Historic mid-Michigan locomotive delivers holiday cheer across Shiawassee, Gratiot counties

OWOSSO, Mich. (WNEM) - Did you know Owosso is home to one of the largest steam locomotives ever made?

It also transforms into an entire Christmas experience—a tradition now running for two decades.

Built in 1941 in Lima, Ohio, the Pere Marquette 1225 is one of the most powerful steam engines ever built. It is still running after being restored and is maintained by the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso.

“At one time, there were thousands of engines like that around the country of different types, different sizes,” said Dean Pyers, former director and volunteer of the Steam Railroading Institute. “As the steam era ended in the mid-1950’s, some railroads preserved them. We were fortunate that Forest Akers arranged to donate it to Michigan State University; a friend of his was the chairman of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. They donated it as a static display and a group of students got together in 1969 and started rebuilding it.”

“They were very dedicated and were able to get it up and running and that took quite some time,” said Ashley Deming, executive director of the Steam Railroading Institute. “So, I don’t think it actually started running until the eighties, and then ended up moving here to Owosso, and the Steam Railroading Institute was born.”

Pyers said keeping the Pere Marquette running is no easy task, but its something they do with pride.

“Railroads, at the turn of the 20th century and early 1900s, railroads were enormous employers; everybody had a connection in some way,” said Pyers. “That’s fading a little bit now, but I think the steam engines and steam trains keep people connected in some way.”

Pyers said these trains help teach us about the freight industry, which played a vital part in building the region’s economy.

“Our post-railroad, the Great Lakes Bay Central’s, a very busy regional railroad, hauling all sorts of agricultural products and other products here through Mid-Michigan,” said Pyers.

In 2004, the Pere Marquette became the “North Pole Express” as “The Polar Express” hit theaters across the country, following days of capturing sound and video of the train for the now-beloved animated film.

“From what I remember, our executive director at the time, Dennis Braid, took a phone call,” said Pyers. “It was a cold call from movie producers looking for an organization that had an operating steam locomotive that had blueprints that could work with them on video recording and audio recording as they were animating the movie and we were able to provide all that.”

At the time, the institute was a volunteer organization, and their first year they had run some Christmas trains branded as the “Polar Express,” according to Pyers. Now, the group has 25 trains that will take visitors to the Village of Ashley Country Christmas with 750 to 800 passengers per train.

“And you’ll see families, some of them come back year after year, and they come and the whole family will be dressed in their pajamas,” said Kathy Wahl, a volunteer. “It is and it’s just adorable.”

Now entering their 21st season of running rides from Owosso to Ashley, they bring in about 18,000 to 20,000 people a year.

“As a volunteer, there’s lots of opportunities,” Wahl said. “I do car hosting, so on the days that the train runs, I welcome people onto the train and serve hot chocolate and sing the carols with them and just have fun.”

“As soon as [people] hear that train whistle, they know what train it is, right? 12-25 is back up and running and they’re coming out of their houses or there’s cars parked on the side of the road and everybody’s waving, which is really, you know, what we want,” Deming said. “We want to get people interested in trains and excited about history.”

Deming is the new executive director of the organization, preparing for her first holiday season. She tells TV5 she is most looking forward to meeting visitors and seeing the excitement on their faces as they step aboard.

“I really like when my office shakes when a freight train is going by, it really makes it come alive and that’s what we want,” Deming said. “We want history to come alive, we want to keep steam alive and have people have experiences aboard our passenger cars—whether it’s the steam train or its diesel—people aren’t riding the rails in the same way that they used to, so it really is like stepping back in time and now this time of year, we’re able to add a little Christmas magic to that.”

Tickets are now sold out for rides to the Village of Ashley’s Country Christmas, but you can still visit the village on your own. You can visit gift shops, meet with Santa, and watch the North Pole Express train. You can visit the downtown area’s holiday display on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 21.

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