Track Pans

TRACK PANS

Kinnear, located two miles east of Dexter, was the site of Michigan’s first railroad track water pans, which were built in 1901.  The pans were situated between the rails and heated during cold weather.  Steam locomotives scooped up the water as they moved over the pans.  The Kinnear pans and telegraph station were named after Wilson S. Kinnear, chief engineer of the Detroit River railroad tunnel.  In 1913 the pans were dismantled and moved to Four Mile Lake between Dexter and Chelsea. 

Submitted by:

Bryan Arnold
Dexter, Michigan
@nanowhiskers