In 1873, this company built west from Paines to St. Louis in Gratiot County. The company completed with another line, the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada, for rights to the same territory between Saginaw and the west side of Michigan. The SV&SL leased their line between Paines and St. Louis to the CS&C and connected with their trains west of St. Louis.
By 1879, it came under the control of the Detroit, Lansing and Northern, and merged into the Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western in 1897. This became part of the Pere Marquette system in 1900.
Built → Saginaw Valley & St. Louis Railroad → DL&N/Detroit Grand Rapids & Western railroad
Built: 1873 - Paines to St. Louis.
Operated for 16 years.
Control: 1878 - Control of Saginaw & Grand Rapids.
Control: 1879 - by Detroit, Lansing & Northern. 1882 - operated Ithaca & Alma.
Leased: Unknown - to Detroit, Lansing & Northern.
Merged: 1897 - into Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western.
Reference: [MRRC]
Several newspaper report said that this railroad competed with the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada railroad west from Saginaw.
1871. SV&SL is incorporated. [MRRC] The Board of Directors has resolved upon the building of a narrow-gauge road, and authorized the construction of the same when the capital stock reaches $90,000. About $62,000 has already been raised. [LSJ-1871-0622]
1871. August. Over 100 applications have been made for conductorships on the SV&SL and other like positions, and but few or none for firemen or brakemen. [GRE-1871-0830]
1871. November. A meeting of the directors of the SV&SL was held. This road is intended to afford a route westward, the design at present being to complete it no further than S. Louis in Gratiot County. Some little local jealousy exists between Saginaw City and East Saginaw in regard to the terminus of the road, which has been fixed at Saginaw city. No action was taken by the meeting further than to fix the point of starting at Farley street in Saginaw City. [DFP-1871-1123]
1871. December 21. The directors of the SV&SL are endeavoring to collect five percent of the subscriptions to their stock in East Saginaw. Owing to dissensions regarding the terminus between the cities of Saginaw and East Saginaw, many persons refuse to pay their assessments. [DFP-1871-1221]
1872. January 10. The differences between East Saginaw and Saginaw City regarding the terminus of the SV&SL were thought at one time to be harmonized. An agreement had been reached on December 16 that if the Saginaw City men would subscribe $45,000 to the stock of the Saginaw & St. Clair railroad (a different line, later likely the CS&C), the East Saginaw stockholders would pay their subscriptions already made to the SV&SL, and increase it by the further sum of $80,000.
Afterwards several of the East Saginaw stockholders refused to pay their assessments, and these persons have been served with writs to compel payment. Their objections, as stated by the East Saginaw Enterprise, are that Saginaw City has been made the terminus of the road; that the interests of East Saginaw were not consulted; that they have no confidence in the Board of Directors, and that the promise of Saginaw City stockholders to take $40,000 in the St. Clair River Road is unsatisfactory, inasmuch as they are not compelled to pay it until the East Saginaw stockholders have paid up their stock in the St. Louis road.
These various conflicts have had the effect to temporarily put a stop to the operations in building this road. [DFP-1872-0110]
1872. August. J.L. Hurd & Co. contracted with the SV&SL for transport of 2,600 tons of railroad iron from Cleveland to be delivered at the JL&S railroad depot at Saginaw City. The iron will be carried at the rate of 200 tons per week, $4.75 per ton. The propeller (ship) Hurd will leave Cleveland with the first cargo. Iron has been insured while in transit for $200,000. [DFP-1872-0808]
1872. September. The SV&SL has received a number of new cars and others are under contract. This goes to show that the road will soon be in operation. [DFP-1872-0925] The Bay City Journal says that there are now building at the car shops of the F&PM railway in East Saginaw for the SV&SL railroad, 40 flat cars, three box cars, one first-class coach and one smoking car. Five miles of rails have been laid by the SV&SL. [LSJ-1872-0926]
1872. October. Mr. Gillett, formerly connected with the Boston & Main railroad, has been appointed Superintendent of the SV&SL railroad. His office will be in East Saginaw. [GRE-1872-1003]
1872. October 17. The Court rules in favor of the SV&SL railroad against their East Saginaw shareholders who refuse to remit funds to cover their commitments. The judge rules that the change in terminal to Saginaw City was permissible, given the railroad's contract with the JL&S for the use of a part of its road and track "outside of and to a point within the limits of the city of East Saginaw". Subscribers were ordered to pay the amount due with interest from August, 1871. [HREG-1872-1017]
1873. January. Line is opened from Paines to St. Louis. [MRL] Since the opening of the SV&SL the passenger receipts have averaged about $125 per day and the freight business eastward, chiefly in lumber and staves, promises about 5,000 carloads during the season. [LSJ-1873-0130]
1873. August 5. A fire broke out in the lumber piles at Rust & Ring's mill, situated just above Hemlock City yesterday and destroyed about 175,000 feet of lumber and 200,000 shingles. Total loss will reach about $5,000, no insurance. The piles were near the track of the SV&SL railroad and the heat was so intense that the rails were warped to such an extent that the passenger train was compelled to halt and the passengers transferred to a train of flat cars and carried thus to Saginaw. [DFP-1873-0806]
1873. The Saginaw Valley & St. Louis railroad builds from Paines west to St. Louis. [PM45] The railroad was organized chiefly by Saginaw City people under the leadership of D.H. Jerome, and in the course of time 35 miles of road were built west to St. Louis. The road was a rival to the CS&C, which had not built rail in Saginaw. [GRE-1878-1230]
1874. April. Surveyors running a line for the proposed extension of the SV&SL have encountered lakes in Montcalm County which obstructed the route, and last week returned to St. Louis and commenced the survey of a new line a little south of the first line and passing one mile north of Alma. [LSJ-1874-0417]
1874. September. An agreement was entered by the executive committee of the CS&C and the SV&SL allowing the CS&C to lease or purchase the SV&SL road at $300,000, subject to a bonded debt of $450,000, or if leased at $54,000 per year. This agreement is subject to the CS&C building a bridge across the river (in Saginaw), all of which has been carried out.
For years, certain capitalists of Saginaw City have opposed every enterprise calculated to benefit East Saginaw, and controlling the SV&SL ignored the agreement of both roads, and called a meeting of the stockholders at Saginaw City yesterday to vote on the extension of that road, independent of the CS&C road. The meeting was largely attended and it was voted to increase the capital stock of the SV&SL to $850,000 and extend the road from St. Louis to Grand Rapids, the eastern terminus being Saginaw City.
A minority of the stockholders hotly contested the action of the majority, but did not control shares enough to influence the meeting. Railroad men and capitalists freely express the opinion that the SV&SL do not really intend to extend the road, but bluff of the CS&C to get better terms.
Captain Craw, of the CS&C, left for the East yesterday to purchase a construction train, and as soon as it arrives a track will be laid from St. Louis to Lake View, and also through (Saginaw). Capt. Craw says the CS&C has the ability and will construct an independent line from (Saginaw) to St. Louis. [GRE-1875-0505]
1875. May. The stockholders of the SV&SL decided to extend that road to Grand Rapids, and increased its capital stock to $850,000 for that purpose. [GRE-1875-0505]
1875. July. Stockholders of the SV&SL elected directors:
1876. May, The SV&SL railroad has received during the last four months 37,303 pounds of merchandise from the CS&C railroad. [LSJ-1876-0530]
1878. August. In what is described as "A Blow at Saginaw", the pending connection between the CS&C and the DL&N at Edmore will result in all CS&C traffic going south via the DL&N and cutting Saginaw out of the traffic. A Vestaburg business man describes the old adage of "Brother at war with brother," in that Saginaw City has so long feared that East Saginaw might possibly be benefited in some degree through the enterprise of Saginaw City, that they have lain dormant in a measure in their "bulldoze attitude", thus preventing the Saginaw valley from becoming a railroad center. The SV&SL has driven all trade from St. Louis and vicinity west via Stanton to Detroit, leaving Saginaw out in the cold. He notes that we can get better rates from St. Louis to Cincinnati via Stanton over the DL&N than we can from St. Louis to Detroit's Grand Trunk Junction on the D&M. A short time we will find the SV&SL out and alone. The CS&C has purchased the depot ground, about one block north of the St. Louis depot, with the right of way to cross Mill Street, thus leaving them independent of the Valley Road.
A gentleman who is largely interested in St. Louis and the Saginaw's severely censured the management of the SV&SL and remarked that but for what he considered their short-sighted and "dog-in-the-manger" policy, the SV&SL road would now be running into East Saginaw (over the graded CS&C bridge and right-of-way), and it would control the CS&C, and having connection in this city with the F&PM and Mr. Joy's road as soon as completed to Vassar, would be able to control the vast traffic that is now apparently to be diverted from its natural outlet. [SWC-1878-0808]
1878. August 15. The newspaper notes that because of the "exactions" of the SV&SL road, the CS&C was compelled to look elsewhere, and extended their line 3 1/2 miles to Edmore and a connection with the Stanton branch of the DL&N, giving them a through connection to Detroit.
The two roads used the same depot at St. Louis on the west side of the village, but the CS&C road has acquired grounds and propose to locate a depot of their own in the village. In order to reach the new grounds it was necessary to cross the SV&SL track a few rods east of their present depot and the latter road proceeded to resist. The SC&C was successful. Public sentiment at St. Louis is represented to be wholly n the side of the CS&C road. Hereinafter all freight from Saginaw west of St. Louis will have to be transferred and reshipped at St. Louis, while the bast lumber, stave and other freight traffic that has heretofore reached the Saginaw's, will now to in the opposite direction to Detroit. [SWC-1878-0815]
1878. August 17. There was a fine railroad fight at St. Louis, Mich. last week. It was caused by an attempt on the part of the CS&C railroad to put track across the line of the SV&SL railroad. One engine was ditched, a superintendent was choked, one railroad president reviled and three or four agents, conductors and others drew blood on each other. [NTR-1878-0817]
1878. September. The Saginaw Cornier says: The disturbance which occurred some weeks since, when the Chicago, Saginaw Canada Road (CS&C) laid their track across the Valley Road (SV&SL), broke out again at Ithaca Monday morning. The Valley Road Company had secured an injunction from Judge Hart of the Circuit Court of Ithaca, restraining the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada from crossing the of the first-named road, without a hearing of Chicago, Saginaw & Canada's side of the case and at 5 o'clock Monday morning a gang of men from the Valley Road proceeded to tear up that portion of the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada track crossing their line. The watchman in the village sounded the alarm bell, the people turned out in mass and laid down track of the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada which had been torn up, and put it in good shape, the Valley gang sneaking away without further disturbance. The affair created considerable excitement. [DFP-1878-0911]
1878. Owns the Saginaw & Grand Rapids at incorporation, a line which is built from St. Louis west to Alma. Merged into the Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western in 1896. [MRRC]
1878. November. The SV&SL railroad is to be extended to Alma, and the contract for the work has been awarded to Mr. R.M. Steel of St. Johns, who has already commenced operations. It is designed to complete the road to Alma before January 1. The company will extend its road from Alma to (Grand Rapids) as soon as possible. [GRE-1878-1113]
1879. Control by the Detroit, Lansing & Northern. [MRRC]
1879. The Saginaw & Grand Rapids railroad builds from Alma to St. Louis. [PM45]
1879. September 26. Lptou H. Eastman, one of the most prominent citizens and a large salt and lumber manufacturer of Saginaw dies this morning from paralysis of the kidneys, having been ill since a year ago. He was a native of Vermont, came to Michigan in 1838 and located in Saginaw in 1854, establishing the first foundry and machine shop built in the city. He was the first President of the SV&SL railroad, a member of the City Council for some years, a member of the Board of Trade at his death, and a philanthropic and public spirited many. He contributed liberally and took an active part in securing the building of the Detroit, Saginaw & Bay City; Saginaw Valley & St. Louis; and Chicago, Saginaw & Canada railroads. His age was 64 years. [DFP-1879-0927]
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
