Drivers today along the Grand River may into and out of the city of Ionia between Grand Rapids and Lansing without a second through. In the days of locomotive travel, this trip was anything but routine.
A steep hill coming out of the valley of the Grand River was nearly insurmountable by steam engines of the day. Locomotive traffic needed the assistance of a pusher or helper engine to get up the hill.
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It was one of just a few areas in Michigan to require a helper and it is an area known then as simply the Big Hill. A railroading history site notes:
Helper engines would push west from the Ionia yards where the grade began. The grade continued north and northwest to just past Haynor Jct. where the line split to either Greenville or Stanton. The line was operated by the Detroit, Lansing & Northern, and then by the Pere Marquette. Time period: Early 1900’s…