Imlay City was settled about 1850 and became a station stop when the Port Huron and Lake Michigan railroad (later GTW/CN) came through about 1870. The town became a village in 1873. [MPN]
Imlay City was served by the Grand Trunk Western and was located about 13 miles east of Lapeer. The town was also served by GTW's Pontiac, Oxford & Northern line to Caseville and that line crossed under the GTW main line on the west edge of town. Imlay City was also the northernmost point on an interurban railroad line which came up from the Detroit area via Almont.
Image Info: Top, the GTW Imlay City depot which was constructed in 1928 [RRSHS] and is now a historical museum. This photo was taken about 1975. [Charlie Whipp]. 2nd image, a GT passenger train passes through Imlay City. [UML]. 3rd image, an earlier photo of the previous depot, date unknown. [Alan Loftis collection]. 4th image, another view of the Imlay City depot. [CMUL]. 5th image, an interurban car with a crowd surrounding it in Imlay City, 1916. 6th image, GTW 4930 heads a northbound train on the PO&N at Imlay City. You can see the GTW main line crossing over the bridge in the background. [Charlie Whipp]; 7th image, a photo of the interurban station in Imlay City, taken about 1920. 8th image, another view of the DUR interurban station at Imlay City with a train nearby. [UML]. 9th image, the right-of-way of the PO&N which was built under the GTW main line. Rather than pay for their share of a manned interlocking tower, the PO&N crossed below grade. This view, which looks south, shows the original overhead bridge for GTW's main line (now CN). Farther south is a newer overpass for a CN industrial lead to the Vlasis Corporation, which was built sometime after the PO&N was abandoned in the mid-1980's. Photo taken in 1003. [Dale Berry]. 10th image, GTW passenger train 1119 travels under the Summers Road overpass at milepost 300 on the Flint subdivision. This photo was taken before 1914, the year that the bridge was replaced. Summers Road is about 1 mile west of Imlay City. [Charlie Whipp collection], 11th image, a USGS map of Imlay City showing both railroad lines and their connecting wye in the southeast quadrant. [USGS, Dale Berry]
1908. June 22. The boiler of a Grand Trunk locomotive explodes at Imlay City. See article below in Additional Information.
1918. The Grand Trunk had an agent here during the day and an operator around the clock. [TRT]
1960's. GTW operates an annual train from Caseville to Brush Street Station in Detroit as part of a Boblo excursion. The train typically was pulled by two diesel locomotives (brought up from Pontiac Yard) and nine passenger cars. Ticket holders were picked up along the way at Pigeon, Owendale, Cass City, North Branch and Imlay City. The train returned from Detroit the same evening. [GTWHS-2002-Spr]
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
