Station: Alston, MI

Alston was a town on the DSS&A branch line between Keweenaw Bay and Mass City at milepost 15.9, 15 miles east of Mass City in Houghton County. This location was formally known as Laird. This was in Section 33 of T51N-R35W. [DSSM]

A lumber mill was built at Alston to provide stuhls and lagging to the Mass Mine and other properties in the region. [DSS]

Notes

Time Line

1918. The DSS&A had an agent/operator at this location during the day. [TRT]

1920. Alston is converted to "custodial" status as all trains operated on the South Range branch only as needed. [SOO-2022-Q1]

1937. December. The Mineral Range railroad today applied to the ICC for authority to abandon a 15-mile branch from Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County to Alston in Houghton County.  The region is sparsely settled and the only industry, a saw mill located in Alston, discontinued practically all operations in the winter of 1936-37. [EDP-1937-1211]