St. Joseph Valley Railroad (1848–1869)

Last updated
St. Joseph Valley Railroad (1848-1869)
Map
Advertisement for Kalamazoo, Allegan & Grand Rapids, with whom the St. Joseph Valley connected in Kalamazoo. By the end of 1869 both systems were leased by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. Kalamazoo, allegan and grand rapids ad.png
Advertisement for Kalamazoo, Allegan & Grand Rapids, with whom the St. Joseph Valley connected in Kalamazoo. By the end of 1869 both systems were leased by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern.

The St. Joseph Valley Rail Road is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan during the mid-19th century.

The company was chartered on April 3, 1848, following authorization by an act of the Michigan State Legislature; the bill called for a line from St. Joseph, on the coast of Lake Michigan in Berrien County east through Cassopolis (Cass County) into St. Joseph County. The act stipulated that the company had ten years from the passage of the act to complete its line, a distance of about 50 miles (80 km), or its "rights, privileges and powers [as a corporation] shall be null and void, so far as it regards such part of said rail road as shall not be finished within the periods limited by this act." [1]

In 1855 the company completed a line along the St. Joseph River from Constantine to Three Rivers, a distance of 7.5 miles (12.1 km), well short of the act's target. The company had difficulty moving forward, but the legislature obligingly extended the deadline in 1861 and again in 1863. On November 21, 1864, the St. Joseph Valley leased the 3.9-mile (6.3 km) section of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana which connected White Pigeon to Constantine, giving the St. Joseph Valley an uninterrupted running length of some 11.4 miles (18.3 km) but still well short of Cassopolis, let alone Berrien County. In 1865 a new act by the Michigan State Legislature authorized the Schoolcraft & Three Rivers to purchase the St. Joseph Valley Railroad, but this did not take place until August 14, 1869, at which point the St. Joseph Valley ceased to exist as an independent company. [2] In the meantime the St. Joseph Valley operated over the Schoolcraft & Three Rivers tracks into Kalamazoo, where it connected with numerous other lines. [3]

The St. Joseph's original stretch from Constantine to Three Rivers is today operated by the Norfolk Southern. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Michigan (1848), 278-292.
  2. ↑ Michigan Legislature (1865), 1432; Meints (1992), 137; Meints (2005), 246.
  3. ↑ Michigan (1870), 195.
  4. ↑ Meints (2005), 246.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Central Railroad</span> Railway company in the United States of America

The Great Lakes Central Railroad is an American shortline railroad, operating in the state of Michigan. It was originally called the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway, which was formed on August 26, 1977, to operate over former Penn Central lines from Millington to Munger, and from Vassar to Colling. TSBY's name was derived from the three counties it operated in: Tuscola, Saginaw and Bay.

The Michigan Air Line Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1868 and constructed a line between Jackson, Michigan, and South Bend, Indiana. The Michigan Central Railroad leased the company in 1871 and merged it in 1916. The New York Central Railroad leased the Michigan Central in 1930. The Michigan Air Line Railroad also built a short line between Romeo, Michigan, and Richmond, Michigan, which became part of the Michigan Air Line Railway, a predecessor of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad.

The Michigan Air Line Railway was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1875 and constructed a line between Richmond, Michigan, and Jackson, Michigan, between 1877 and 1884. It was under the control of the Grand Trunk Railway for most of its existence and merged into the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in 1928. Its line was abandoned in stages between 1975 and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of railroads in Michigan</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Michigan Railroad</span> Privately owned railroad in Michigan

The Mid-Michigan Railroad is a railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates 39.8 miles of track in Michigan.

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 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 Alpena and Northern Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated briefly in northern Michigan during the 1890s.

The Detroit, Howell and Lansing Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in central and southeast Michigan during the early 1870s. The company formed on March 29, 1870 through the consolidation of the Detroit and Howell and the Howell and Lansing. From the two companies the DH&L gained a partially graded right-of-way 84 miles (135 km) long, with track laid on perhaps half of it, stretching from Lansing southeast to Detroit.

The Detroit and Howell Railroad (D&H) is a defunct railroad organized in 1864 to build a line connecting Howell and Detroit in southeast Michigan.

The Howell and Lansing Railroad is a defunct railroad which proposed to construct a railway line between Howell and Lansing in central Michigan. The company incorporated on June 23, 1868 and began grading along the 33-mile (53 km) length of the line. The H&L had some difficulty obtaining financing; by the time it merged with the Detroit and Howell on March 29, 1870, no track had been laid. The two companies merged formed the Detroit, Howell and Lansing, and the H&L ceased to exist as an independent company.

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.

Michigan United Railways (MUR) was an interurban which owned and leased numerous lines in the state of Michigan during the early twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway</span> Electric interurban railway in Michigan

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 Railway (1889-1897), earlier known as the St. Joseph Valley Railroad (1880-1889), is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan during the late 19th century. Intended to connect the Berrien County, Michigan communities of Buchanan and Berrien Springs with northern Indiana, the railroad never expanded beyond an initial connection between those two communities and sank under a weight of debt which poor traffic could not offset.

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 Lenawee County Railroad was a shortline railroad in the state of Michigan. It was incorporated in 1977 to operate a former Penn Central line serving Adrian, Michigan, and eventually operated 30 miles (48 km) of lines in Lenawee County, Michigan. The company ceased operations in 1990. The Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road, founded in 1991, operates over some of the company's lines.

The Kalamazoo and White Pigeon Railroad (K&WP) was a shortline railroad in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was incorporated in 1869 and consolidated with the New York Central Railroad in 1914. Its line ran from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Constantine, Michigan.

The Fort Wayne and Jackson Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1879 to reorganize the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad, which owned a railway line between Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Jackson, Michigan. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway leased the company in 1882. Most of the company's line has been abandoned.

The Morenci branch or Fayette branch was a railway line in the states of Michigan and Ohio. It ran 25.21 miles (40.57 km) from Grosvenor, near Blissfield, Michigan, to Fayette, Ohio. It was built by the Chicago and Canada Southern Railway in 1872 as part of abortive attempt to construct a new through route between Southern Ontario and Chicago. The branch became part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway system, and from there passed on to the New York Central Railroad and Penn Central. Following the Penn Central's bankruptcy, the state of Michigan acquired the line and abandoned it in 1991.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.