Museum

DISCOVER MICHIGAN’S INTERURBAN RAILWAY MUSEUM

Explore Lost Railway Museum

Imagine the time before paved streets, cars and buses. Village streets bustling with activity and people in the early 1900’s of Grass Lake. The electric Interurban railway system is the primary mode of public transportation. More than six railways intersected Jackson County and delivered visitors to and from Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek and Lansing. Now, get ready to see what that time was like at Lost Railway Museum. Call the Museum at (517) 522-9500 to schedule a tour today.

In May of 2017, Car #47 was the first to be set in place in the museum for opening day on July 1, 2017. At the time the restoration was underway and had largely continued with the placement of seats, lights and the numbers on the car. In 2022 the back of the car received the finishing touches along with the electrical mast (at the top) where the car picked up electricity from the overhead wires. Restoration Completed

The model train layout is a delight for young and old alike with a recreation of the North side of Michigan Avenue as it was from 1900 to 1910. Complete with a Michigan Central Railroad line behind the buildings that were in place at the time, with a replica of Car #47 as it runs back and forth through the downtown area of Grass Lake. Model Layout

This is a shot of the back part of Car #29 as restoration continues, while the front of the car currently is occupied by the virtualy reality "Boland Express' ride. Restoration Continues

Move in day - On May 27, 2017, volunteers were on hand to experience the moving in of Car #47, to place the first car of its kind on the tracks inside the building. This picture shows the museum as it existed with the displays in place and Car #47 with some completed work in time for the preview opening on June 10, 2017. On September 30, 2017, Car #29 finally took its rightfull place in the museum to complete the collection. The Museum Completed

The museum acquired these wheels from the caboose of the train featured in the Disney movie Polar Express. The old steel axle and sleeve style was too expensive, so they were looking for a place where the wheels, remaining stationary, could be important and interesting as well. Train Wheels

Car #29 (Video)

One of the first cars found was Car #29 residing on a lot on Gillettes Lake on the east side of Jackson.

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Rail Car

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Downtown Grass Lake (Video)

1900 to 1910 Downtown Village of Grass Lake was a village bustling with activity bringing passengers from the regular railroads to the Depot downtown, where many of those passengers then hopped on the next interurban car to the Wolf Lake Casino.

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JB Foote (Video)

The engineering wizard of Jackson Electric Light Works.

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Michigan Center Waiting Station (Video)

Often gone un-noticed, this building still stands in Michigan Center!!

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5000 Volt Motor

One of only 4 prototype motors ever created, the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan presented this one to us.

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Lost Railway Museum features a number of tracks and story lines that simply can’t be envisioned alone, so check each one below for a more complete understanding of the Museum presentation

train tracks

Track #1 The Boland Line

The Boland Line was just one of the interurban lines to traverse the Grass Lake area and serve the early 1900’s community to major urban areas for shopping, catching larger train lines to larger cities and otherwise set about on adventures that could only be imagined in those years.
Track #2 The Michigan United Line

The Michigan United Railway line was formed out of a joint effort between W. A. Boland and W.A. Foote, often traveling similar routes and occasionally crossing lines with the Detroit United Railway. However, the Michigan United Line also made a trip to the casino on Wolf Lake, for more daring gamblers and recreation seekers, keeping it popular for a few more years.
Track #3 The Building Line

The building housing the museum is partially on a property that housed a power house for the interurban lines. Ultimately evolving as an auto dealership, repair shop, a farm implement dealership, a body shop, and a repair shop again, the building is the perfect place to locate the museum since the two key lines followed the Michigan Avenue route.
Track #4 The Combination Line

Many of the artifacts on display in the museum point to a different time in history. Some of the original bicycles once traversing the streets of Grass Lake were manufactured by the Star Company before the name became synonymous with the Star Automobile Company. As well, the Museum was once a dealership for Star Automobiles. Subsequently, the tracks of history are many and varied at the Lost Railway Museum.