44
Friday, June 7, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Train travel in the
H E'S
VVORKIN'
H I S RAI LR OAD
BEEN Walled Lake area is
alive and well, thanks to
railroad enthusiast Larry Coe
BY TEDD SCHNEIDER
Staff Writer
A
t 12:45 p.m., Larry Coe
fired up the engine and
80 Temple Beth El nur-
sery schoolers got set for
the ride of their young
lives. Sadly, it was an experience
many may never have the chance to
repeat. While $45 airplane flights
and dazzling, futuristic space shuttle
missions have become travel symbols
of the 1980s, the passenger train has
quietly gone the way of the horse-
and-buggy — except in Coe's little
corner of Oakland County.
The Coe Railroad, a nine-
month-old line set up by the local
entrepreneur primarily to ferry
freight between Walled Lake and
Wixom, began making regularly
scheduled tourist runs Memorial
Day weekend. It is one of the three
remaining privately-owned railroads
in the United States sanctioned by
the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion.
For those old enough to re-
member when "B and 0,"
"Shortline" and "Reading" were
more than just spaces on the
Monopoly board, the 45-minute ride
aboard Coe's train is a romantic,
nostalgia-filled episode. Sit back,
close your eyes, and remember pul-
ling out of the old Michigan Central
Station for a trip to Chicago aboard
the Twilight Limited. Or, if your
imagination is fine-tuned into
foreign adventure, the Coe Railroad
becomes the fabled Orient Express
with just the wink of an eye.
For the younger set, the nine-
mile round-trip through the back
woods of Walled Lake is a lot of fun
and a learning experience as well.
"It's more than a simple amusement
park ride for the kids," Coe says.
"Young people, for the most part,
have never been on a train. This is a
tremendous way to expose them to a
very important and vibrant era in
our country's history."
Coe and his wife, Judy, have
worked to make the ride a combined
history lesson and variety show for
children. As the train passes stun-
ning, modern homes on Woodpecker
Lake, Judy informs the young
passengers and their parents that
the Walled Lake Station, built in
1887, was a popular whistle-stop
during the campaign tours of turn-
of-the-century Presidential candi-
dates. Meanwhile, Larry strolls
through the three restored Erie-
Lackawanna cars performing magic
tricks and yo-yo stunts.
Later, the parents lead the kids
through railroad songs like Little
Red Caboose and Down by the Sta-
tion.
Coe tells his audience that Wal-
led Lake, like many small Midwest-
ern towns, owes its existence to the
rails and that commercial develop-
ment in the area came only after the
train station went up.
"That's how Walled Lake be-
came what it was," he says, "because
the railroad came through."
The short trip also includes a
healthy dose of "train talk." Coe
goes over the various whistle signals
and demonstrates the required codes
(two long, one short, one long) as the
train approaches a highway crossing
and (one long toot) during the return
approach to the station.
Just as it did a hundred years
ago, the community has welcomed
the presence of an active railroad,
according to the Coes. While no re-
freshments are served during the
train's weekend runs, area fast-food
restaurants have agreed to include
the ride on birthday party
itineraries. And the Coes, who live
in Franklin, have struck friendly re-
lationships with neighboring
Continued on Page 60
Temple Beth El youngsters, accompanied by their parents, board
their first train.
The Coe Railroad pulls out for Walled Lake and points east — but
not too far east.