  7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 20 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
I have a couple of questions for people in the know. I would really like to check out the area but I need to know exactly where it is, at this point all i know is that it is near rivertown. Also i would like to know a little bit about the area. i want to bring a female friend with me and i would like to know if this is a bad idea. im not trying to be sexist, but if its a pretty bad area i dont want to bring her. Thanks in advance. | ||
Sharmaal Member Username: Sharmaal Post Number: 804 Registered: 09-2004 Posted From: 136.1.1.101 |
Do you mean the Dequindre Cut? | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 415 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 141.216.1.4 |
The cut on the Dequindre Line (what it was referred to by GTW RR in abandonment papers) begins at Jefferson, at Dequindre. As for whether you want to take your friend, why don't you first just scout out the area on your own? | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3827 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Only safe with an expert guide like Lowell with camera. Will be safer when it is reconstructed as a link to the casinos. Enjoy the art and abandoned schitt down there. jjaba. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 688 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 69.242.223.42 |
The chances of being mugged in the moat is very low. But again, it's forty feet below grade with few entries. Where could one get to quickly enough when confronted by some whacko? I can think of better places to go on a cheap date... | ||
Solarflare Member Username: Solarflare Post Number: 421 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 63.69.106.29 |
or a pack of stray dogs. | ||
Ndavies Member Username: Ndavies Post Number: 1817 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 129.9.163.234 |
Uhhh??? What casinos? It's not near any of the casinos. It will connect the new State park with Eastern market. | ||
Cushkid Member Username: Cushkid Post Number: 45 Registered: 08-2005 Posted From: 136.2.1.101 |
What is the deal with the other cut under fort street next to the building that AIW documented about a week ago. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 2103 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 4.229.90.174 |
Jjaba, you're stuck in the past!  The casino "freeway" was for the riverfront casinos. When they went bye-bye, so did the casino drive. The CUT is now destined as a bike path. | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 3296 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.79.119.13 |
I've never actually run across another person in my forays in the cut which have been numerous. Climbing the walls of the embankments can be quite difficult though. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 689 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 69.242.223.42 |
The other cut by 10 1/2 Street? I walked that one two summers ago up to 12th Street. Other than one very short section of track just west of 12th Street, there's not much anything of interest down there, and it's probably super damp this week. Straying further west will get you too close to the Border Patrol that parks around 14th Street. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3828 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Thanks for the update Gistok. jjaba got up late today. jjaba (proof, he doesn't know the Eastside.) | ||
Livedog2 Member Username: Livedog2 Post Number: 241 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 24.223.133.177 |
Sometimes the past is a good place to be stuck in!  Livedog2 | ||
Cushkid Member Username: Cushkid Post Number: 46 Registered: 08-2005 Posted From: 136.2.1.101 |
thats it livernois, I always wondered what was down there or what it serviced | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1163 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.205 |
Look at the map I posted today in Detroit's 2nd Train Terminal thread, it's exactly what you're talking about. The tracks led to a large yard on the riverfront with car ferry slips. At the corner of 12th there was the Detroit Graphite Co. Paint Works. On the other side of 10th there was a stove works taking up the whole block. https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/5/54651.html?1147711944 | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 253 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 68.60.139.169 |
There are a number of overpasses between Orleans and St Aubin from which you can look down into the Dequindre Cut (Jefferson, Larned, Lafayette and several more slightly further to the north that used to be streets in old Black Bottom); but you can enter in just one spot which is south of Jefferson. Several times, while jogging in Rivertown, I have ventured into the Cut without incident; but the last time I did have to pass by a street person tending his bonfire by the entrance. I haven't seen any feral dogs but some may be at home there. | ||
Soulhawk Member Username: Soulhawk Post Number: 271 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 68.61.97.142 |
Here's a Metro Times link http://www.metrotimes.com/edit orial/story.asp?id=4081 | ||
7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 21 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
im not trying to go there for a cheap date, but theres this girl im really into and shes a fashion design major with a huge interest in alternative art forms. im probably going to take her there on saturday. | ||
Jfried Member Username: Jfried Post Number: 838 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 209.131.7.190 |
maybe you'd feel safer bringing along a few extra friends..... | ||
Rms Member Username: Rms Post Number: 34 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 141.211.114.43 |
I was down there 10 days ago or so when we had a warm evening. I was out for a bike ride and ended up investigating the cut as I was passing by the Jefferson/Woodbridge entrance. The current problem is that once you're in, you're in. Other than a very steep climb through brush, your next opportunity to easily exit is somewhere around Adelaide street in Eastern Market. Then the entire cut flattens out, emptying at Mack. I did encounter a couple of homeless guys camped out near the entrance. They stayed put, and I didn't see anyone else (or dogs) as I made my trek. The crushed rock access road next to the old train track is a bit rough for bike riding at this point, and there is plenty of debris to dodge. For me, it was well worth the foray to see the amazing grafiti. Depending on the person, some people would not feel safe down there. Just because you question it, I'd echo Jfried....you might feel safer with a few friends. | ||
Gianni Member Username: Gianni Post Number: 231 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 209.104.144.90 |
One of the old abandoned street bridges is just east of Lafayette Towers parking entrance on Orleans. You can cut through the fence there and go down. There are a couple of other spots "uptown" where you can cut through the fence and carefully inch down the embankment while holding on to the brush. At the bottom there is about a three foot jump. Then you just head south a few blocks and you are out once you go under Jefferson. One advantage of this approach is that you can scope it out from above before you go down, although you can't see the entire length of the cut. There is a lot of trash and debris. I've been down there three times in the last couple of years, never saw anything but pheasants. One time I did spot grafitti artists at work while I was jogging from above on the overpass. I doubt the grafitti people would be a problem if you did run across them. It is pretty amazing. Last time I was down there I saw that someone had stacked a bunch of the old railroad ties that are being removed and built a platform that appears to be a stage. I took my then eight year old daughter down one time while we were walking home from soccer practice. She loved it. I say go for it. | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 984 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
I still wish we had the commuter rail that went through there. What kind of ridership did it have in its last years? And where did it stop in the suburbs? | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 700 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 69.242.223.42 |
Pontiac, in the 1980s, with stops along the way, such as Royal Oak, near the bus connection site, etc. (Message edited by LivernoisYard on May 16, 2006) | ||
Rocket_city Member Username: Rocket_city Post Number: 31 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 141.217.214.203 |
If your girl is into alternative design forms, take her to the Heidelberg Project on Heidelberg Street: www.heidelberg.org. It's perfectly safe and pretty fun to walk around in! If it's your first time at the Dequindre Cut, I'd recommend having someone with you whose been down in it before. It's unfamiliar territory. I've been over the bridges, but never underneath, as I've been waiting to go with a friend. (Message edited by rocket city on May 16, 2006) | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 986 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
So basically the commuter rail followed the same route that Amtrak follows out to Pontiac now. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 418 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.12.24.121 |
"So basically the commuter rail followed the same route that Amtrak follows out to Pontiac" From Milwaukee Jct. to Pontiac, yes. The commuter station was at the southeast corner of St. Antoine and Franklin. Service ended in Oct. 1983. Maybe this has been posted before on here, but the Surface Transportation Board documents are always interesting to read, all available online: "...GTW indicates that, until March 27, 1997, it provided rail service to Lafarge Corporation (Lafarge), which is located on a spur at milepost 0.71. GTW claims that it handled 93 carloads of cement for Lafarge in 1996 and 66 carloads in the first 3 months of 1997 and realized revenues of $53,143 and $35,010, respectively." | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 702 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 69.242.223.42 |
From Milwaukee Junction... That's a hike from the Amtrak New Center stop. As it is, there are only three Amtrak trains (one direction) daily. If it were profitable, why doesn't Amtrak make any additional stops any longer? It's not just the stop-and starts involved. Their trains are relatively short for the long haul from Pontiac to Chicago. Without my having any ridership stats, I assume that there are probably a few commuters on the Amtraks already along the stretch from say Pontiac to Ann Arbor, with additional stops at the New Center and Dearborn. (Message edited by LivernoisYard on May 16, 2006) | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 553 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 66.189.188.28 |
Let's see if my memory's any good..... Brush Street, Milwaukee Jct., Highland Park (Chrysler), Ferndale, Plesant Ridge, Royal Oak, Charing Cross, Birmingham, Pontiac. Am I missing one? | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 420 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.8.219.85 |
Livernoisyard-- If I wasn't clear, I meant that from Milwaukee Jct. to Pontiac Amtrak takes the same route as the commuter trains. I knew that Amtrak has its station at New Center. And it's a pretty crappy one. "why doesn't Amtrak make any additional stops any longer?" Not sure what you mean by this. Amtrak hasn't cut out any notable stops on its Pontiac-Chicago run. They *have* tinkered with variations on which trains serve which stations. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 709 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 69.242.223.42 |
I'm sure that the passenger trains before April Fools' Day 1971--Amtrak's birthday--had better and more stops than currently. But again, I have been on a passenger train only thrice. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 421 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.12.23.145 |
Amtrak started operations on May 1, 1971. By that time, service on Penn Central between Detroit and Chicago-- the route Amtrak follows now-- was down to three round trips per day. When Amtrak started, it cut that down to two round trips per day for several years. Then it went back up to three round trips. For comparison, in 1924 there were 12 passenger trains per day in each direction on the MC between Detroit and Chicago! | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 100 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 69.14.26.135 |
There's an old stop in Royal Oak near Vinsetta just north of 12 Mile. It's a commuter lot similar to the Charing Cross lot. I only rode that line once as a kid and we got on at the Royal Oak station heading south to the river. | ||
Jsmyers Member Username: Jsmyers Post Number: 1705 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 209.131.7.68 |
Stops take up a lot of the trip time. When you are getting few additional passengers for an additional stop you don't make up for the lost revenue do to slower service for the existing passengers. Amtrak should be making fewer stops not more. Commuter rail should be connecting all of the various local destinations already served by Amtrak and also those not (Ypsi). | ||
7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 22 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
I went down into the cut today with my boy jon and it was pretty amazing. We parked just across from Tri-centennial park and walked over to the entrance, while checking out the globe trading co and one other building on the way. We saw a bunch of pheasants while walking through the urban prarie that surrounds it. Right when we got in we came across a weird person which made me uneasy but got me ready for the rest of the trip. We couldnt beleive how every overpass was just covered in art and although some of it was weak the majority was very good. Ran into 2 more people along the way, actually talked to one of the guys for a minute after he asked me for a cigarette , walked into a homeless persons home at what appeared to be some kind of old train terminal or shipping facility and then ducked out when we got to the water towers at division street. We checked out the buildings there because we wanted to see if we could get upto the roof but the floor was like a small lake and i didnt bring a flashlight. My friend wanted to go in anyway but I talked him out of it, very lucky for us becuase we saw an ugly ass dog walking out of the building as we were walking away, and although i love dogs i dont love mange infested hood dogs. From where we we standing when we went back in to walk back it looked like there wasnt many overpasses to the north of us. Does anyone know if we walked the entire worthwhile distance, or is there more to see in the other direction. Either way I plan on going again earlier in the day and with a flashlight. Ok now heres the topper, and I want everyone to know that I am not the kind of person to make something like this up, we get about 500 yards from where we came in and all of the sudden we both see something out of the corner of our eye, only to look over and see some lunatic sitting naked on top of a red bucket masteurbating! He must have heard us coming we were laughing and kicking rocks, throwing sticks. He was tucked away so we ddint see him until we were about 4 feet from him. He just looked at us whithout stopping his deed with a weird maniacal look. I was so scared becasue i thought about how they say that for deranged murderers and the like it is somewhat of a sexual thing for them. I just wanted to get the f*** out! We traveled the rest of the distance in about 1/5 of the time it took us on the way in. I just want to know what the hell this guy must have been on or how mentally deranged he was. All of you guys that say you have never seen a person down there are lucky. I would have much rather gone down there and not seen anyone at all becasue it just gives you that instinctual eerie feeling. Along the way we were talking about scenarios of what if something did happen to us, like we were attacked or something or worse yet killed, or maybe just injured by falling rocks or debris, like how long would it take for someone to discover us or our bodies, man it is just wild down there! I thought it would be less scary than it actually is but then again I guess you cant get the real feel of a place through pictures or stories, at least for me I have to see it to believe it. Im happy that we went today when the sun was out for those few hours, now a few of my less adventerous friends want to go with me when i go back, im just glad i didnt bring my one friend i was originally planning on going with as i think she would have been chickening out on me. Sombody please let me know if there is more for us to see. (Message edited by 7milekid on May 18, 2006) | ||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 2521 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
Supersport, Jr? Please come back to the city often. I need to read more stories like this. | ||
7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 23 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
mikem, what exactly do you mean, im here everyday. |
