CSXT's Michigan Subdivisions
Welcome to CSX's Michigan Mainline, the former Pere Marquette high iron which extends across the state from Detroit to Porter, Indiana, and on to Chicago. The line today is divided into four Subdivisions, which were originally linked during the late 1800s and became the most important line for the Pere Marquette Railway. Later, this trackage served successors C&O and Chessie System as their most important route across the mitten. Today, CSX Transportation utilizes this line, which links Michigan's two largest cities with Chicago. On the map below, the Subdivisions included on this cross-state route are the Detroit Subdivision, Plymouth Subdivision, Grand Rapids Terminal Subdivision, and Grand Rapids Subdivision. Not only does this line connect the large yards at Rougemere (Dearborn) and Wyoming (Grand Rapids), but it connects the state with the Saginaw Subdivision at Plymouth, a funnel for traffic into and out of Southeast Michigan to Toledo.
NOTE: Effective 0930 on April 9, 2006, important changes in dispatching and subdivisions took place across Michigan. Among the changes were the combination of the Lansing and Plymouth Subdivisions into a new Plymouth SD, and a small segment of the Saginaw SD also being included in the Plymouth SD. All CSX subdivisions in Michigan will be controlled by new dispatchers in Calumet City, IL. These changes were noted and changes have been made at this time.
History A number of different predecessor railroads built the line which today stretches from Detroit to Indiana and on to Chicago during the mid to late 1800s. In 1900, all of these companies were unified as the Pere Marquette Railway, and this line became their main artery for traffic between the east and west side of the state. Traffic was busy on this line, especially during the years of World War II. In 1946, the Pere Marquette introduced the country's first streamline passenger trains, the Pere Marquettes, which ran between Detroit and Grand Rapids, and Grand Rapids and Chicago in a blur of maize and blue. The most modern CTC signalling operations also went into effect over much of the line this year. In 1947, the Pere Marquette was acquired by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), and this trackage along with the rest of the PM's holdings became the Pere Marquette District of the C&O. This division was the first dieselized on the C&O, and was exceptionally busy throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1972, the C&O agreed to merge their assets with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Western Maryland, which came together to form the Chessie System. With their colorful vermillion red, federal yellow, and enchantment blue locomotives and cabooses, the line stayed busy through the 1970s and 1980s as an important Chessie line. By the early 1980s, the Chessie System was exploring a merger with the Seaboard System, which become official in 1986. With the coming of the gray and blue, changes were in store for the Chessie's lines in the mitten.
During the first years of CSX, the rails across the state stayed fairly busy. Twelve daily CSX freights would roll through Grand Rapids every day, in addition to four run-through freights of the Soo Line, which began using trackage rights for container trains on this line in 1985 to connect trains between Montreal, Canada, and Chicago. Numerous locals and special commodities/seasonal load trains kept the single track mainline shiny. However, within a few years, CSX began to route more of their traffic south from Detroit at Plymouth, to go to Chicago and return via Toledo and the B&O mainline through Garrett, Indiana, rather than across Michigan. Around this same time, however, CP Rail (successor to the Soo Line) began to run more through freights on the former Pere Marquette mainline, which essentially made up the difference. Three pairs of CSX trains plus these CP Rail trains, were common through the 1990s, and CP Rail's regularly scheduled trains plus any number of extras would often count higher than CSX's during any given day. The four original Soo Line trains (R200-R203, later X500-X503) were supplemented X511 and X512, as well as a westbound empty autorack train symboled X747. Any number of extra CP trains would run during the day as well, including symbols X514, X530-X536, and X544. By 2005, however, only two CSX trains were making the entire run from Detroit to Chicago plus two between Grand Rapids and Toledo via Plymouth, in addition to the CP Rail trains and special commodities trains, along with a reduced number of locals due to Michigan's lagging economy.
During 2005, CP Rail entered into an agreement with the Norfolk Southern to begin operating their trains over the NS (former Wabash) mainline from Detroit to Butler, Ohio, where a new connection to the NS (ex Conrail, New York Central) Water Level Route to allow trains to continue to Chicago. After the connection track at Butler was put into service in July of 2005, CP Rail trains slowly began to move off the old C&O and onto this new route, beginning with X511, X512, and X747. By the end of the year, X501-X503 were gone as well, leaving daily eastbound train X500, occassionally supplemented by an X536 or X514. Today, the four CSX mixed freights plus X500 and local and special commodities trains keep the rails shiny between Grand Rapids and Plymouth. With the loss of much of this CP Rail traffic, CSX has begun to use this as a route for many Essexville bound coal trains and empties, as well as re-routes and other special commodities trains. West of Grand Rapids, Amtrak's daily Pere Marquette (Grand Rapids-Chicago) stays on time with no more than six freights a day on that stretch of track. East of Plymouth, the Detroit Subidivision remains a busy doubletrack mainline which can see up to 20 road trains a day plus many locals and yard jobs.
The Michigan Mainline Subdivisons (West to East)
Grand Rapids Subdivision [Porter - Grand Rapids]
Grand Rapids Terminal Subdivision [Wyoming Yard Terminal]
Plymouth Subdivision [Grand Rapids - Plymouth]
Detroit Subdivision [Plymouth - Detroit]
Characteristic lineside sights give this line a sense of history. Searchlight mast and dwarf signals protect passing sidings, junctions, and intermediate locations in many places west of Plymouth. On the Detroit Subdivision, searchlight signals are mounted on signals bridges between Haggerty Yard and P. Company Junction in Dearborn. From Livonia to Porter, most of the line is paralleled by code line, which is connected to CTC and also has wires for signals and crossing protection. Cement Whistle signs and mile posts dot most places along the tracks. The individual Subdivision pages will provide more details about these classic lineside markers, as well as train information and timetable notes.
About this Project: These Subdivision pages have been under development for the past year here at the Chessie Chapter. Now that we're done, this page has become a detailed collection of notes and remarks about operations across Michigan on this former Pere Marquette mainline. We will continue to make updates and changes to stay up-to-date. As always, watch for pages and photos to move around, disappear, and reappear. We have worked hard to get the Subdivison pages complete, as well as the train lists for each Subdivision. We're always putting the finishing touches on. Much thanks go to people and websites which have provided us with some of the information on these pages, which are noted at the bottom. We have listed all websites linked on our Railroad Ties, so you can visit their well developed sites. This is still a work in progress. If you see something that needs to be changed or updated, please send us an email: chessiechapter@hotmail.com. Thanks!
"Think SAFELY, work SAFELY,"
CC Editors
Visit the old Lansing Subdivision [Grand Rapids - Lansing]
Visit the old CSX Baldwin Subdivision [Grand Rapids - Ludington - Manistee]
