Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad

The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio and the Straits of Mackinac. The company was formed on January 18, 1854 and was dissolved into the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1918.

Beginnings

The company grappled with financial difficulties for many years, but finally opened service between Bridge Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Cedar Springs, Michigan on December 25, 1867, a distance of about 20 miles.

The gross earnings of the railroad in 1867 were about $22,700. In July 1868 it had 2 engines in service, the Pioneer and the Muskegon. At that time the company also utilized a single passenger coach and single baggage car, six box cars, 24 flat cars and five hand cars.

By 1869 the railroad was again in trouble with its creditors, and the courts appointed a receiver, Jesse L. Williams of Fort Wayne, Indiana, to control the company. Under Williams' direction the Continental Improvement Company was hired on May 1, 1869, to complete the line between Fort Wayne and Little Traverse Bay in Michigan. Fifty-one days later, on June 21, 1869, the Continental Improvement Company had laid the last rail connecting Cedar Springs to Morley, Michigan. Williams was discharged as receiver on June 20, 1871.

Expansion

The track from the south into Grand Rapids was completed September 13, 1870. The line extended north to Paris, Michigan [1]by October 1, 1870, and a train first traveled between Fort Wayne and Paris on that date.

In June 1871 the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company took control of the road and property of the Cincinnati, Richmond and Fort Wayne Railroad Company, extending the line south to Cincinnati.

The line between Paris and Petoskey, Michigan was completed November 25, 1873. The road was opened to Mackinaw City, Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac on July 3, 1882. The total length of the line at this time was 529 miles.

In 1886 the company added an "airline" branch from Grand Rapids to Muskegon, Michigan, allowing travel between the two cities in about 1 hour.

As of July 1888, the railroad had expanded its fleet to 66 locomotives and 3,100 cars. Its gross earnings were close to $2.3 million in 1887.

A branch providing service between Walton Junction on the main line to Traverse City was completed in December 1872, bringing a wave of immigration to that area. This branch offered service to Traverse City, Northport, and many towns between by 1909.

In 1891 the Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad featured the longest North-South line in the country. The railroad served to accelerate the settlement of Northern Michigan, which was largely a wilderness in the mid 1800s.

Decline

The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was bought by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1918. In 1975 the Michigan Department of Transportation bought the railroad, and it ceased operation in the mid 1980s.

During the 1990s much of the old railroad right of way between the north side of Grand Rapids and Cadillac, Michigan was turned into the White Pine Trail State Park.

Sources

• History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Baxter, 1891. Munsell & Co. (pgs 530-534) 1
• Michigan Passenger Stations - Rockford Michigan. 2

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