This was the successor to one of Michigan earliest railroads, the Detroit & Milwaukee. It provided cross-state services from Detroit to Grand Haven via Durand.
Detroit & Milwaukee railroad → Detroit Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway → GTW railroad
Reorganized D&M in 1878. Leased Grand Rapids Terminal in 1908.
Operated for 50 years.
Became: GTW in 1928.
Reference: [MRRC]
Operated Detroit to Grand Haven upon incorporation.
1858. November 22. The line was opened between Detroit and Grand Haven as the Detroit & Milwaukee railroad. [MCR-1903]
1877. January 27. D&M Reorganization. A meeting of the first and second mortgage bondholders of the D&M railway was held in Detroit Wednesday, the gentlemen present representing about $3,375,000 or a large portion of the bonded debt of the corporation, Sir Charles Young, of London, representing the English bondholders. H.N. Walker, George Jerome, and George Hendrie, of Detroit, and Wm. Martin, of Hamilton, Ontario, were appointed a committee to settle up the business of the present organization and to place it in operation upon a new basis under the name of the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee railroad. To do this, the committee is vested with power to arrange differences with other railroads and corporations, and to issue $5,000,000 in bonds running 30 years, a portion of which are to be exchanged in settlement of present incumbrances and for the payment of the expenses of this reorganization. [GRE-1877-0127]
1878. November 9. The reorganization of the D&M railroad was completed. The new corporation is known as the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway Company. The capital stock is $1.5 million and it was all issued to the directors, who are Samuel Barker and Edward Martin of Hamilton, Ont.; Hugh E. Childers, Samuel Laying, Thomas Wilde Powell and Francis Pavey of London, England; George W. Davies, Marietta, Ohio; George Jerome and R.P. Toms of Detroit. The organization was perfected by the election of Samuel Barker of Hamilton, President; James H. Muir of Detroit, Secretary, and George Jerome, of Detroit, Solicitor.
This having been accomplished, the purchasing committee, in whom the title vested after the foreclosure sale, formally turned over the property to the new corporation. The directors will hold the stock and operate the road until the mortgages provided for in the scheme of reorganization can be executed and the bonds are guaranteed by the Great Western Railway Company, when the stock will be transferred to that company and it will make such new board of directors and officers as it may choose. It will be require several months time to do this, as the bonds will have to be sent abroad to be guaranteed by the officers of the Great Western Railway in London, England. [PHTH-1878-1111]
1878. November 11. the DGH&M will run a through coach to Lansing, via Durand, and the Chicago & Northeastern, leaving Detroit at 6 pm and arriving at Lansing at 10 pm. A through coach will also leave Lansing for Detroit at 8:00 am, and arrive here at 12:20 pm. Passengers by this route will be landed in the Michigan Southern depot at Lansing, and round-trip ticket will be sold at reduced rates. [DFP-1878-1110]
1878. November 26. The deeds transferring the D&M to the new company (DGH&M) were left for record in the office of the Register of Deeds yesterday. [DFP-1878-1126]
1902. SNAPSHOT. About half of the stockholders of this company were from Montreal, and half from Detroit. There were 11 stockholders, 4 in Michigan. The company had 996 employees, including 22 office clerks, 6 train dispatchers, 37 station agents, 264 other station men, 46 engineers and 45 firemen, 28 conductors and 56 other trainmen, 4 machinists, 19 carpenters, 11 other shopmen, 38 section foremen and 139 other trackmen, 25 switchmen, 93 flagmen and watchmen, and 30 telegraph operators. The road had 189 miles of main track, of which 3.56 miles were double track, and 74 miles of sidings and spurs. It was Standard gauge.
The DGH&M had two drawbridges at Ferrysburg in 1902, one west of Ferrysburg, built in 1883 (177 feet long, 11 feet above water, depth of 24 feet), and one east of Ferrysburg built in 1896 (154 feet long, 11 feet 6" above water, 16 feet deep). They were made of iron and were hand powered and semaphore protected. The railroad had 44 stations in Michigan. 37 track sections of about 5.1 miles each, 4 men per section gang.
This road crossed the following other roads at grade (*=interlocking): MCRR at Milwaukee Jct.* and Owosso Junction. CD&CGT at Milwaukee Jct., Michigan Air Line 1 mile east of Pontiac, the PM at Holly*, Ionia, Malta*, Fuller and Ferrysburg, the Ann Arbor at Durand*, the GTW at Durand, the CS&M at Durand, and the GR&I at Fuller. This road crossed under the GR&I at Berlin. The railroad crossed 89 highways at grade, five which had electric or automatic signals in the early years.
The road had twenty locomotives, 6 18-wheel passenger cars and 19 8-wheel passenger cars, 11 express and baggage cars, 227 box freight cars, 3 stock cars, 102 platform cars, 16 conductor way cars, 1 derrick and 6 boarding cars. Passenger cars were heated with steam from the locomotive.
Top five types of freight hauled by tonnage: grain (10%), flour (9%), lumber and forest products (11%), coal (11%) and stone, sand (9%). The railroad utilized the National Express Company at its depots. Sleeping cars were provided by the Pullman Company. They had 242 miles of telegraph wire owned by the railroad, and 440 miles of wire owned by Western Union Telegraph Company. Eight people were killed in 1902, most struck or run over by a train. The railroad declared they were not at fault in any of the cases.
1903. This railroad operated 189 miles from Detroit to Grand Haven with 3.5 miles of double track. They had about 70 miles of sidings and spurs.
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
