Location: Bay City, MI - GTW Facilities

The Grand Trunk Western branch line from Saginaw to Bay City entered the area on the west side of the Saginaw River, and continued around the north side of town to North Bay City and then up to a resort on Saginaw Bay. A short branch off the line went east across the river on a double drawbridge to downtown Bay City where they built a new depot. 

We believe that the top two photos (freight house) and the next three photos (passenger depot) are of an older GTW depot on the west side of the river. The postcard view at the bottom is of their newer joint passenger-freight facility in downtown Bay City.

Photo info: Top two photos, the GTW freight house at Bay City {Robert W. Smith], the 3rd and 45h photos were taken in the late 1960's. The 5th photo, is a color photo of the west side depot. [Robert W. Smith photos.] The 6th view is a 1915 postcard view of what is described as the "new" depot in downtown Bay City on the east side of the river.

Notes

Time Line

1910. The Grand Truck will spend $1 million to cross the Saginaw river and secure an east side terminal in Bay City. They will use the GT or Bay City Terminal to benefit the project. A.B. Atwater, assistant to the president of the GT, confirmed many rumors that the GT was the real purchaser of two entire blocks of Center Avenue, the city's principle business thoroughfare.

The company will build a depot at a cost of $55,000 to $60,000 and also a freight house. The bridge across the Saginaw river will be a costly affair, as the company is forced to cross at about the widest point on the river. It will be one of the longest and heaviest bridges in Michigan. Permission to cross the river will be asked from the war department. [DD-1810-0305]

1918. The Grand Trunk had an operator at the old west side station on the 1st and 2nd shifts.  They also had an operator on two shifts at the new east side downtown station. [TRT]