The Chicago, Kalamazoo and Saginaw Railway (CK&S), known informally as the "Cuss, Kick & Swear" [1] is a defunct railroad which operated in southwest Michigan in the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. Despite the name, the line ran entirely within the state of Michigan, with the majority in Kalamazoo County. It eventually became part of the New York Central. As of 2010, most of the former CK&S tracks have since been abandoned.
The company incorporated on June 7, 1883, with the initial intent of constructing a 31-mile (50 km) line from Kalamazoo northeast to Hastings. On October 29, 1887, the company amended its articles, now calling for a line of 141 miles (227 km) connecting the Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway's line in northeastern Cass County to Saginaw. This grandiose vision never came to pass; the company's completed line stretched a mere 14 miles (23 km) beyond Hastings. [2]
In 1906 the CK&S was leased by the Michigan Central Railroad –the Central took 60% control, while the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, itself owned by the New York Central Railroad, took 40%. In 1930 the New York Central, having merged with the LS&MS in 1915 and leased the Michigan Central in 1930, leased the CK&S. The New York Central continued to operate the CK&S under its own name until 1968, when Conrail bought the remaining properties. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Despite its name, the line linked neither Chicago, Illinois nor Saginaw, Michigan, although it did pivot on Kalamazoo, Michigan. Construction started in 1886 between Kalamazoo, Michigan and Hastings, Michigan; this section was completed by 1888. On September 1, 1889, the northern branch reached Woodbury, on the northwest edge of Eaton county, where it met the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad (later the Pere Marquette Railroad). On December 1, 1901, the southern terminus was extended to Pavilion, Michigan, in southern Kalamazoo County, where it met the Grand Trunk Railway, for a total length of 44 miles (71 km). [7]
A 1909 report by the Michigan Railroad Commission found that the CK&S operated three trains in each direction daily; two passenger and one freight. [8]
In 1910, the Grand Trunk Western leased the line from Kalamazoo to Pavilion; the CK&S converted the rump to yard service. In 1937, the CK&S abandoned the section between Delton and Woodbury; in 1942, it cut back further to Richland Junction. In 1978, Conrail abandoned the line to Richland as well, leaving only yard trackage within Kalamazoo itself. [6]
On July 25, 1930, the CK&S purchased a 13.2-mile (21.2 km) line from the dying Michigan United Railways. This line ran south from Hooper to Richland, and crossed the CK&S's main line at Richland Junction, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Richland proper. The CK&S converted the track from electrified interurban to standard operation. In 1961, it cut the line back to Doster, and in 1978 Conrail abandoned the rest. Except for the portion from Kalamazoo to Pavilion where Grand Elk RR uses it to connect with CN. [6]
The Harbor Springs Railway was a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway built at Harbor Springs, Michigan on Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. It was nicknamed the Hemlock Central because of the great numbers of hemlock trees growing in the area. The railway was chartered by Ephraim Shay, the inventor of the Shay locomotive, on February 2, 1902, but may have started construction as early as December 10, 1900.
The Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road Company is a Class III short line railroad which operates 20 miles (32 km) of railroad track between Adrian and Riga, in Lenawee County, Michigan. It was incorporated February 6, 1991, with company headquarters in Westland, Michigan. It also operates Lapeer Industrial Railroad, Charlotte Southern Railroad, Detroit Connecting Railroad, and Jackson and Lansing Railroad.
Railroads have been vital in the history of the population and trade of rough and finished goods in the state of Michigan. While some coastal settlements had previously existed, the population, commercial, and industrial growth of the state further bloomed with the establishment of the railroad.
The Mid-Michigan Railroad is a railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates 39.8 miles of track in Michigan.
The Saginaw and Mount Pleasant Railroad was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM). It was established to construct a 14.7-mile (23.7 km) railway line from a junction with the F&PM main line at Coleman, Michigan, to Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The line opened on December 15, 1879, as a 3 ft narrow gauge line. In mid-1884 the line was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge. On January 31, 1889 the company was formally merged into the F&PM along with the East Saginaw and St. Clair Railroad, the Saginaw and Clare County Railroad, and the Manistee Railroad.
The Flint River Railroad is a defunct railroad. It was established on December 6, 1871, to construct a 14.4-mile (23.2 km) branch from Horton to Otter Lake to support the logging industry in the Flint River area. This line was opened on October 8, 1872, and the company was consolidated with the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM). In 1881 the F&PM extended this line 5.2 miles (8.4 km) to Fostoria.
The Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad (DL&N) is a defunct railroad which was formed on December 27, 1876 as a reorganization of the foreclosed Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Rail Road. The segment of its main line from Detroit to Lansing became an important component of the Pere Marquette Railroad, organized in 1900, and is still in use by CSX.
The Paw Paw Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in Van Buren County, Michigan, between 1857 and 1887. At a length of 4 miles (6.4 km), it was the shortest operating common carrier railroad in the state. Later, the Ludington & Northern Railway Company, at 2.79 miles (4.49 km), stripped the Paw Paw of its title as "shortest Michigan Railroad".
The Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in Northern Michigan toward the end of the 19th century. The company was founded on August 30, 1897 by William Alden Smith, a Republican politician and former general counsel of both the Chicago and West Michigan Railway and the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. The GRK&S constructed a 40.73-mile (65.55 km) line from Stratford in northern Missaukee County through Kalkaska to Rapid City, where it met the C&WM's main line. The C&WM undertook to supply rolling stock and oversee construction in exchange for a 10-year lease of the line.
The Ionia and Lansing Rail Road is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan in the 1860s and 1870s. The company incorporated on November 13, 1865; the investors hailed primarily from Lansing, Ionia and Portland. The original charter called for a 34-mile (55 km) line from Ionia to Lansing; on January 13, 1869 this was amended with a much grander vision: a 125-mile (201 km) line from Lansing to the mouth of the Pentwater River at Pentwater, on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway is a defunct railroad incorporated in January, 1886. The railroad offered service between Ashley, Michigan and Muskegon, Michigan starting on August 1, 1888. The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada took control the same day, but the company did not merge with the Grand Trunk Western Railway until 1928.
The Allegan and Lake Shore Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in Allegan County, Michigan during the 1880s. The company incorporated on May 30, 1883, by W.G. Dewing & Sons, to construct and operate 22-mile (35 km) line from Allegan westward to Lake Michigan. The primary purpose of this line was to support local timber operations. On April 15, 1885, the A&LS completed a 3 ft narrow gauge 5-mile (8.0 km) stretch from the Kalamazoo River at Allegan to Swan Creek; the line went no further and was abandoned in 1889, timber resources in the area being exhausted.
The Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Railroad (MCW&LM) is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan and Ohio during the 1870s. By the time it went into foreclosure in the late 1870s it owned two non-contiguous track segments, each of which was leased by a different company.
The Michigan and Ohio Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan in the mid-1880s. Originally intended to forge a new line from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan, it came close to its goal, completing a line between Allegan and Dundee before financial embarrassment landed it in receivership.
Michigan United Railways (MUR) was an interurban which owned and leased numerous lines in the state of Michigan during the early twentieth century.
The Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway was an electric interurban railway which briefly operated independently in central Michigan during the early 20th century. It was the site of a failed attempt to introduce alternating current to the interurban scene.
The St. Joseph Valley Rail Road is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan during the mid-19th century.
The Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan at the turn of the 20th century.
The Kalamazoo and White Pigeon Railroad (K&WP) was a shortline railroad in the U.S. state of Michigan. The line ran from Lansing to Jonesville, then returned north from Jonesville to Albion and Eaton Rapids before closing the loop in Lansing. The NCMR had a short life as an independent company, becoming part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway in 1871 and then consolidating with the New York Central Railroad in 1914.