From a Steam Railroading Institute Press Release:

A very difficult decision has been made by Durand Union Station, Great Lakes Central, and the Steam Railroading Institute to cancel the upcoming excursions for the 35th Annual Durand Railroad Days, to be held May 15th and 16th. After initial approval and much discussion with Canadian National about being able to board at the Durand Union Station as a Great Lakes Central excursion, it was determined that the liability insurance policy required by CN to allow the excursion to carry passengers was more than the parties felt we could justifiably afford.

This would have been the first train excursions for Railroad Days in nearly a decade, and all involved are disappointed, but in the end we felt this was our only remaining course of action.

It should be noted that every possible option was looked upon by the parties involved for providing an alternative that would allow the excursions to continue. Discussions were held about the potential of running the trips from Pitt Junction  and continuing south as planned to Cohoctah. The distance from the Durand Railroad Days event (over one mile), not to mention the logistics and costs of the busing, quickly eliminated this as an option. Brief discussions were also held with RailAmerica as well about boarding northeast of the diamond, however similar issues arose and the parties involved decided it was best to cancel the excursions.

While DUSI, SRI, and GLC regret the cancellation, we hope to have some exciting announcements soon that may soften the blow of our inability to run this particular excursion. Please stop by our table at the Durand Union Station during Durand Railroad Days.

For further info on the event, please check out Durand Railroad Days website at http://www.durandrailroaddays.com, or the Durand Union Station website at http://durandstation.org/

Durand Railroad Days
Durand, Michigan
May 14, 15 & 16