopersville & Marne Railway Co., a non-profit heritage rail operation, on Monday accepted the donation a GE 125-ton center cab diesel locomotive from Michigan power company Consumers Energy at its West Olive facility
Built in 1979, the locomotive was repowered in approximately 2010 with two 600-hp Caterpillar diesels. The Friends group says in a posting on its Facebook page that the gift “will allow for better scheduling of resources and enhance both our freight and passenger services.”
The railroad operates passenger trains over 7 miles of former Grand Trunk Western trackage between its two namesake communites, using a former GTW SW9 and former commuter coaches, and also offers freight service. More information on the railroad is available on its website; planned 2023 operations will be announced in March.
Coopersville & Marne President Jeff Dupilka told WOOD-TV that the locomotive would remain in the Grand Rapids area, saving the railroad from bringing a train from its headquarters in Coopersville to handle Grand Rapids freight business.
