Railroad: The Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad Company

Built → Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad → Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad

Built: 1860

Operated for 6 years.

Foreclosure Sale to: Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw railroad in 1867.

Reference: [MRRC]

Notes

This was known as the "Ram's Horn" railroad in 1866. [LSJ-1866-0627]

Commencing at Amboy on the south line of the State, the first twist of the horn was north-west to Albion, then it gyrated north-east via Lansing and Owosso to Saginaw, when taking another turn to the far north-west, it struck Little Traverse Bay on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, where, with one more convulsive turn to the north-east, it reached the "little end of the horn" at the Straits of Mackinaw. This ingenious (method), they succeeded in stealing a large amount of land for their grant which could not otherwise have been obtained. Hence came the name of "Ramshorn". [

Time Line

1860. The Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad was built from Owosso to Lainsburg in Shiawassee County in 1860.

1863. The line was further completed to Lansing bringing the first rail service to the state capital. 

1866.The railroad assigned rights to the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw for property from Lansing north, and in 1867 to the Northern Central Michigan railroad for their developing property from Lansing south (towards Albion).

1867. Farewell to the Ramshorn! The corporation known as the Amboy, Lansing & Traverse Bay railroad company has ceased to exist, so far as the control of the road is concerned. $200,000 were paid for the road by the JL&S railroad company, and they are also to pay claims against the old company said to amount to $112,000 more. [LSJ-1867-0109]

1867. The line was sold by way of a foreclosure sale to the JL&S. The line to Albion became part of the Lansing Branch of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad.

Extra Credit: Where is Amboy?

Amboy is a township in Michigan along the Ohio border in Hillsdale County. There is also an Amboy Township in Ohio, bordering Michigan near Monroe and Lenawee counties. The founders of this railroad anticipated this being a straight line north from the Ohio border to Lansing and then north towards Traverse City. Land grants were obtained from the state legislature as a reward for completing route miles. The railroad began in Owosso (where there was a connection with the Detroit & Milwaukee railroad from both Grand Rapids and Detroit. With its completion to Lansing in 1863, this became the first railroad to reach the new state capital. Then, the organizers apparently ran out of money

The capital of Michigan was moved to Lansing from Detroit in 1847 but Lansing had no rail service (nor much of anything else). At the time, Lansing was reached by stage coach from Jackson or Owosso railheads, or by stage from Detroit via Farmington and Howell requiring overnight stays at places like the Botsford Inn or the New Hudson Inn (both of which still exist today).