That curve by the plumbing store connecting the former LS&MS with the former MC to provide access from Elkhart to the Kalamazoo yard... when was that installed? I recall looking at older track maps, that curve connector is not there. Actually I seem to recall a curve the other way... towards the MC Kalamazoo station, correct?
So as far as the N/S railroads...
GR&I had their yard between what now is Crosstown Parkway and Mills Street. Also they had a North Yard just North of Mosel Avenue.
CK&S had their yard between what now is Graphic Packaging and the Kalamazoo Sewer Water Treatment Plant
C&KT had their yard near the baseball stadium / steel scrap yard just East of Mills Street
LS&MS, did they have a yard besides the one just North of Cork Street?
And those railroads had sidings at their stations... but I would not think that would be the location of railcar storage, correct?
Of course, Michigan Central, had Botsford Yard.
I was suspecting that the N/S to W/E interchange traffic was much less back when Kalamazoo had so many different railroad companies, each having their own yards in town... than the Contrail era. Am I correct? With Conrail (Consolidated Rail), then obvious redundancies would be simplified... rather than having yards scattered around town... since Contrail owned everything, reduce to one main yard... and thus close down smaller yards, send all the cars moving through Kalamazoo to Botsford Yard. (Other than GTW coming up from Pavilion... they have a yard down in Pavilion and a yard at the GM plant. And GTW remained separate from Conrail.)
I am supposing that LONG trains going around the curve next to the plumbing store are a consequence mainly of Conrail consolidation.
Thoughts please.
I am thankful,
PM