A last trace of Leelanau County's Manistee & Northeastern railroad is about to disappear from our area when the railroad cars on a siding near Lake Street in Traverse City are soon removed.

According to this Record-Eagle article, the city of Traverse City is acting to force the removal of an old engine and two cars once belonging to Leelanau Scenic Railway from a piece of track located near the Oryana Food Co-op. The Scenic Railway ran from Greilickville up to Northport along a rail bed that is now the Leelanau Trail. That stretch of track was the last remnant of the Manistee & Northeastern line that started in Manistee in 1887, reaching Traverse City five years later. Along its way, it travelled through Interlochen and Solon, a circuitous route designed to maximize the amount of old growth "big timber" that could be shipped to the mills in Manistee.

In time the line was extended to Suttons Bay and Northport along one arm, and through Cedar to Provement (present-day Lake Leelanau) along another. Among other things, it played an important role in providing access to and from Traverse City for the residents of Leelanau County's north and western hinterlands.

Photo credit: Garry Rosam c/o The Yardlimit