Uncategorised Article Count: 8
Other Article Count: 2
Other railroading information.
Bibliography Article Count: 1
Content Contributors Article Count: 1
What is a... Article Count: 1
Research Article Count: 8
Contact Us Article Count: 1
More Article Count: 0
FlightAware - Flight Tracking Article Count: 1
Maritime in Michigan Article Count: 1
Michigan Railroad Club Article Count: 6
Michigan Railroad History Conference Article Count: 7
Military Forts and Facilities In Michigan Article Count: 30
Mines and Mining Article Count: 1
Railroad Radio Frequencies Article Count: 1
MIRR Article Count: 4
Contemporary railroading in Michigan.
Railroads Today Article Count: 28
Industrial Railroads Article Count: 1
RRHX Article Count: 4
Michigan railroad history.
The Michigan Railroad Story Article Count: 2
The Michigan Railroad Story is a series of articles which examines the role and impact of railroads in the migration of people to and around Michigan and the development of industry and natural resources in our state.
Belt Lines, River lines Article Count: 1
Bridges Article Count: 1
Car Builders Article Count: 8
Car Ferries | Ports | Docks Article Count: 0
Car Ferries | Ports | Docks
Railroads, ports and docks go hand and hand, especially in the early days. The first settlers came to the lower and upper peninsula of Michigan by water.
Detroit's early railroad depots were along the water. The Michigan Central railroad's main passenger station from around 1845 to 1908 was at the foot of Third Street. It was no coincidence that the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company was located across the street. Settlers could get off their steam-powered paddle-wheeled ship, freshen up, and then cross the street to board their passenger train go to west to Ann Arbor, Jackson, and even Chicago.
Detroit's other early railroad, the Grand Trunk, started their passenger trains at the Brush Street station, at the foot of brush (just west of the present Renanisance Center). The third railroad into Michigan from Toledo was the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern which also used the Brush Street station.
As railroads developed across Canada from Toronto and Buffalo, railroad passenger ferries brought people across the river to Detroit, followed by railroad car ferry operations which also terminated near both of these waterfront depots.
Railroads also had car ferries which operated from ports on Grosse Isle, Port Huron, the Straits of Mackinaw, and many towns along both sides of Lake Michigan.
Ports were also used to transload mine products from railroad to ship, and visa versa. Copper ports included Houghton and Hancock. Iron ore shipped from Marquette, Gladstone, Escanaba, and a number of other locations even including St. Ignace for a short period. Limestone was shipped from many ports along Lake Huron (some of which continue to today).
Coal shipped to almost everywhere. Whenever you had an industrial port, boats brought coal north from Ohio and other states to power industrial and municiipal power plants.
The Car Ferries | Ports | Docks section of RRHX attempts to document the major connection points between rail and water in and near Michigan.
Photo info/credit: The Manistique, Marquette and Northern Ferry No. 1 at the dock at Northport loading rail cars for a trip across Lake Michigan to Manistique. [Alan Loftis collection]
Car Ferries Article Count: 50
Ports Article Count: 30
Crossings | Interlockers Article Count: 1
Coal Facilities Article Count: 48
Dispatching Centers Article Count: 6
Disrupters, Progress Article Count: 18
Evolution of Michigan Railroads Article Count: 0
The Evolution of Michigan railroads contain maps which show the progress of railroad construction in the lower and upper peninsulas by year. Abandonments are also shown during each year.
Note: Arrow buttons don’t work. Use the hyperlinks instead. Additional categories such as Detroit, Grand Rapids and Marquette will be added in the future.
Evolution - Lower Peninsula Article Count: 0
Evolution - Lower - 1830s Article Count: 4
Evolution - Lower - 1840s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1850s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1860s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1870s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1880s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1890s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1900s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1910s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1920s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1930s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1940s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1950s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1960s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1970s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1980s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 1990s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 2000s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Lower - 2010s Article Count: 6
Evolution - Upper Peninsula Article Count: 0
Evolution - Upper - 1850s Article Count: 3
Evolution - Upper - 1860s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1870s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1880s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1890s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1900s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1910s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1920s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1930s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1940s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1950s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1960s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1970s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1980s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 1990s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 2000s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Upper - 2010s Article Count: 6
Evolution - Detroit Region Article Count: 0
Evolution - Detroit - 1830s Article Count: 3
Evolution - Detroit - 1840s Article Count: 9
Evolution - Detroit - 1850s Article Count: 6
Evolution - Detroit - 1860s Article Count: 1
Evolution - Detroit - 1870s Article Count: 7
Evolution - Detroit - 1880s Article Count: 5
Evolution - Detroit - 1890s Article Count: 8
Evolution - Detroit - 1900s Article Count: 10
Evolution - Detroit - 1910s Article Count: 8
Evolution - Detroit - 1920s Article Count: 7
Evolution - Detroit - 1930s Article Count: 2
Evolution - Detroit - 1940s Article Count: 3
Evolution - Detroit - 1950s Article Count: 1
Evolution - Detroit - 1960s Article Count: 6
Evolution - Detroit - 1970s Article Count: 7
Evolution - Detroit - 1980s Article Count: 8
Evolution - Detroit - 1990s Article Count: 1
Evolution - Detroit - 2000s Article Count: 1
Evolution - Detroit - 2010s Article Count: 1
Evolution - Grand Rapids Region Article Count: 0
Evolution - Marquette Range Article Count: 0
Evolution - Marquette - 1850s Article Count: 2
Evolution - Marquette - 1860s Article Count: 1
First or Famous Article Count: 1
Helper Districts Article Count: 1
Historical Markers Article Count: 1
Historical Societies | Museums Article Count: 5
Ice Houses Article Count: 1
Industry Article Count: 0
Cement | Paving Article Count: 1
Chemicals Article Count: 2
Coal Gasification Plants Article Count: 2
Energy | Power Plants Article Count: 1
Iron and Steel Article Count: 1
Logging Article Count: 1
Oil Refineries Article Count: 19
Vehicles | Suppliers Article Count: 2
Wood Products | Mills | Salt brine Article Count: 2
Interurbans Article Count: 1
Locomotives Article Count: 2
Locomotive Builders Article Count: 4
Maps Article Count: 0
Mines and Mining Article Count: 1
Copper, Silver, Gold, Uranium Mines Article Count: 0
Keweenaw County Mines Article Count: 28
Houghton County Mines - North of Portage Canal Article Count: 27
Houghton County Mines - South of Portage Canal Article Count: 17
Test message. Mines south of Portage Canal
Ontonagon County Mines Article Count: 44
Marquette County Mines Article Count: 2
Iron Mines Article Count: 0
Marquette County Iron Mines - Negaunee east Article Count: 99
Marquette County Iron Mines - Ishpeming west Article Count: 79
Marquette County Iron Mines - Gwinn and Princeton area Article Count: 13
Marquette County Iron Mines - Champion and Republic areas Article Count: 53
Baraga County Iron Mines Article Count: 11
Dickenson County Iron Mines - Iron Mountain and north Article Count: 23
Dickenson County Iron Mines - Quinnesec & Norway east Article Count: 35
Florence County (WI) Iron Mines Article Count: 2
Iron County (MI) Iron Mines - Crystal Falls area Article Count: 65
Iron County (MI) Iron Mines - Iron River area Article Count: 64
Gogebic County Iron Mines - Wakefield east Article Count: 35
Gogebic County Iron Mines - Bessemer area Article Count: 32
Gogebic County Iron Mines - Ironwood west Article Count: 20
Iron County (WI) Iron Mines - Hurley west Article Count: 4
Coal Mines Article Count: 0
Bay County Article Count: 26
Calhoun County Article Count: 2
Eaton County Article Count: 8
Genesee County Article Count: 2
Ingham County Article Count: 4
Jackson County Article Count: 10
Midland County Article Count: 1
Saginaw County Article Count: 46
Shiawassee County Article Count: 8
Tuscola County Article Count: 2
Detroit area Article Count: 5
A listing of mines, and processing facilities in southeast Michigan, generally located in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties in the Lower Peninsula. These are mostly underground salt mines and open aggregate mines (such as road gravel).
Eastern upper, Northeast lower Article Count: 10
A listing of mines and processing facilities in northeast lower peninsula of Michigan, centered north, west and south of Alpena and north and east of St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. These are mostly limestone, rock and gravel mines extracted mostly by the open pit method.
Gogebic range Article Count: 1
A listing of mines, stamp mills and smelters in the Gogebic range of Michigan, generally located in Gogebic County and nearby Iron County, Wisconsin in the Upper Peninsula. These are mostly iron mines, but include other minerals such as copper in the White Pine area..
Marquette range Article Count: 1
A listing of mines, stamp mills and smelters in the Marquette range of Michigan, generally located west and south of Marquette in Marquette county in the in the Upper Peninsula. These are mostly copper mines, but include other minerals such as gold and uranium..
Menominee range Article Count: 5
A listing of mines, stamp mills and smelters in the Menominee range of Michigan, generally located in Dickenson and Iron counties of Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. These are mostly iron but include other minerals.
Saginaw Bay area Article Count: 5
A listing of mines and processing facilities in the Saginaw Bay area of Michigan, generally located in Arenac, Bay and Saginaw counties of the Lower Peninsula. These are mostly aggregate, salt, and marl mines..
West Michigan area Article Count: 2
A listing of mines and processing facilities in west Michigan, generally located in and near Grand Rapids in the Lower Peninsula. These are mostly gypsum, lime and other products for producing plaster but include other minerals..
Mining Companies Article Count: 11
This is a listing of major mining companies which owned more than one mine location.
Mining - Other Article Count: 1
A listing of other mines, mills and processing facilities in Michigan not included in the other categories.
Named Trains Article Count: 1
Narrow Gauge Article Count: 1
Passes Article Count: 40
Old Photos Needed Article Count: 83
This website is missing old photos for a number of locations in Michigan and nearby counties in other states. If you are a rail photographer or a photo collector, you are encouraged to share your collection with others on michiganrailroads.com. All photos will be acknowledged when used on a page, but we don’t generally accept photos with the photographer’s name or photo location embedded in the photograph.
Photos taken prior to 1930 (including old postcard photos) generally preceded copyright laws. More recent photos require the permission of the photographer or in some cases the collector if the photographer is deceased.
To submit a photo, send it to
Postal Stamps Article Count: 1
Railroad Men (and Women) Article Count: 12
Railroads in History Article Count: 0
Railroads in History chronicles 463 railroad companies which were actually operated in Michigan at one time or another.
There are about twice as many railroad companies which were authorized by the State of Michigan or incorporated under railroad and general corporation law. Many were "paper" railroads and were never built. Some were "construction railroads" which were built and immediately sold to other railroads.
This website section covers only railroads which were built and operated. "Paper" railroads where construction was never begun are not included.
For a comprehensive listing of all railroad companies - built or unbuilt, see the excellent two-volume set Michigan Railroad Lines, by Graydon Meints, available through Amazon books or other book sellers. These books are also available through public library exchange.
General Information About Railroads in History Article Count: 4
A Article Count: 23
B Article Count: 35
C Article Count: 67
D Article Count: 61
E-F Article Count: 22
G-H Article Count: 42
I-J Article Count: 23
K-L Article Count: 35
M Article Count: 73
N-P Article Count: 46
Q-S Article Count: 47
T-V Article Count: 32
W-Z Article Count: 15
Railroad Resorts Article Count: 1
Rolling Stock Article Count: 1
Roundhouses Article Count: 104
Signals Article Count: 2
Stations | Locations Article Count: 0
The Stations and Locations section of this website contains a compilation of cities, villages, hamlets, junctions, interlocking towers, industrial locations, logging camps, control points and other locations along railroad lines in Michigan.
They are organized by county. At the bottom of some county lists, you will find subcategories containing information about Industries or Docks. If you don’t know which county your station is located in, use the search feature.
Mines (copper, iron, coal, aggregate) are in their own section (Mines and Mining) on this website.
Symbols in location page names indicate: ♦= page includes photos ♣ = page includes extended information
Alcona County - 01 Article Count: 33
Alger County - 02 Article Count: 65
Allegan County - 03 Article Count: 42
Alpena County - 04 Article Count: 37
Antrim County - 05 Article Count: 36
Arenac County - 06 Article Count: 23
Baraga County - 07 Article Count: 41
Baraga County Ore Docks Article Count: 3
Barry County - 08 Article Count: 26
Bay County - 09 Article Count: 93
Bay County - Industry & Manufacturing Article Count: 6
Bay County - Mining Article Count: 7
Benzie County - 10 Article Count: 35
Berrien County - 11 Article Count: 80
Branch County - 12 Article Count: 17
Calhoun County - 13 Article Count: 82
Cass County - 14 Article Count: 28
Charlevoix County - 15 Article Count: 24
Cheboygan County - 16 Article Count: 49
Chippewa County - 17 Article Count: 62
Clare County - 18 Article Count: 31
Clinton County - 19 Article Count: 22
Crawford County - 20 Article Count: 30
Delta County - 21 Article Count: 89
Delta County Ore Docks Article Count: 12
Dickinson County - 22 Article Count: 73
Eaton County - 23 Article Count: 33
Emmet County - 24 Article Count: 39
Genesee County - 25 Article Count: 64
Gladwin County - 26 Article Count: 16
Gogebic County - 27 Article Count: 59
Gogebic County Industries Article Count: 1
Grand Traverse County - 28 Article Count: 36
Gratiot County - 29 Article Count: 28
Hillsdale County - 30 Article Count: 31
Houghton County - 31 Article Count: 14
|-----Stations and Locations North of Portage Lake (Houghton County) Article Count: 86
|-----Stations and Locations South of Portage Lake (Houghton County) Article Count: 84
Huron County - 32 Article Count: 40
Ingham County - 33 Article Count: 60
Ionia County - 34 Article Count: 30
Iosco County - 35 Article Count: 44
Iron County - 36 Article Count: 63
Isabella County - 37 Article Count: 23
Jackson County - 38 Article Count: 95
Kalamazoo County - 39 Article Count: 83
Kalkaska County - 40 Article Count: 30
Kent County - 41 Article Count: 104
Keweenaw County - 42 Article Count: 41
Lake County - 43 Article Count: 28
Lapeer County - 44 Article Count: 30
Leelanau County - 45 Article Count: 27
Lenawee County - 46 Article Count: 61
Livingston County - 47 Article Count: 27
Luce County - 48 Article Count: 19
Mackinac County - 49 Article Count: 33
Mackinac County Ore Docks Article Count: 1
Macomb County - 50 Article Count: 39
Manistee County - 51 Article Count: 41
Marquette County - 52 Article Count: 9
Marquette County - Champion & Republic areas Article Count: 29
Marquette County - Ishpeming West area Article Count: 33
Marquette County - Negaunee East area Article Count: 63
Marquette County - Marquette & Big Bay areas Article Count: 62
Marquette County - Princeton, Gwinn & Lawson areas Article Count: 35
Marquette County Ore Docks Article Count: 10
Mason County - 53 Article Count: 31
Mecosta County - 54 Article Count: 21
Menominee County - 55 Article Count: 58
Midland County - 56 Article Count: 17
Missaukee County - 57 Article Count: 23
Monroe County - 58 Article Count: 82
Monroe County Industry Article Count: 4
Montcalm County - 59 Article Count: 40
Montmorency County - 60 Article Count: 62
Muskegon County - 61 Article Count: 51
Newaygo County - 62 Article Count: 31
Oakland County - 63 Article Count: 84
Oceana County - 64 Article Count: 18
Ogemaw County - 65 Article Count: 22
Ontonagon County - 66 Article Count: 63
Osceola County - 67 Article Count: 30
Oscoda County - 68 Article Count: 24
Otsego County - 69 Article Count: 52
Ottawa County - 70 Article Count: 43
Presque Isle County - 71 Article Count: 33
Roscommon County - 72 Article Count: 18
Saginaw County - 73 Article Count: 103
Saginaw County, MI - Industry and Manufacturing Article Count: 13
Saginaw County, MI - Mining Article Count: 7
St. Clair County - 74 Article Count: 81
St. Joseph County - 75 Article Count: 39
Sanilac County - 76 Article Count: 39
Schoolcraft County - 77 Article Count: 35
Shiawassee County - 78 Article Count: 41
Tuscola County - 79 Article Count: 69
Van Buren County - 80 Article Count: 43
Washtenaw County - 81 Article Count: 70
Wayne County - 82 Article Count: 6
Detroit - Original Downtown within Grand Boulevard Article Count: 75
Dearborn (including part of Springwells Township) Article Count: 30
Wayne County - West and Northwest Article Count: 23
Wayne County - Southwest and Downriver Article Count: 84
Wayne County - DUR-DSR Carhouses Article Count: 17
Wayne County - Industry and Manufacturing Article Count: 66
Wexford County - 83 Article Count: 39
Cook County, IL Article Count: 33
Will County, IL Article Count: 7
Allen County, IN Article Count: 6
DeKalb County - IN Article Count: 15
Elkhart County - IN Article Count: 20
LaGrange County - IN Article Count: 10
Lake County, IN Article Count: 34
LaPorte County - IN Article Count: 23
Noble County - IN Article Count: 7
Porter County - IN Article Count: 21
St. Joseph County - IN Article Count: 38
Steuben County - IN Article Count: 13
Fulton County - OH Article Count: 15
Lucas County - OH Article Count: 99
Williams County - OH Article Count: 11
Wood County - OH Article Count: 29
Algoma District - ON (Canada) Article Count: 5
Essex County - ON (Canada) Article Count: 84
Lambton County - ON (Canada) Article Count: 6
Ashland County - WI Article Count: 2
Ashland County, WI Ore Docks Article Count: 6
Douglas County - WI Article Count: 2
Douglas County, WI - Ore Docks Article Count: 7
Florence County - WI Article Count: 15
Forest County - WI Article Count: 3
Iron County - WI Article Count: 16
Marinette County - WI Article Count: 23
Vilas County - WI Article Count: 6
Stories | Articles Article Count: 166
The Stories | Articles section contains stories about the history of railroading as told by newspapers, trade magazines and the editor's own writings.
This website uses a system of footnotes generally indicating the source of information used in the articles. As an example, [MRL] recognizes Graydon Meints book "Michigan Railroad Lines", which was published by 2005 by the Michigan State University Press. See the Bibliograpy page on this website for all bracketed footnotes.
Physical Condition Article Count: 33
Terminals Article Count: 14
Time Line Article Count: 0
The Time Line section is a compilation of events showing the progress (or regression) of railroads over the last 200 years. Also shown are events related to mining, railroad car ferries, technologies, and economic conditions, all of which affected railroads over time. They are color coded with a “key” at the bottom of each page.
Additional events in history are shown at the bottom of Station, Time Table and the Railroads in History sections.
1830-1839 Article Count: 11
1840-1849 Article Count: 11
1850-1859 Article Count: 11
1860-1869 Article Count: 11
1870-1879 Article Count: 11
1880-1889 Article Count: 11
1890-1899 Article Count: 11
1900-1909 Article Count: 11
1910-1919 Article Count: 11
1920-1929 Article Count: 11
1930-1939 Article Count: 11
1940-1949 Article Count: 11
1950-1959 Article Count: 11
1960-1969 Article Count: 11
1970-1979 Article Count: 11
1980-1989 Article Count: 11
1990-1999 Article Count: 11
2000-2009 Article Count: 11
2010-2019 Article Count: 11
2020-2029 Article Count: 6
Timetables Article Count: 0
Timetables show station listings for main and branch lines for specific railroads. These are in a format generally based on what was in employee timetables of the era.
Lines changed ownership over the years and are categorized here approximately as they were in 1916, a peak time for railroad mileage in Michigan. As an example, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern is now under New York Central but the Michigan Central is a stand-alone entity as it technically did not join the NYC until 1930.