Michigan Memories

Michigan Rails: Times of Change, 1910-1970

Michigan Rails: Times of Change, 1910-1970

After 1909 the railroads could no longer lay enough new rail to keep up with all of the old rail being abandoned. Passenger train service held off the decline for a while, thanks to the rise of summer resorts and spa towns. The Grand Rapids & Indiana, the Pere Marquette, and the Michigan Central--three of Michigan's largest railroads at the time--all had steady business from tourists heading north for the warm weather months. But rail lines and infrastructure around the state were getting older by the year. Summer tourism alone could not cover the cost of modernization, and more challenges were coming.

Red Cross nurses and servicemen stand in a railroad car during World War II
1. Red Cross workers serve food to servicemen inside a canteen railroad car during WWI, May 1918 / Wayne State University Libraries

From December 1917 to March 1920 the federal government took over the railroad companies as part of the effort to fight World War I. By the time the lines were returned, the railroad companies had to take on debt to restore their now badly aging infrastructure and equipment. The economic successes of the 1920s allowed the railroad industry to recover by the middle of the decade, but the Great Depression forced many railroads into receivership. Meanwhile, with every passing year they were losing more freight and passenger travel to cars, airplanes, and buses. 

Companies saved money in the 1920s and 1930s by abandoning unprofitable rail lines. When short-distance passenger travel began to slip, freight and mail delivery made up some of the difference, and long-distance passenger service held steady through the 1930s. The New York Central (which now dominated passenger service in Michigan) and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy tempted long-distance travelers with a new generation of streamlined steam trains with colorful names like the Zephyr and the Mercury. The Michigan Central had memorable passenger trains too: the Wolverine, the Detroiter, the Motor City Special, and the Twilight Limited.

Man stand in front of a locomotive at rest on a track
2. The Burlington Zephyr, 1934 / Wayne State University Library

The need to move troops and freight during World War II gave railroads one more chance to grow, but long-term decline returned in the 1950s, even though that decade saw important advances in railroad technology. Steam locomotives were giving way to diesel engines that required less maintenance, had better brake systems, and could pull more cars. Dispatchers had better control over railroads thanks to radio communications and centralized traffic systems that made it safe for two trains to share the same line.

By 1965, companies continued to abandon unprofitable lines, but Michigan’s railroads still covered 6,954 miles. Rail freight remained important to Michigan business, though always in competition with highway and air travel, and passenger service survived. When Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, Congress moved to create Amtrak, which may not compete with the golden years of rail but continues to carry passengers into the twenty-first century.

(Dunbar and May's Michigan and Meints' Railroads for Michigan were especially helpful for this exhibit. For details about these books and others, please see the References section below.)

Below are some other photographs related to Michigan's railroads in the twentieth century. Next to each caption you will find a link to the complete record on the website of the cultural institution that shared the photograph with Michigan Memories. You may find more information and context about the photograph there.

Passengers stand on a train platform between Engine 531 and the depot.
3. Passengers next to a locomotive and train at the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Railway depot in Channing, Michigan, circa 1912 / Michigan State University Libraries
A handcar stamped with the logo of the Kalamazoo Manufacturing Company
4. A handcar created for Disneyland by the Kalamazoo Manufacturing Company, 1957 / Michigan State University Libraries
Men in uniform during World War II waiting next to a train in Ann Arbor, Michigan
5. Men in uniform in front of the Michigan Central Railroad station in Ann Arbor, 1942 / Bentley Historical Library
Three people at a ticket gate in the Michigan Central Station in Detroit
6. Checking tickets in Michigan Central Station in Detroit, 1930 / Wayne State University Library
A row of women wash the side of a railroad car
7. Workers washing the side of a railroad car, date unknown / Wayne State University Libraries
A man sits at a dispatcher's desk in an office in the Ann Arbor railroad depot
8. An employee works in the office of the Ann Arbor depot, 1969 / Bentley Historical Library
A Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive at rest in a railroad yard in Grand Rapids, Michigan
3. A Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive at rest in a railroad yard in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1949 / Grand Rapids Public Library
A train rolls along a track with Michigan Central Station in the background
9. A train rolls along a track with Michigan Central Station in the background, date unknown / Wayne State University Libraries
Raising a bridge over a river
10. Raising a bridge off old piers on the Michigan Central Railroad at Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, 1920 / University of Michigan Library
Long lines of railroad cars stand on tracks in a railroad yard
11. Cars in a railroad yard owned by the Michigan Central Railroad, date unknown / Wayne State University Libraries
Thomas Edison and Henry Ford stand outside a railroad depot in Ypsilanti
12. Thomas Alva Edison and Henry Ford arrive at the depot in Ypsilanti, 1929 / Ypsilanti Historical Society
The depot in Lewiston, MI, 1912
13. The depot in Lewiston, MI, 1912 / Bentley Historical Library
Workers in the Michigan Central Terminal in the reservations office
14. Workers in the reservation office of the Michigan Central Terminal, 1940s / Wayne State University Libraries
Young men in a passenger railroad car in 1948
15. Air Corps Enlistees leaving Union Station, Ionia, MI, 1948 / Grand Rapids Public Library
Franklin Delano Roosevelt speaks from the back of a railroad car
16. Franklin Delano Roosevelt speaks from the back of a railroad car in Lansing, October 1936 / Wayne State University Libraries
A line of people wait by a railroad track under a sign reading Peninsular Club Tiger Special
17. Members of the Peninsular Club wait in Union Station for a passenger car, probably on their way to a Detroit Tiger baseball game, 1935 / Grand Rapids Public Library
Seven people talk while seated in padded arm chairs in a railroad car
18. Members of the Michigan State College Marching Band, including band director Leonard Falcone, talk to A C Corwin of General Motors during an 11-day train tour before the 1954 Rose Bowl Game / Capital Area District Libraries
Four men carrying a railroad tie down a track
19. Four men use tongs to carry a railroad tie down a track, 1944 / Western Michigan University Libraries
Man using a machine to remove a railroad tie
20. Railroad equipment used to remove a railroad tie, 1957 / Western Michigan University Libraries

References

There are many online sources about the history of Michigan’s railroads, including:

  • Michigan Department of Transportation. Michigan’s Railroad History, 1825-2014. A 2014 version of this work is available online. It has a timeline of important events, along with maps and illustrations. Brad Hazel offers additional commentary on the timeline on his website. 

  • Central Michigan University Libraries. Interactive Michigan Railroad Map. This unique resource allows you to follow the routes of seven historical railway lines, depot by depot, across the state of Michigan. 

  • Zielin, Lara. “All Aboard!” An article in the Bentley Historical Library’s magazine that features photographs from the Claude Thomas Stoner Photographs and Papers collection. 

There are also books and articles that provide a wealth of detail about our state’s railways. Some of the notable ones include: 

  • Dunbar, Willis F and George S May. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State, third revised edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

    • An important work for many topics about Michigan history. Railroads are mentioned throughout the book, but particularly in chapters, 12, 13, and 19.

  • Elliott, Frank N. When the Railroad Was King, second edition. Lansing: Michigan Department of State, 1988. 

    • This long article first appeared in the December 1965 issue of the Historical Society of Michigan’s Michigan History magazine. Its emphasis is on the business history of railroads and the challenges faced by both private companies and the state government in creating the first rail lines. 
  • Meints, Graydon M. Railroads for Michigan. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2013

    • An extensive account of Michigan’s railroads with a wealth of detail covering the first attempts to create rail lines in the 1830s through the rise and then slow decline of railroads up to the year 2000. This book was particularly helpful in organizing this exhibit. 

Sources

The images above come from the following collections:

  1. “Wars: World: 1: Red Cross: Canteen, M.C. Station, Canteen Car.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/34685. Accessed April 7, 2026.
  2. "Railroads: Locomotives, Streamlined, Burlington Zephyr." Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/20067  Accessed May 28, 2026.

  3. “Railroad station in Channing, Michigan.” In the collection Making of Modern Michigan (Dickinson County Library), Michigan State University Libraries Digital Collections. https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5sj1f64z Accessed April 7, 2026. 
  4. “Railroad Handcar.” In the digital collection Making of Modern Michigan, Ward Morgan Photography Collection (Western Michigan University), Michigan State University Libraries Digital Collections. https://d.lib.msu.edu/mmm/41553. Accessed April 7, 2026.

  5. "Men in uniform in front of Michigan Central Railroad station, 1942; HS11867." In the digital collection Bentley Historical Library: Bentley Image Bank. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-hs11867/hs11867  University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 07, 2026.

  6. “Railroad Stations: M.C.R.R. (Michigan Central Rail Road) -Interior Views.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/34094. Accessed April 7, 2026. 

  7. “Women: Railroad Workers.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/33637 Accessed April 7, 2026. 

  8. "Railroad People at AA railroad station.; MD_69010A_003." In the digital collection Michigan Daily Alumni Photographers. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/midaily1ic/x-md-und-69010a-und-003/md_69010a_003  University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 07, 2026.

  9. “Railroad: Locomotives: Steam.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/39412. Accessed April 7, 2026.

  10. "Wayne Co. Bridges; Jefferson Ave., Raising bridge off old piers at M.C.R.R; 5/3/1920." In the digital collection Art, Architecture and Engineering Library, Lantern Slide Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/u/ummu2ic/x-ls017927/ls017927  University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 07, 2026.

  11. “Railroads, U.S.: Companies: M.C.R.R.: Yards: Detroit.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/31498. Accessed April 7, 2026.

  12. "Thomas Edison and Henry Ford with Ypsilanti Conductor." In the digital collection Ypsilanti Historical Society Photo Archives. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/y/yhsic1/x-yhs00231/yhs00231  University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 07, 2026.

  13. "MC 24: Michigan Central, Station at Lewiston and passenger train engine 8936, ca. 1912; HS1280." In the digital collection Bentley Historical Library: Bentley Image Bank. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-hs1280/hs1280. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 07, 2026.

  14. “Railroads: Stations: Michigan Central, Reservation & information Dept.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/20359. Accessed April 7, 2026.

  15. “Air Corps Enlistees leaving Union Station.” In the Robinson Studio Collection (Coll. 125) – Grand Rapids History Center. https://digital.grpl.org/Detail/objects/117582. Accessed April 7, 2026. 

  16. “Roosevelt, Franklin D.: speeches, Speaking from platform of train at Lansing.” Virtual Motor City, Detroit News Photograph Collection (UAV002691), Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/17969.  Accessed April 7, 2026. 

  17. “Pen Club Tiger Special.” In the Robinson Studio Collection (Coll. 125) – Grand Rapids History Center. https://digital.grpl.org/Detail/objects/123060. Accessed April 7, 2026. 

  18. “Train Car.” In the Doyle Fitzpatrick Collection, Capital Area District Libraries Local History Online. https://cadl.catalogaccess.com/archives/38693. Accessed April 7, 2026.
  19. "Men moving railroad tie on railroad tracks." In the Ward Morgan Collection, Western Michigan University Libraries. https://luna.library.wmich.edu/luna/servlet/detail/WMUwmu~29~29~1105148~102986 Accessed April 15, 2026.
  20. "Railroad tie removing equipment." In the Ward Morgan Collection, Western Michigan University Libraries. https://luna.library.wmich.edu/luna/servlet/detail/WMUwmu~29~29~1110049~103232 Accessed April 15, 2026.