Steam Railroads near Frankenmuth, Mich.?

[RobertInOntario]

Another family and my family were thinking of visiting Frankenmuth, Mich. this October, probably in late October. The other family have been there before & really enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere. FYI, we would be driving there from Toronto, Ont. We'd head west and cross into the U.S. at Sarnia/Port Huron.

I'm also interested because I know there are at least two steam railways near Frankenmuth -- one in Owosso and the other is the Huckleberry Railroad. I believe the Pere Marquette Berkshire is being repaired at the moment but that they may be running another steam engine. The Huckleberry Railroad seems to be operating steam as well.

If we do visit Frankenmuth for a weekend or so in late-October, I was wondering if anyone here could advise us which railway would be the better one to visit? Time will be a factor as well as costs & convenience. The only "real" rail-fans on the trip will be my youngest son & myself! while the others will only be somewhat interested. If possible, we'd like to ride on a steam railway as opposed to diesel.

I've googled a couple sites --
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.geneseecountyparks.org/pages/huckleberry">http://www.geneseecountyparks.org/pages/huckleberry</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://michigansteamtrain.com/sri/schedule/">http://michigansteamtrain.com/sri/schedule/</a><!-- m -->

At the moment, I'm thinking that the Huckleberry RR might be the better option. Thanks in advance for any feedback or suggestions!

Cheers,