This is the western trail for the Macomb Orchard Trail - It starts roughly at 24&Dequindre and ends up around 29&Van Dyke. The coordinates given are starting point on the west end.
Source for below: http://macomborchardtrail.com
The Macomb Orchard Trail is a non-motorized path that will provide users with a safe transportation and exercise route through central and northern Macomb County, Michigan. At a length of 23.5 miles it will be the largest hike/bike path in the County, and one of the largest in southeast Michigan. This 236 acre linear park will serve as an important connection between local communities and the surrounding area. Locally, it will connect people to parklands, downtowns, businesses, schools, residences, and open spaces. Regionally, it will provide a connection from St. Clair County to Oakland County, and on a state-wide basis, the trail system will ultimately span from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.
Brief History of the Trail
In 1998, the Canadian National Railroad put up for sale a 24-mile section of railroad for $5.4 million. Several Macomb County residents who saw the old railroad as a possible transportation and recreation resource came up with the idea of the Macomb Orchard Trail.
In 1998, the Friends of the Macomb Orchard Trail (FOTMOT) group was formed. Their mission became converting the abandoned railroad corridor into a trail and set about building community support and raising money for the purchase and development of the trail.
The FOTMOT rallied the support of leaders from several of the communities located along the trail. This group then asked the Macomb County Board of Commissioners for help in purchasing the trail. The Commissioners worked hard to negotiate the price of the abandoned railroad down to $3.5 million, which was financed by a loan from the Trust for Public Land.
In 2001, the “Macomb Orchard Trail Commission” (MOTC) was formed. They were given the responsibility of developing and providing ongoing maintenance for the trail. Members include representatives from three of the eight municipalities through which the former railway runs, a County commissioner and a member of the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority.
In 2002, the MOTC hired a planning consulting firm to draw up a master plan for the trail. The goal of the plan was to provide a safe and attractive trail for users.
In 2003, an engineering firm hired by MOTC prepared specifications for developing Phase I of the Macomb Orchard Trail. This six-mile stretch begins at 24 Mile Road and Dequindre in Shelby Township and ends at 29 Mile Road and Van Dyke in Washington Township. The project was completed in the summer of 2004.
In 2005, The Macomb Orchard Trail Commission began engineering of the final 17 miles of trail. Construction of this phase is scheduled to begin in the late summer of 2006.
History of the Railroad
The development of steam railroads with their wood burning engines proclaimed the doom of plank roads.
Michigan's early railroad program and Canal projects were both spawned by the Michigan Internal Improvements program of the 1830s. Private corporations were chartered to build railroads to connect all the important cities and villages in the State.
The first railroad to be authorized in Macomb County was designated as the Romeo and Mount Clemens Railroad Company and was incorporated in 1833 with capital stock of $150,000. It was limited to six years for building and its charter lapsed.
The Detroit and Shelby Railroad Company was the third of only 5 railroads built from the original pre 1837 charters, which numbered 21. It was incorporated on March 7,1834 and began operation in September, 1839. It was designed to connect the Campus Martius in Detroit with the settlement of Utica or Leech's Mills in Shelby Township.
The rails of the road were made of poles strapped on to logs. The coaches were to be operated by horsepower. With great expectstions of success, a three story hotel was built and preparations made for the expected growth this project and the Clinton Kalamazoo Canal would bring to Utica. But on inauguration day, the first car did not reach Detroit. Within five miles of reaching its destination of Campus Martius, where people waited to acclaim its arrival, something went wrong with the roadbed. The strapped rails spread and the omnibus, or compartment car, slid into Conner's Creek!
It ceased operation in 1844 and on March 18,1848 the legislature changed the name to the Detroit, Romeo and Port Huron Railroad. This name change did not revive the railroad. Later it was extended to Bay City and became the Detroit Bay City Railroad.
It was not until 1859 that the Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railroad was built through Macomb County. For many years it was an essential line. Linked to the Michigan Central in West Detroit, it allowed al types of freight to be delivered to the rest of the State and region.
In 1869 the Michigan Air Line, Macomb County's second railroad was built from Ridgeway (now Lenox) to Romeo, and was later extended through Washington, Shelby and to Pontiac.
In 1871, the Detroit-Bay City railroad was opened and the western part of the county was connected by rail with the outside world. It became part of the Michigan Central System in 1928 and is presently operated by Conrail. This railroad followed almost exactly the right of way established by the old strap railroad company thirty years earlier.
The Grand Trunk's tracks in northeast Shelby Township have been removed and it is in the process of being converted for use in a "rails to trails" project called The Macomb Orchard Trail. The Macomb Orchard Trail is 23 miles non-motorized path from Richmond to Shelby Township. It crosses Dequindre Road south of 24 Mile Road/Parkdale and becomes the "Clinton River Trail", which will link to the Paint Creek Trail and to Bloomer Park, Stony Creek, and into Pontiac.