Lake State Railway
The Lake State Railway started by purchasing the Detroit & Mackinac Railway between Rogers City and Bay City via Alpena. Later it leased CSX lines from Midland via Saginaw to just north of Flint which it operated as the Saginaw Bay Southern. In 2019, the railroad leased the former CSX line from Plymouth north to Flint, giving it a through route from the Detroit area into northern Michigan.
The northern end of the D&M line was pulled up north of Alpena, and the north end of the former New York Central has been pulled up north of Gaylord.
Much of the LSRC north of Bay City is aggregate traffic, mostly gravel/limestone quarried in Alpena which is brought south to trans-load facilities. Major customers of the company are Dow Chemical, LaFarge and others. The LSRC originally powered the line with old ALCO diesel locomotives purchased from the D&M, but the line began converting to EMD products which is fully complete. The company's major engine facility and operations headquarters is at the former CSX yard in Saginaw.
In 2005, the CSX sold its Wixom (via Flint) to Saginaw main line to the LSRC, along with branches to Bay City, Midland and Paines. LSRC freight trains interchange with the CSX at Novi or Wixom and there is often a shared power arrangement to Toledo.
Website: Lake State Railway
Photo: LSRC 3500 makes up a southbound train at Alpena Jct. 2007 [Dale Berry photo]
News Feed from Google: Lake State Railway
News Feed - Lake State Ry
19 March 2024
- Rep. Hall hosts local Lake State Railway official at Capitol for State of the State address - Michigan House Republicans
- Michigan awards $16M to fix rails, boost economic development - MLive.com
- Lake State Railway Company Archives - Smart Union
- 25 Under 40: Part 3 of 4 - RailwayAge Magazine
- Preliminary cause of Bay County train derailment is faulty tracks - WJRT
- Huron and Saginaw Bay railroads receive grants from the state - Huron Daily Tribune
- Investigation into Kawkawlin train derailment underway - WNEM
- Michigan announces $19 million in grants for freight rail projects - Trains - TRAINS Magazine
- Santa Train makes a stop in Flint on Friday - WJRT
- Lake State Railway, a Leading Regional Freight Railroad, Has Received a Strategic Investment from Antin ... - Business Wire
- Bay County train derailment could take weeks to clean up - MLive.com
- ASLRRA Advances Work on Grant-Funded Emissions Study - RailwayAge Magazine
- short line Archives - Smart Union
- Mid-Michigan freight railroad companies receive grant funding - WNEM
- "Train enthusiast' captures moment train derailed in Kawkawlin - WJRT