Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Tahquamenon Falls Train & Riverboat has been listed for sale. The current owners will be retiring at the end of the 2023 season, after more than 40 years at the helm. With 5-1/2 miles of track, it is home of the longest two-foot gauge railroad in the country.

More information can be found on the railroad's website (https://www.trainandboattours.com/copy-of-tours-prices) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064679141736).

Has anyone here ever been on this tour? I found it years ago, when creating my links directory. Looking at it, I have no idea how it survives. They do one boat tour a day and it takes 6-1/2 hours. 35 minutes each way on the train and then 2 hours each way on the boat.

The falls looks interesting, but that's a long trip and if you want to visit the falls, you can simply go to the state park, hike about 1/2 mile trail and you're there.

The train appears to go through travel through some woods and fields, nice enough, but not seeing anything amazing. I do enjoy spending lots of time in nature but I'm having a hard time figuring out how they get enough customers to survive for all this time?

Excellent history of the line can be found here, which answers a lot of questions on how and why it was created. Turns out it was a standard gauge line that ran to a mill at one point. They re-gauged it and began the tourist operation.

They must be doing something right, they've been around for 95 years!

Tommy Thompson in Anacortes, WA had proposed doing the same thing there, converting an abandoned BN line to 18" gauge for his train.

https://mynewberrynews.com/features/too ... -for-sale/

Per their Facebook page, a buyer was not found and their land will be sold and equipment auctioned off this fall.

Some details from correspondence I have had with the proprietor of the Tahquamenon Falls Train & Riverboat:

They are hoping to sell the railroad as a single package sometime next spring. They need to keep the railroad available for their use until then.
The rail on the line is 20#-24#.

I surmise the "equipment auction" mentioned in the Facebook post is for the riverboat and related items.


I'm very sad to see this unique operation close; this is not how I hoped the WW&F would gain the title of longest two-foot railroad in the US.

What do they use the rail line for?

Also, comments on the FB page indicated they wanted to sell the railroad but only lease the land. That's very likely why nobody is interested.

They run one trip a day, and that train looks like it could maybe hold 100 or so. Even if we assume it's sold out every day, that's not a huge income to maintain a railroad and a boat. Adding in lease payments might well be a deal breaker. Especially if a few years down the roads, costs increase.

I think the waterfall area must only be accessible by land, via the railroad.

Tommy Thompson proposed an operation on a busy island with lots of development, powerful landowners, and special interests. It was challenged from the start. I suspect the 95 year old operation on the U.P. had few (or one) landowners. and they had a strong interest in having something generating revenue in an otherwise unprofitable region. I see that as key to survival. Their formula is a great one for any tourist railroad. Take folks out on a scenic journey, quaint in and of itself, and show them some amazing scenery. How many successful tourist/heritage railroads do this?

My guess is that it is a more-or-less profitable formula which would continue to work, but maybe not when changed by folks who inherited the business but have no interest in operating it. Adding rental costs or extensive repair, it could be challenging. The rail after so many years of use, some of which operating much like in a bog environment with grass to the railhead, probably has some structural concerns.

Fingers crossed for the best outcome. Its an institution in the tourist railroad industry. As a side note, the Riverside and Great Northern in the Dells, WI survives, after a challenging period between ownership.

You would think so, wouldn't you. Riding a train and then a boat and then walking to the view point must surely be the only way to get there, or people wouldn't bother.



Or you can park at the Upper Falls state park, hike about 1/2 mile to the falls and save most of the 6-1/2 hours it takes to get there and back by boat/train.