On The Right Track

Some people play with trains. Larry Coe has his own railroad.

STEVE HARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

M

ost people play
with trains. Larry
Coe bought a rail-
road. Mr. Coe's de-
pot is located in Walled Lake,
where his trains operate
seven days a week, chugging
freight such as lumber and
plastic pellets in one car, and
carrying bar mitzvah celebra-
tion parties, murder mystery
shindigs and dinner musical
reviews in the other cars.
Mr. Coe, 50, first purchased
the railroad in 1984. Prior to
that it was Grand Trunk and
Western Railroad's line to
c' Lakeland and Jackson, Mich.
The railroad's original
owner was Cornelius
Vanderbilt, who had the
tracks built in 1883 and the
depot constructed in 1887. A
century later, Mr. Coe decided
to put his tracks in history
and purchase the vacant
-- railroad.
"In the early 1980s, I
started reading periodicals
about the railroad industry
being deregulated," Mr. Coe
said. "And that landed itself
into my being able to get into
the railroad business. Before
that, it was difficult to buy a
railroad. So, we bought the
railroad and started to
creatively think about what
we can do with it, and it all
evolved into this."
In 1984, Mr. Coe and his
wife, Judy, began to build
their new business. The land
that now holds a parking lot,
an engine house, along with
a handful of trains, was just
an empty field. It had a piece
of rail and an old, beat-up
depot.
"We still have the original
telegraph and electrical hook-
up on the exterior of the
depot," Mrs. Coe said.
Mr. Coe first bought a train
for $100,000 in 1984. A train
today costs about $1 million.
The dinner train costs about
3-1/2 times that amount.
Today, Mr. Coe's business
has grown from a one-engine
railroad to a three-engine
station, so that he can host a
wedding or bar mitzvah on
the party train and a musical
review on the dinner train.

Larry Coe sits inside the Michigan Starr Clipper.

The trains also have been the
site of surprise kidnappings
to celebrate surprise birthday
parties; hobo parties, where
guests eat mulligan stew out
of coffee and bean cans;
western parties, with western
shootouts; and Great Gatsby
parties, a roaring 1920s
evening.
During the week, all three
of Mr. Coe's engines lug
freight from Walled Lake to
Wixom. On the weekends, Mr.
Coe's party train choo choos
through Walled Lake and
West Bloomfield. The party
train's four cars — 1917 Erie
Lackawanna Coach, 1920 Box
Car Saloon, 1947 Milwaukee
Road Bar Car and 1920
Baggage Car — are the
venues for the dance floor,
candlelighting ceremonies,
buffet lines, restaurant and
bar lounge. The party train,

which has been operating
since 1984, seats 120 guests.
"Back in the 1920s, our
western saloon car was then
an old mail car; it was used to
transport workers to build the
railroads," Mr. Coe said.
Hanging from the walls of
one of Mr. Coe's coaches are
actual newspaper pages from
1917. Above the seats in
coach, are luggage racks,
filled with luggage from the
early 1900s.
"My wife guides this train
filled with students, on a
journey through the early
1900s," Mr. Coe said. "As the
train travels from Walled
Lake to Woodpecker Lake in
West Bloomfield, Judy does
the commentary, teaching the
children about railroads,
showing the newspaper
clippings, luggage and photos
of how people traveled in the

early days."
Also on board the train dur-
ing the family tours on Sun-
days is the former Ohio State
University Yo-Yo Champion of
the 1950s, Mr. Coe, who per-
forms magic shows as well as
yo-yo tricks.
Since August 1991, the
Michigan Star Clipper, Mr.
Coe's dinner train, has been
operating. This train, which
was built in the 1950s by a
local company in Detroit,
runs Tuesday through Satur-
day evenings. It boards at 6
p.m., departs at 7 p.m. and
returns at 10 p.m. On Sunday,
it departs at 5 p.m.
While aboard, Nancy Gur-
win Productions entertains
the dining guests on the
weekends with a review of
Broadway melodies. During
the week and on some Sunday
evenings, a musical group

guides dining passengers
through a sentimental
journey as they review the
songs of the 1940s and 50s.
Murder mysteries also take
place during the week on the
train.
Mr. Coe has a staff of 40
employees.
Mr. Coe said his business
has grown rapidly since he
opened shop more than eight
years ago.
"In 1984, we were an
$80,000 business," Mr. Coe
said. "Today, we've grown to
more than $1.5 million."
On Oct. 24 and 25, Mr. and
Mrs. Coe will host another
fund-raiser. This time it is for
the Detroit Youtheatre. The
weekend entertainment will
include mimes, jugglers,
musicians, magicians and
puppet shows.

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