The
Michigan Central Railroad (
reporting markA reporting mark is a two-to-four-letter alphabetic code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on the North American railroad network. The marks are stenciled on each piece of equipment, along with a one-to-six-digit number, which together uniquely identify...
MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
and
St. Joseph, MichiganSt. Joseph is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about 60 miles east-northeast of Chicago. It is the...
. The railroad later operated in the states of
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
,
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
, and
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the province of
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Starting in about 1867, the railroad was operated as part of the
New York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, which later became part of Penn Central and then Conrail. With the 1998 Conrail breakup, Norfolk Southern now owns much of the former Michigan Central trackage.
Genealogy
- Michigan Central Railroad
- Battle Creek and Bay City Railroad 1889
- Buchanan and St. Joseph River Railroad 1897
- Central Railroad of Michigan 1846
- Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad 1837
- Detroit and Bay City Railroad 1881
- Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad 1916
- Frederick and Charlevoix Railroad 1901
- Detroit River Tunnel Company Railroad 1918
- Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad 1871
- Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad 1866
- Grand River Valley Railroad 1870
- Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad 1851
- Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad 1870
- Michigan Air Line Railway 1870
- Michigan Midland and Canada Railroad 1878
- Saginaw Bay and Northwestern Railroad 1884
- Pinconning Railroad 1879
- Glencoe, Pinconning and Lake Shore Railroad 1878
- St. Louis, Sturgis and Battle Creek Railroad 1889
History
The line between
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
and
St. JosephSt. Joseph is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about 60 miles east-northeast of Chicago. It is the...
was originally planned in 1830 to provide freight service between Detroit and
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
by train to St. Joseph and via boat service on to Chicago. The railroad actually began construction on May 18, 1836, starting at "King's Corner" in Detroit, which was the name by which the southeast corner of Jefferson and Woodward Avenue was then known. Note that this is not the location of
Michigan Central StationMichigan Central Station , built in 1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad, was Detroit, Michigan's passenger rail depot from its opening in 1913 after the previous Michigan Central Station burned, until the cessation of Amtrak service on January 6, 1988...
, which apparently replaced this building.
The small private organization, known then as the "Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad", quickly ran into problems securing cheap land in the private market, and abandonment of the project was discussed. The City of Detroit invested $50,000 in the project. The State of Michigan bailed out the railroad in 1837 by purchasing it and investing $5,000,000. The now state-owned company was renamed the
Central Railroad of Michigan.
By 1840 the railroad was again out of money and had only completed track between Detroit and Dexter, Michigan. In 1846 the state sold the railroad to the newly incorporated Michigan Central corporation for $2,000,000. By this time the railroad had reached
Kalamazoo, MichiganKalamazoo is the largest city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 76,145...
, a distance 143.16 miles.
The new private corporation had committed to complete the railroad with T rail of not less than sixty pounds to the yard and also to replace the poorly built rails between Kalamazoo and Detroit with similar quality rail, as the state-built rail was of low quality. The new owners met this obligation by building the rest of the line some 74.84 miles to the shores of
Lake MichiganLake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The second largest of the Great Lakes by volume The third largest of the Great Lakes by surface area , it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin,...
by 1849. However, rather than go to St. Joseph, instead they went to
New BuffaloNew Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,200 at the 2000 census. This city is within New Buffalo Township, but is politically autonomous.-Geography:...
. This was because they had decided to extend the road all the way to Chicago.
This involved passing through two other states and getting leave from two state legislatures to do so. To facilitate this process, they bought the
Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad in 1851. Thus they reached
Michigan City, IndianaMichigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, USA. It is one of two principal cities of and is included in the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined Statistical Area.It is also part of an area known...
by 1850 and completed the line to Chicago in 1852. The completed railroad was 270 miles in length.
Passenger services
The Michigan Central Railroad operated passenger trains between
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
and
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
mostly. These trains ranged from locals to the Wolverine. Some trains were forwarded over the Canada Southern Railroad to
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. While Michigan Central was an independent subsidiary of the New York Central System, passenger trains were staged from
Illinois CentralThe Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
's Central Station as a tenant. When MC was formally merged into NYC in the 1950s, trains were re-deployed to NYC's
LaSalle Street StationLaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 S. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, serving Metra's Rock Island District. It was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968 and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The...
home, where other NYC trains such as the
20th Century LimitedThe 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...
were staged. IC sued for breach of contract and won because the MC had a lease that ran for a few more years. The MC route to
Porter, IndianaPorter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census.Porter is noted for its proximity to the Indiana Dunes State Park and for its railroad heritage...
, is now mostly gone. The Kensington Interchange, shared with the
South Shore LineThe Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad , known to many as the South Shore Line, is a Class III freight railroad operating between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana...
, was cut out. These tracks now belong to
Indiana Harbor Belt RailroadThe Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is a Class III railroad in the United States. The line comprises of track—30 miles of single mainline track, of double-main track and of additional yard and side track—starting northwest of Chicago in Franklin Park, Illinois, traveling southeast...
, and are overgrown stub tracks ending short of the interchange.
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
trains serving the Michigan Central Detroit line now use the former NYC to Porter, where they turn north on Michigan Central. Passenger equipment was mostly similar to that of parent New York Central System. Typically this meant a EMD E-series locomotive and
Pullman-StandardThe Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid to late 1800s through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
lightweight rolling stock. Because
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
was a large customer of Michigan Central, use of
AlcoThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
or
General ElectricGE Transportation, formerly known as GE Rail, is a division of General Electric. Included are GE Technology Infrastructure and GE Aircraft Engines. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad industry as well as other industries requiring large propulsion systems. It is based in Erie,...
locomotives was less common.
Freight services
Prior to the automobile, Michigan Central was mostly a carrier of natural resources. Michigan had extensive reserves of
timberTimber may refer to:*Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway* An alternative spelling for Timbre...
at the time, and the Michigan Central owned lines from east to west of the state and north to south, tapping all resources available. After the advent of the automobile as one of the most dominant forces of commerce ever seen by the world, with Detroit at the epicenter, the Michigan Central became a carrier of autos and auto-related parts. The Michigan Central was one of the few Michigan railroads with a direct line into Chicago, meaning it did not have to operate cross-lake
ferriesA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, as did virtually all other railroads operating in Michigan, such as the
Pere MarquetteThe Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario...
,
PennsylvaniaThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, Grand Trunk, and Ann Arbor Railroads. Michigan Central was part owner of the ferry service operated to the Upper Peninsula as well as cross-river ferry service to
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
, but these routes did not exist to circumvent Chicago.
Service to Canada
The Michigan Central and then parent New York Central owned the Canada Southern Railroad across Ontario from
WindsorWindsor is the southernmost major city in Canada and lies in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is located south of Detroit, is separated...
to
Niagara FallsNiagara Falls is a Canadian city of 83,184 residents on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. Across the river is Niagara Falls, New York...
. The railroad operated a car-float service over the
Detroit RiverThe Detroit River is a 32 mile long river in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as River of the Strait. The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. ...
, a
tunnelA tunnel is an underground passageway. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon. However, in general tunnels are at least twice as long as they are wide. In addition, they should be completely enclosed on all sides, save for the openings at each end...
below the Detroit River, and a bridge at Niagara Falls. The tunnel was originally electrified at 600vDC, similar to parent New York Central's Grand Central electrification. With the advent of
dieselsA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression...
, the electrification was dropped. Control of Canada Southern passed from MC to NYC, then Penn Central, then Conrail. During the first decade of Conrail, both the Detroit River tunnels and Canada Southern were sold to Canadian Pacific. These tunnels have been enlarged to allow loads through that were previously floated over. The car float operation is no longer in service.
Railroad ferry and car float service
All major Michigan railroads operated a ferry service across
Lake MichiganLake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The second largest of the Great Lakes by volume The third largest of the Great Lakes by surface area , it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin,...
except the Michigan Central. This can be attributed to MC's most direct route across Southern Michigan from Detroit to Chicago. The Michigan Central also had the best access to Chicago of any Michigan railroad. The Michigan Central did own part of Mackinaw Transportation Company, which operated the
SS Chief WawatamSS Chief Wawatam was a coal-fired train ferry and icebreaker that operated in the Straits of Mackinac between 1911–1984. Her home port was St. Ignace, Michigan, and she shuttled back and forth during her entire working life between that port and Mackinaw City, Michigan.-History:The Chief Wawatam...
until 1984. The Chief Wawatam was a front-loading, coal-fired, hand-fed
steamerA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels....
. It was the last hand-fired steamer in the free world at its long-overdue retirement in 1984. The Chief Wawatam still exists, cut down to a
bargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
. One Chief Wawatam engine was salvaged and restored by the
Wisconsin Maritime MuseumThe Wisconsin Maritime Museum is a maritime museum founded in 1968 as the Manitowoc Maritime Museum to ensure that the maritime heritage of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, U.S., and the Great Lakes would not be forgotten...
. Other artifacts from the ferry, including the whistle, wheel, telegraphs, and furniture, are preserved by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission in Mackinaw City. Car floats also ran across the Detroit River to Windsor, Ontario, for high and wide loads that could not fit through the tunnels.
Competitors
The major competitors of the Michigan Central were:
- Grand Trunk Western
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway .It currently operates in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, forming the CN mainline from Port Huron, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois, as well as serving Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.The GTW gained...
, controlled by Canadian NationalThe Canadian National Railway is a Canadian Class I railway operated by the Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec....
(formally merged with and now operated as CN)
- Pere Marquette
The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario...
, controlled by C&OThe Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
(formally merged in 1947 and now owned by CSXCSX Transportation is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the CSX Corporation and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the three Class I railroads serving most of the East Coast, the other two being the Norfolk Southern Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway...
)
- Ann Arbor (controlled by Wabash
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
, then DT&IThe Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...
; now owned by various railroads)
- Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(merged into Penn Central with MC/NYC, then into Conrail; owned by various railroads)
Michigan Central Station: Detroit
Michigan Central was the owner of
Michigan Central StationMichigan Central Station , built in 1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad, was Detroit, Michigan's passenger rail depot from its opening in 1913 after the previous Michigan Central Station burned, until the cessation of Amtrak service on January 6, 1988...
in Detroit. Opened in 1913, the building is of the
Beaux-Arts ClassicalBeaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic neoclassical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The style "Beaux Arts" is above all the cumulative product of two and a half centuries of instruction under the authority, first of the Académie royale...
style of architecture, designed by the
Warren & WetmoreWarren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City. It was a partnership between Whitney Warren and Charles Wetmore , that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and was known for the designing of large hotels.Whitney Warren was a cousin of the Vanderbilts and spent ten...
and
Reed and StemReed and Stem was an architecture firm based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was a partnership between Charles A. Reed and Allen H. Stem . Formed in 1891, the successful partnership captured a wide range of commissions. One early work was Medical Hall on the campus of the University of Minnesota...
firms who also designed
New York City'sNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
Grand Central TerminalGrand Central Terminal — often popularly called Grand Central Station or simply Grand Central — is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City...
. As such, Michigan Central Station bears more than a passing resemblance to New York's famed rail station.
Last used by
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
in 1988, Michigan Central Station has since become a victim of extensive vandalism. Over the last 20 years, several proposals and concepts for redevelopment have been suggested, none coming to fruition. The estimated cost of renovations was $80 million, but the owners viewed finding the right use as a greater problem than financing. Though listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the Detroit City Council passed a resolution to demolish the Depot in April 2009. The council was then met with strong opposition from Detroit resident Stanley Christmas, who in turn, sued the city of Detroit to stop the demolition effort, citing the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966The National Historic Preservation Act is legislation intended to preserve historical and archaeological sites in the United States of America...
. Critics have often cited the abandoned station as a textbook example of American
urban decayUrban decay is the sociological process whereby a city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude, with depopulation or changing population, economic restructuring, abandoned buildings, high local unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement, crime, and a desolate,...
.
The station shows up in the first part of the
Godfrey ReggioGodfrey Reggio is an American director of experimental documentary films.-Life:Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reggio co-founded La Clinica de la Gente, a facility that provided medical care to 12,000 community members in Santa Fe, and La Gente, a community-organizing project in...
movie
NaqoyqatsiNaqoyqatsi, or Naqoyqatsi: Life as War, is a documentary film released in 2002; it is the third and final film of the Qatsi trilogy by Godfrey Reggio. The film focuses on society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based industrial environment. Koyaanisqatsi, the first of the...
.
Michigan Central Station: Niles
The Michigan Central station at
Niles, MichiganNiles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 12,204 at the 2000 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area.Located...
is also famous, having appeared in several Hollywood movies. Like its sister station in Detroit, the station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Trail Creek swing bridge
The Michigan Central also built and operated a
swing bridgeA swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring at or near to its center, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration below...
over Trail Creek at
Michigan City, IndianaMichigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, USA. It is one of two principal cities of and is included in the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined Statistical Area.It is also part of an area known...
. This swing bridge is similar to the moving span at
Spuyten DuyvilThe Spuyten Duyvil Bridge is a swing bridge that carries Amtrak's Empire Corridor line across the Spuyten Duyvil Creek between Manhattan and the Bronx, in New York City...
owned by parent New York Central, but has no approach spans. It is still in operation and owned by Amtrak.
Joliet Line
The Joliet Line, diverging from the main line at
Porter, IndianaPorter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census.Porter is noted for its proximity to the Indiana Dunes State Park and for its railroad heritage...
and running through
DyerDyer is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,895 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dyer is located at ....
and
Chicago HeightsChicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 31,373 at the 2005 census.-History:The first European settler in the area was Absalom Wells in 1833. He built a log cabin where the Vincennes Trail crossed Thorn Creek, but then moved farther west to where Chicago...
to
JolietJoliet is a city in Will County and Kendall County in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 106,221. Its estimated population in 2008 was 146,125. It continues to be Illinois'...
, is now a lightly-used line owned by
Norfolk Southern RailwayThe Norfolk Southern Railway is a major Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
. Its termination points are now west of
Griffith, IndianaGriffith is a town in Calumet and St. John townships, Lake County, Indiana. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 17,334 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
north of the
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern RailwayThe Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway is a Class II railroad that operates in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. The railroad is a link between Class I railroads in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana...
main tracks and at State Street in Chicago Heights, between the Union Pacific yard and the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway main tracks.
The section between Western Avenue in
Park ForestPark Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
and Park Road in
Joliet TownshipJoliet Township is located in Will County, Illinois. The population was 86,468 at the 2000 census.- External links :****...
is now the
Old Plank Trail, and the section in
Lake Station, IndianaLake Station is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,948 at the 2000 census.-History:An early depot stop on the Michigan Central Railroads Detroit to Chicago line through the Calumet region, the village was first named when George Earle mapped out a town of about in...
between Fayette Street and Grand Boulevard is now the Fairview Walkway.
Historic equipment
No historic Michigan Central-specific equipment exists today. After the steam era, most equipment was lettered for New York Central. Any example of 1957-1968 New York Central equipment is likely representative of Michigan Central equipment after the birth of the diesel era and formal merger into NYC. Many common New York Central locomotives and rolling stock are preserved in places like Illinois Railway Museum and the National New York Central Museum, in Elkhart Indiana. The latter includes a sample passenger train in NYC livery, although the two coaches are actually of Illinois Central heritage. The E8 and observation car are original NYC equipment and very likely served on the Michigan Central after dieselization.
Modern operations
As mentioned above, the Michigan Central formally merged into NYC in the 1950s. Today, Norfolk Southern owns most trackage not abandoned in the early 1980s.
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
owns the Detroit line from
Porter, IndianaPorter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census.Porter is noted for its proximity to the Indiana Dunes State Park and for its railroad heritage...
, to Kalamazoo, Michigan. This line is a projected "high speed" line; however, speeds do not top yet. Amtrak operates three Chicago-Detroit-
PontiacPontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 66,337. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
trains each way per day, under the old banner
Wolverine. The Port Huron train (the
Blue Water) also uses this line as far east as
Battle Creek, MichiganBattle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
. Both
KalamazooThe Kalamazoo Transportation Center is an intermodal complex located in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. Amtrak and Greyhound provide regular service there...
and
NilesNiles is a train station in Niles, Michigan, served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system.The Amtrak station is located along the main line east of the former Benton Harbor Branch crossing and west of the former junctions with the South Bend and Air Line Branches...
have retained their old Michigan Central Stations; the Niles station is occasionally portrayed in film.
Proposed rebirth as an independent railroad
In July 2007 Norfolk Southern was in talks with Watco, a shortline holding company, to sell the Kalamazoo-Detroit portion of the Michigan Central main line. The proposal was set before the
Surface Transportation BoardThe Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
, and was officially endorsed by
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
in September 2007. In December 2007 the STB rejected the plan, citing concerns over the relationship between the Norfolk Southern and Watco. Labor unions had raised concerns over the transfer of operations to a substantially non-transportation company, under which different labor regulations would apply.
See also
- Michigan Central Railway Tunnel
The Michigan Central Railway Tunnel is a railroad tunnel under the Detroit River connecting Detroit, Michigan, USA with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It was built by the Detroit River Tunnel Company for the Canada Southern Railway, leased by the Michigan Central Railroad and owned by the New York...
connecting Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
to Windsor, OntarioWindsor is the southernmost major city in Canada and lies in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is located south of Detroit, is separated...
- Michigan Central Railway Bridge
The Michigan Central Railway Bridge is a steel arch bridge spanning the Niagara Gorge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The bridge was designed by William Perry Taylor, Chief Engineer J.L. Delming and consulting engineer Olaf Hoff....
connecting Niagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,593. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they share...
to Niagara Falls, OntarioNiagara Falls is a Canadian city of 83,184 residents on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. Across the river is Niagara Falls, New York...
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