Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Missing streetcar in the Upper Peninsula

I keep a list of "mystery cars," most of which appear to have been preserved at some point but then dropped off the radar. One of these is the car pictured here: Marquette County Gas Light & Traction 15.

I'm not sure who built it for MCGL&T, a small streetcar line that ran between Ishpeming and Negaunee in Michigan's Upper Peninsula between 1893 and 1927. It may have been purchased secondhand. But it was in existence as recently as 2014 according to
 this newsletter (PDF) posted online by the Negaunee Historical Society. At that time, the car was said to have been moved from a previous storage location outside the Negaunee Senior Center to a "temporary storage" site. A 2010 forum post here provides additional information, including the car's fleet number: 15. The post also indicates that 2010 was when the car was moved from the Senior Center and claims that it was moved to the Tracy Mine, an abandoned mine east of Negaunee. Google aerial images and online "urban explorer" photos show some pretty impressive extant buildings at the Tracy Mine site but no sign of the streetcar. I've tried contacting the Negaunee Historical Society but without luck.

So, anyone know what happened to MCGSL&T 15? Is it still at the Tracy Mine site, possibly even stored inside one of the buildings? [EDIT: Thanks to Wesley Paulson for determining that the car is not at Tracy Mine.] Or was it demolished or otherwise lost during the last seven years?

1 comment:

  1. From the realtor who handled the sale of Tracy Mine:

    Tracy Mine sold in December 2018... I was all over this property and don't recall seeing anything like that on the property.

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