Station: Thomaston, MI

Thomaston was founded in Wakefield Township around 1891. This was a small terminal for the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic where crews changed and locomotives were serviced. The town was also a logging center. Thomaston had a 31 car siding in 1961. It was MP 287.6 (from St. Ignace). At some point, the division crew change point was moved to Ewen in Ontonagon County. The former townsite is in Section 34 of T48N-R45W. [DSSM}

The railroad line (now Canadian National) still exists through here enroute east to Bergland and White Pine but all of the railroad structures are gone.

Photo info: Top, The Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic depot at Thomaston in a winter photo graph. 2nd image, another view of a different depot at Thomaston around 1915. [Alan Loftis collection]. 3rd image, the railroad yard at Thomaston likely in the 1930's. 4th image, a locomotive near the Thomaston roundhouse. The building no longer appears to be used. 5th image, an abandoned Shay locomotive at Thomaston. [Robert Platt photo, UWM collection]

Notes

The DSS&A had a water tower at Thomaston in 1907. [SSM1907]

A short branch line left the DSS&A main line 1/4 mile west of town, reaching the Chicago Mine north of Sunday Lake. [DSSM]

Time Line

1913. The DSS&A will build a new roundhouse at Marquette at a cost of $50,000. Another large roundhouse will be constructed by the company at Thomaston, MI. [DFP-1913-0307]

1914. The DSS&A constructs a hotel at Thomaston. [RR-1915-0220]

1918. The DSS&A had an operator/agent here around the clock. [TRT]

1926. August 16. The post office in Thomaston is closed and operations transferred to Wakefield. [IDG-1926-0816]

1927. October 21. The Ironwood Daily Globe reports that electric power lines have reached Thomaston.

1972. Someone went to a lot of trouble in stealing about a half mile of double strand copper wire near the Soo Line railroad tracks near Thomaston. State Police suspect juveniles in the theft. "Somebody went to a lot of trouble", one officer said. "They had to shinny up and down 22 poles and cut the wires on both sides." The wire was used for train station communications. [IDG-1972-1204]

1977. A long stretch of track was torn out when the trailing two cars of a Soo Line railroad train derailed and went crashing into the woods near here. Two railroad employees who were riding in the caboose received only minor injuries. "They got shook up, but are all right today," a worker said. A crew of about one dozen men was at work fixing the badly damaged track. Workers had to shovel snow off the twisted track before new rails from a nearby crossing could be used to replace the damaged steel. The wheels of the caboose were torn off, and a load of coal spilled into the woods. The cars broke off a number of small poplar trees. It appeared that a rail split in half and the cars were off the track for several hundred feet before crashing into the woods. A crane will be transported to the scene to lift the caboose and coal car back on the track. [IDG-1977-0209]