The 11th Michigan Railroad History Conference will be held beginning at 8 a.m. on Sat., Nov. 5, 2011 at the Fetzer Center, Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The cost is $60 per person after Oct. 1.

 The program includes ten historical presentations and historical paper presentations. Lunch will be served. At the completion of the program, an informal panel discussion will be held at the afterglow.

 For a conference registration form, click here.

Presentations:

• “The Grand Trunk Western Railroad in Kalamazoo from 1930 through May 8, 1979”, by Charles Geletzke.
• “Wood, Steel and Ice: The History of the Straits of Mackinac railway ferries”, by Brian Jaeschke.
• “The Lake Line: The Grand Rapids, Grand Haven & Muskegon Railway”, by Carl Bajema and Dave Kindem.
• “Electric Interurban Railway Freight Service”, by Norm Krentel.
• “Grand Trunk Corporation: CN’s Successful U.S. Experiment”, by Bill McKnight.
• “Detroit Car Builders”, by George Anderson.
• “Detroit River Tunnel – Innovative Egineering”, by Bob Cosgrove.
• “New York Central System Detroit Area Operations”, by larry Baggerly.

During the luncheon:

• During the luncheon, discussion groups will talk about various topics of state railroad history.

Plus, at no cost:

• PreConference Field Trip (Friday): CK&S field trip, starting at 10:00 a.m. Attendees will caravan from Kalamazoo to Woodbury. Field guide will be distributed at point of embarkment.
• PostConference Field Trip (Sunday): Michigan United Railways (MUR) field trip, running from Kalamazoo east. Field guide will be distributed at point of embarkment.
• Openhouse: The Kalamazoo Model Railroad Historical Society will have their facilities open for tour Friday night, November 4th from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This includes their layout and their restored BCG&A caboose. KMRHS is located at 9336 Riverview Drive.

 Plus: An afterglow will be held along with an informal panel discussion.