Michigan Coal and Salt Mining??

iis612

Member
I know that there is/was a large amount of both in the Mid-Michigan region. Does anyone know of a FREE resource that would supply me with more information so I can add it to my layout? It would appear that Pere Marquette, in addition to several other non-railroad ventures, owned a few, and serviced several others.
I know so little about coal that I couldn't tell you what kind of coal was mined there. I know it is not hard coal, but it is not the softest either.
There are, and were, a great many variety of mines in the State of Michigan through it's long history, including Gypsum, limestone, quarry sand, iron ore, copper ore, salt, coal, granite, and gold. However, I can not seem to find any resource that sheds more light on the 2 that are most important to me.
Please, if anyone has any information they can share, I would greatly appreciate it. All I can find are a few websites that offer VERY little information.

Thanks,
Matt
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
Here's a crazy idea: try Googling "michigan coal railroad". The second link down gives the history of coal mining in Bay County. If you substitute "salt" for "coal", you get a similar list. Again the second item from the Salt Institute provides some info on mining history and locations in Michigan.

Research isn't all that hard. Just take the most important words you are interested in and type them into Google. You may not get lots of hits right off the bat, but you'll find a couple that lead you off in more specific directions, and before you know it, you'll be swimming in info. ;)
 

iis612

Member
Here's a crazy idea: try Googling "michigan coal railroad". The second link down gives the history of coal mining in Bay County. If you substitute "salt" for "coal", you get a similar list. Again the second item from the Salt Institute provides some info on mining history and locations in Michigan.

Research isn't all that hard. Just take the most important words you are interested in and type them into Google. You may not get lots of hits right off the bat, but you'll find a couple that lead you off in more specific directions, and before you know it, you'll be swimming in info. ;)

Thank you. That was probably the single most condescending response I have ever gotten.
 
I really don't see anything wrong with his post.

It's easy to misinterpret things on a web based forum, try not to be so sensitive.
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
If I'd wanted to be a prick, I a) wouldn't have included the links to the information that may have been helpful, b) wouldn't have left semi-encouraging words about research, and c) would have been much nastier.

OTOH, many people already believe I'm a prince (spelled P-R-1-C-K) based on this thread, so maybe I could work on the interpersonal skills a bit.... but it's more fun being a curmudgeon.

And, if my miserable nature makes you try Google before you make a post, then my work here is done.

You're welcome. :D :p
 
C

Catt

One of the reasons people are encouraged to ask questions on this forum is to make it easier for them to find the info that someone else has aqquired.

Seems to me you would have been of more help if you had kept your nose and attitude out of this thread.But then you didn't really want to be any help did you.
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
One of the reasons people are encouraged to ask questions on this forum is to make it easier for them to find the info that someone else has aqquired.

Seems to me you would have been of more help if you had kept your nose and attitude out of this thread.But then you didn't really want to be any help did you.

If I didn't want to help, I wouldn't have linked to two pages that would start answering his question, would I?

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he can feed himself for life.
 

eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
Easy boys. Calm down.
I know winter's coming but we don't need any fires started here.

Looks to me like Matt(If you all had read the last line of his post!), said he could only find a couple of websites with very little imformation. So he did do a net search. Matt was hoping that someone had more info, maybe better links than he could find. Which is what squidbait gave him, or maybe Matt had already googled and checked!

Sqidbaits last statement in this case, was then a moot point. And inappropiate!

Matt, and this is just a guess, was probably looking for books, or magazine articles that another member may have had on hand, and would of been willing to copy and send him. Maybe a title of a book he could check out at his local library.

I have found, that though the web is a great source for "info in a second", and is not a great place to do a complete research for a project. Printed material is still the best way to get detailed info on subject that you are researching. The internet didn't make books and libraries obsolete. I still hit the library after I"ve gotten all I could from the net.

As far as this thread.......
Its only human nature.
We read what we want to read. Sometiems we miss a key sentence(such as Matts) or skip over the main point the writer is trying to convey. I do it, and have done it here on the Gauge also. Thats when crap starts flying!
Members get mad when another member post a reply based on the main paragraph, and totally missed the main point he was trying to convey. It could of been a misplaced word in a sentence, and since this is an international forum, someone who's English "Ain't all that good". After misinterpeting a members reply to a post, and flying off the handle, I've found myself reading the post or reply a couple of times, just to make sure I didn't miss the point, or read to deep into the post. Its good practice. And has helped me outside the Gauge.

I'm done here. And as far as this thread....So too is it.
 
Top