Railroad: Chicago, Saginaw and Canada Railroad Company, The

Built → Chicago Saginaw and Canada Railroad → Saginaw & Western railroad

Built: 1875 from St. Louis MI to Riverdale

Operated for 8 years.

Became: Saginaw & Western in 1883

Reference: [MRRC]

Notes

Several newspaper report said that this railroad competed with the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis railroad west from Saginaw.

Time Line

1873. Capt. E.L. Craw, President of the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada Railroad company has filed articles of association of said company with the Secretary of State. The capital stock is $4.2 million. The road extends from Grand Haven to St. Clair, 210 miles. The directors are Edward L. Craw of Fruitport, Joseph McChesney of Chicago, Amos C. Barstow, William Carliss, E.P. Mason, William H. Bradford, of Providence, RI, John F. Slater of Norwich, Conn and Rowland Hazard. [DFP-1873-0117]

1873. An add for the DL&N notes that their line connects with the CS&C at Edmore. [LSJ-1873-0410]

1873. A stockholders meeting notice reports that the company's office is in Fruitport, MI. [DFP-1873-0523]

1873. It is now announced that the CS&C railroad will be graded as far as the GR&I crossing at Sand Lake the coming winter, leaving it ready for iron soon as Spring opens. Capt. Craw has made such arrangements with Eastern capitalists as will insure the completion of the line. [LCS-1873-1113]

1875. May 23. The new locomotive for the CS&C railroad arrived yesterday and an excursion was given by Capt. Craw to St. Louis (MI) today, 200 people of Saginaw participating. The train was drawn by the new engine. Track laying on the new road west of St. Louis will commence next week. Forty miles of the road is ready for the iron. [PHTH-1875-0524]

1875. The Ithaca Journal says that Capt. Cram has negotiated a loan of $250,000 for the Chicago, Saginaw & Canada railroad. [LSJ-1875-1207] 

1878. May. Workers put the iron swing span on the Detroit, Saginaw and Canada railroad bridge over the Saginaw river. It was swung for the first time on June 2nd. [PHTH-1875-0511] It was noted that in addition to the iron swing section, and approaches to the bridge were of timber.

1878. This bridge was purchased by James Joy on the Detroit & Bay City railroad to be used on the extension of the D&BC branch to Saginaw from Vassar. The cost of the purchase was $20,000 about the same cost as the original construction three years before. It was noted that the bridge was never used prior to Joy's purchase and was part of Captain Cram's DS&C scheme to connect Saginaw, St. Louis and the GR&I railroad. The DS&C was in receivership for much of its existence. [BHHP-1878-1101]