Project Overview

Challenge: Lifting the train without damage

Solution: Using a rigging loc and attention to detail

The City of East Jordan was working on developing the downtown area, which meant moving a piece of history down the road.

City Administrator Tom Cannon tells us the train was owned by the Porter family for their logging company. Built in 1909, it was used primarily in the lumber industry. It ran on tracks from East Jordan to Bellaire. After the logging industry, the train was used as a passenger train until it was decommissioned in 1961. It was then donated to the City of East Jordan for display purposes, highlighting the train and its importance to the community in the early 1900s. In the mid-70s, the City of East Jordan raised... Read more

The City of East Jordan was working on developing the downtown area, which meant moving a piece of history down the road.

Fast forward to modern day, the city was looking at revamping some parks and decided they wanted to move the engine closer to the highway for more people to see. The challenge was lifting the train and transporting it over the bridge. Two Team Elmer’s cranes made the journey from Traverse City to East Jordan to move the almost 200,000 pound piece of history.

After hours of prep work, the cranes were positioned on either side of the train. The biggest worry of all was moving the locomotive without damaging it. Before cranes were even attached, the roof covering the two cars was removed as well as the posts and fencing that surrounded the train. The train was then lifted onto a flatbed and moved from Memorial Park to nearby Sportsman’s Park.

Once the train was settled on the flatbed, the tracks it had been resting on were removed from the ground and carried over to Sportsman’s Park, and then reassembled.

The parks were only a quarter mile apart, though safety was of top concern and heavy traffic control was needed to make the move a success. The move was an effort to open up the view of the water and put the train someplace passers-by wouldn’t miss.

Working with the state and other municipalities involved, the bridge was temporarily closed to traffic allowing the train to make its way across. With hundreds of people welcoming the train on the other side, it was lifted off of the flatbed and set back on its familiar tracks - making this another successful lift for Team Elmer’s.