michiganrailroads.com - Stories

The Stories | Articles section contains stories about the history of railroading as told by newspapers, trade magazines and the editor's own writings.

This website uses a system of footnotes generally indicating the source of information used in the articles. As an example, [MRL] recognizes Graydon Meints book "Michigan Railroad Lines", which was published by 2005 by the Michigan State University Press. See the Bibliograpy page on this website for all bracketed footnotes.

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More Stories - in PDF's
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15 Killed in DUR Streetcar Collision with DT&I train in Delray - 1915
15 Minutes to '43 (1943)
A Big Locomotive - 1880
A Day at Lapeer Junction - 1955
Alpena Meets With the Governor - 1886
A Michigan Statute Was Violated - 1889
A Snapshot of Race in Grand Rapids - in the 1890s
Awful Death Under Wheels - 1909
Beeliners,,, Passenger Trains Up North
Bessemer vs. Non-Bessemer Ore - 1891
Bizarre or Funny... Michigan Railroad Stories Over The Years
Blizzards, Trains and Lumberjacks - Life in the U.P. - 1900's
Boiler of a Grand Trunk Locomotive Exploded at Imlay City - 1908
Boiled Eggs Anger Railroad Workers; Cooks Are Attacked
Boston Interests Lose the Michigan Central - 1878
BCG&A Excerpts From the ICC's 1930 valuation report
Brakeman takes blame for fatal crash of trains on MCRR
Bridge Collapse Jams Soo Locks - 1941
Caboose Identification
Callers Displaced - 1906
Canada Southern Bridge Company History 1873-1882
The Capstan Wheel - Interlocking - 1888
Central Railroad Celebration - Reaching Ann Arbor - 1839
Cement - Michigan's newest industry shakes out in the early 1900's
Channing Sees Disaster In Proposed Ore Tie Up - 1935
C&NW has a new ore yard - 1969
Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Little Joe power - in 1980
C&O Dispatching in the 1970's
Christmas Rush Is On: The Escanaba Post Office - 1952
Coal Shortage Blamed On Traffic Conditions - 1912
Colors of Michigan Railroads
Conrail Elkhart Yard Switchers - Late 1980's, early 1990's
Crystal Falls Barber Is Engineers' Trusty Pal
D&M to Operate Light Engines without a Flagman (1945)
Debate About Annpere - 1895, The
Debate About "Half" Interlockers, The
Depot Days in Ann Arbor
Description of the Railroad Train's Trial Trip - 1840's
Detroit & Mackinac Alive & Well - 1977
A Disgruntled Operator at Woodside Interlocking - 1958
Disaster at Porter, Indiana - 1921
Disaster at Porter, Indiana - Additional Photos
Disaster in Toledo's railroad tunnel...
Dispatching the Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena in 1925
Dispatching the C&O in the 1970's and early 1980's
Double Track, Detroit to Toledo (1912)
E&LS Fairbanks Morse Railmobile
Eggs & Liver Sausage RR Would Delight Rail Fans (1956)
Empire State Express "999" Visits Jackson, Michigan
Engine Pulls Big Ore Train - 1947
Embattled Straits' ferry is reprieved - 1980
Erie and Kalamazoo's Original Route in Toledo
Express Train is Held Up Ten Miles West of Detroit
Featured Railroad Movies (1911-1940) American Film Institute Catalog)
Ferdinand Schlesinger, Industrialist
Football Specials and the Ann Arbor Railroad's Ferry Yard
For sale - lock, stock and linch pin: The Boyne City Line, Michigan's Shortest, Prettiest railroad - 1976
Fort Street Union Depot - The Final Days
From Grass Roots to Iron Mine in Nine Months - 1917
Funding the Bay City and Alpena Railroad
Getting Baggage to Lapeer
Grand Trunk Main Line - and how it got that way, The
Grand Trunk Spends $500,000 on its Bay City Terminals - 1913
Helping Columbiaville Celebrate The Bi-Centennial
Henry Brockholst Ledyard Biography
Heralds & Emblems of Michigan Railroads
History of Grade Separation in Detroit - 1920
History of the Detroit, Caro and Sandusky Railway
History of the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad
How Harrisville Got a Stone Depot
How Tramps Travel - 1880
How Wagon Works Junction Got It's Name
Humorous Nicknames for Railroads
ICC Proposed Railroad Consolidation Plan
Increased Switching Charges at Detroit in 1924
Inland Steel's Line Crew Near Gulliver - 1973
Interlockers in Michigan
Iron Ore Haul from Stambaugh Complicated Business for C&NW - 1955
Jackson Branch, Toledo Railfan Special - 1954
Jackson's Evolution as a Rail Center
Jay Gould Passes Through Detroit (1881)
Kalamazoo Seven, The
Keep the Wheel - road service in 1891
Labor Trouble at Grand Junction Moves to the MC Shops - 1886
Last GTW Train To Bad Axe, The
Links and Pins Still With Us (1900)
Logging the North Woods
Lone Robber Gets $50,000 - Blissfield - 1928
Manistee & Grand Rapids Railway, Description of - 1899
Manistee & North Eastern Railway, Descriiption of - 1899
Manistee, Filer City & East Lake Railway, Description of - 1899
MCRR Signal Boxes
Michigan Central Adopts the Automatic Block Signals - 1891
Michigan Named Rolling Stock
Michigan Smelter Operations - Houghton in 1934
Millions Involved - Charles Ruggles Sues the Buckley & Douglas Lumber Co. and the M&NE
Milwaukee brings big power to the U.P. - 1919
Modernizing the NYC's Air Line Subdivision for High Speed Freight Service - 1950's
Movement of Trains - 1911
Moving a Loaded Flat Car of Wood on the Grand Trunk Western in 1988
Named Freight Trains With Michigan Connections
New York Central Wire Plant Ranks High - 1921
The "New" New York Central Wolverine - Early 1950's
Nicknames (Official) of Michigan Railroads
Northern Division of the Detroit & Mackinac, The
NYC Train Speeds in 1926
Old Nanny's Light In The Window - 1880
Olds Backed Boyne Railroad - 1920
Opening of the Detroit, Bay City & Alpena
Operation of Electric Interurban Railways - 1902
Operation of the Union Belt of Detroit - 1924 to 1929
The Original MC Conductors - Only Four Of Them Left - in 1892
Pennsylvania Railroad Will Extend Lines to Detroit - 1922
Pere Marquette begins using telephones for dispatching - 1910
Pere Marquette Means Much To Grand Rapids - 1907
Plowing Snow on the Tuscola & Saginaw Bay, in 2004
Popular Contemporary Railroad Songs
Railroad Emblem Shapes
Railroad Initiation Rites
Railroad Jokes
Railroad Operations Before the Telegraph
Railroad Origins in Alpena, Michigan
Railroad Telegraphs in Michigan
Railroad That Went No Place (but eventually made it), The DT&I - Part 1
Railroad That Went No Place (but eventually made it), The DT&I - Part 2
Railroads of Michigan in 1873
Rapid River Depot Ends 86 Years of Service - 1975
Rebuilding a Burned-out Caboose
Receivership of the Potts Logging Company - 1891
The Royal Scott Visits Battle Creek
Sad Romance of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, The - 1920
Saginaw & Bay City Railway & Light Co. - 1905
St. Clair County's "Educated" Line
Shrewd Move by the Michigan Central secures Detroit River shoreline - 1905 ♦
South Shore Line (Photo Story), The
Special Instructions for train handling on L'Anse Hill
Steam Locomotives Are Fascinating Relics Now - 1964
Strap Rail of the Southern railroad
State and County Facilities Served by Railroads
Successful Management of a Bankrupt Railroad - 1894
Switching the Chief Wawatam in the 1970's (Photo Story)
TAA&GT Line to South Lyon, The
Taxation of Michigan Railroads in 1898
Telephone Dispatching on the Copper Range Railroad
Telegraph companies and railroads in Michigan
The Life of Charles Harvey
Third Street's boom in transportation
Thousands Flee When Northern Mich. Towns Are Swept By Flames
Toledo, Ann Arbor & Grand Trunk Line to South Lyon
Toledo Railfan's Association Trip to Deshler, Ohio (Photo Story) - 1952
Track Pans
Track Pans in Michigan
Train Annunciators on the MC/NYC and C&O
Train Dispatching on Interurban Railways Around Detroit - 1902
Train Robbery Near Calumet, 1893
Train Speeds - 1926
'Twas A Miracle - Trapped Beneath The Cars
Unsung Heroes - Crews Keep Constant Vigil On Rail Routes - 1949
U. P. Forest Fire of 1906
Vanderbilt's Ride To Chicago (from Detroit) - 1878
Upper Peninsula's Rail Connection to the Lower Peninsula - 1964
Wisconsin & Michigan Railway History
Words and Phrases of Railroad Origin

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The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:

[AAB| = All Aboard!, by Willis Dunbar, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids ©1969.
[AAN] = Alpena Argus newspaper.
[AARQJ] = American Association of Railroads Quiz Jr. pamphlet. © 1956
[AATHA] = Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association newsletter "The Double A"
[AB] = Information provided at Michigan History Conference from Andrew Bailey, Port Huron, MI

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