Erie and North East Railroad

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1833
Fate	Merged into New York Central Railroad in 1914
Headquarters	United States
Area served	New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
Products	Rail transport services

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, founded in 1833 and commonly referred to as the Lake Shore, played a significant role in the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route connecting Buffalo, New York, with Chicago, Illinois. Its primary route traced the southern shoreline of Lake Erie, passing through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and northern Indiana. This corridor continues to be a crucial rail artery, with ownership since 1998 split at Cleveland between CSX Transportation operating east of the city and Norfolk Southern Railway to the west.

Toledo to Chicago

On April 22, 1833, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was chartered within the Territory of Michigan to establish a line running northwest from Port Lawrence (present-day Toledo, Ohio) to Adrian, Michigan. Initially utilizing horse-drawn trains starting in 1836, steam-powered locomotives replaced animal traction by August 1837.

In Indiana, the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad was chartered on February 6, 1835, with plans to link Buffalo, New York, to the Mississippi River. It was renamed the Northern Indiana Railroad in 1837 and intended to extend to Michigan City on Lake Michigan; however, financial difficulties halted progress.

Around 1838, construction began on Michigan’s Southern Railroad from Monroe on Lake Erie heading west toward New Buffalo on Lake Michigan. By 1846, this partially finished route was sold to the Michigan Southern Rail Road, which altered its western endpoint to Chicago by leveraging the Northern Indiana Railroad’s charter. In 1849, Michigan Southern leased the Erie and Kalamazoo line, gaining access to a branch reaching Toledo and connections further east.

Competition from the Michigan Central Railroad led to restrictions in Michigan Southern’s charter that prevented building too close to Indiana’s border east of Constantine. To circumvent this limitation, Judge Stanfield of South Bend acquired a right-of-way near White Pigeon and leased it back to Michigan Southern until legislative changes permitted direct ownership.

The Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad was chartered in 1850 and completed its line from the Michigan Southern boundary westward through Elkhart and South Bend to Chicago by 1852. The Northern Indiana Railroad was also chartered in Ohio in 1851; subsequent consolidations involving these companies and others—including the former Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad—resulted in forming the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad in 1855. By 1858, a direct route known as the "Northern Indiana Air Line" connecting Elkhart eastward to Toledo was finished. This company then controlled a main corridor from Chicago to Toledo with alternative routes through southern Michigan plus branches such as the leased Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad linking Toledo with Detroit.

Erie to Cleveland

The Franklin Canal Company, chartered on May 21, 1844, constructed a railroad extending southwest from Erie, Pennsylvania toward the Ohio state line. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad, incorporated February 18, 1848, built northeastward from Cleveland to connect with the Franklin Canal Company’s line at the state border. The section between Cleveland and Painesville opened on November 20, 1851; service reached Ashtabula by June 16, 1852, and extended to Erie by November 23 of that year. On June 20, 1854, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula acquired ownership of the Franklin Canal Company.

Buffalo to Erie

Incorporated on October 13, 1849, the Buffalo and State Line Railroad commenced service from Dunkirk heading west to Pennsylvania on January 1, 1852, completing the connection to Buffalo by February 17 of the same year. The Erie and North East Railroad, chartered on April 12, 1842, constructed the line extending westward from the state border to Erie, which opened on January 19, 1852. Initially, both railroads operated using a broad gauge of 6 feet; however, in November 1853 they mutually agreed to switch to the standard gauge of 56.5 inches, aligning with the Franklin Canal Company's track for uninterrupted travel through Erie. This change eliminated the need for passengers to transfer trains and triggered the Erie Gauge War. The gauge conversion was finalized by February 1, 1854. Subsequently, on May 15, 1867, these two railroads consolidated into the Buffalo and Erie Railroad.

Cleveland to Toledo

The Junction Railroad, chartered on March 2, 1846, constructed a route from Cleveland westward to Toledo. Meanwhile, the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad, established on March 7, 1850, linked Toledo eastward to Grafton, connecting with the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. This connection opened on December 20, 1852, forming a continuous rail corridor between Buffalo and Chicago. On September 1 of that year, these two companies merged under the name Cleveland and Toledo Railroad, designating the Junction Railroad as its Northern Division and the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland as its Southern Division. The Northern Division extended service to Sandusky by October 24, 1853, and reached Toledo by April 24, 1855. Although the stretch west of Sandusky was initially abandoned due to insufficient demand, it was reinstated in 1872 and linked with the Southern Division at Millbury. In 1866, a new routing channeled traffic through Elyria, supplanting the Southern Division east of Oberlin and ending reliance on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad along that segment.

Consolidations

In October 1867, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad took over the lease of the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. On March 31, 1868, this company rebranded as the Lake Shore Railway and fully absorbed the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad by February 1869. Shortly thereafter, on April 6, 1869, the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad merged with Lake Shore to establish the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (LS&MS), which incorporated the Buffalo and Erie Railroad in June of that year. This consolidation created an unbroken rail link stretching from Buffalo to Chicago. The LS&MS main line served important markets such as Dunkirk, Erie, Ashtabula, Cleveland, Toledo, Waterloo (Indiana), and South Bend. By 1872 an alternative route in Ohio known as the Sandusky Division was completed. The Old Road segment from Toledo to Elkhart passed northward through southern Michigan as part of the Air Line Division. Branch lines like the Monroe Branch connected Adrian with Monroe and intersected with the leased Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad. Eventually, the original Toledo line west of Jackson was abandoned in favor of a newer junction at Lenawee.

The railway established its initial major repair facility in Elkhart, Indiana in 1851. This shop expanded steadily into the early twentieth century to employ approximately 1,500 workers. A second repair center opened in Collinwood near Cleveland in 1874; by 1901 this facility underwent a $2 million expansion transforming it into a significant maintenance hub that employed over 2,000 personnel by the 1920s. In addition, a freight car repair shop was inaugurated in Ashtabula in 1913 to service ore and coal cars destined for port operations. By 1952 repair functions were centralized at Collinwood as part of a broader dieselization initiative.

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway: 1869–1914

By approximately 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt, a prominent industrialist, gained controlling interest in LS&MS through his New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. This takeover effectively extended New York Central’s principal route from Buffalo to Chicago and connected it with international corridors via the Canada Southern Railway and the Michigan Central Railroad.

A significant incident occurred on December 29, 1876, when the Pacific Express train encountered a devastating bridge failure at Ashtabula, Ohio. The tragedy resulted in 92 deaths and 64 injuries, underscoring the dangers associated with rapidly expanding rail infrastructure.

New York Central Railroad: 1914–1968

On December 22, 1914, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway combined with the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, creating the New York Central Railroad. The northern route, known as the Sandusky Division, ultimately became the primary main line, supplanting the original southern pathway between Toledo and Elyria.

Post-NYC: 1968–present

In 1968, a merger between New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad, and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad resulted in the formation of Penn Central Transportation Company. Penn Central declared bankruptcy within two years and was incorporated into Conrail in 1976. That same year saw abandonment of the Southern Division segment running from Elyria to Millbury; parts of this corridor have been repurposed as the North Coast Inland Trail. Under Conrail management, the Lake Shore main line was integrated into the New York City–Chicago Chicago Line.

Following Conrail’s division in 1998 between CSX and Norfolk Southern, CSX assumed control of the Chicago Line east of Cleveland. CSX segmented this stretch into subdivisions: Lake Shore (Buffalo to Erie), Erie West (Erie to just east of Cleveland), and Cleveland Terminal (leading into downtown Cleveland). Westward from Cleveland to Chicago, Norfolk Southern operates that portion of the Chicago Line.

Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited passenger service runs along this corridor from Buffalo westward toward Chicago. The Floridian also traversed Cleveland via a connection from a former Pennsylvania Railroad route linking Washington, D.C., to Chicago. While early passenger trains terminated at LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, current services use Union Station after switching at Whiting, Indiana onto a former Pennsylvania Railroad track.

Branches

An important branch line stretched from northeastern Ohio into northwestern Pennsylvania’s coal and oil regions, ending near Brookville. Initially servicing oil refineries along the Allegheny River at Franklin and Oil City, it was later extended westward from Polk Junction (located west of Franklin) to Rose near Brookville. Additionally, a southern spur from Franklin connected to an Allegheny River crossing on this extension.

This branch incorporated notable engineering accomplishments such as extensive trestles, bridges, and tunnels—including a complex sequence involving both bridge and tunnel near Piney—and two prominent trestles close to Corsica. The New York Central utilized trackage rights over Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio lines to link Rose with Clearfield.

The route supported multiple mining operations near Brookville and intersected with the Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad at Sutton. It also connected through Pennsylvania Railroad lines to Pittsburgh & Shawmut.

Following a decline in coal shipments during the late 1990s, this branch was shortened to terminate at Piney mine. Numerous large trestles were dismantled in the late 2000s under directives from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; however, as of 2015, the bridge spanning the Clarion River remained intact.

Station listing - Main Line

... (rest of table continues similarly with reduced detail) ...

State	Station	City	Closed	Connections and notes
New York	Buffalo	Buffalo		Served by Amtrak Empire Service and Maple Leaf; home to Lake Shore Railway Museum
	Lackawanna	Lackawanna	1920s
	West Seneca
	Blasdell	Blasdell	1920s
	Bay View		1940s
	Athol Springs	Athol Springs	1940s
	Wanakah		1920s
	Lake View	Lake View	1940s
	North Evans
	Derby	Derby	1940s
	Angola	Angola	1950s
	Farnham	Farnham	1940s
	Irving	Irving	1940s
	Silver Creek	Silver Creek	1950s
	Waites Crossing		1920s
	Dunkirk	Dunkirk	1971

References

Corporate History of North American Railroads
History of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company
Extract from "History of St. Joseph County, Indiana" (1880)
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway System and Representative Employees Biographical Publishing Company, 1900
J. David Ingles, IC may get new Chicago entrance, Trains June 1999
Mileposts sourced from CSX Transportation Timetables
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, Published: 1989