Indiana and Michigan Railroad

Chicago and West Michigan Railway

Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad, Grand Haven Railroad, Indiana and Michigan Railroad
Founded	October 1, 1881 (1881-10-01)
Defunct	1899 (1899)
Fate	Merged to form Pere Marquette Railway
Headquarters	United States
Area served	Michigan, Indiana

The Chicago and West Michigan Railway (C&WM) was a railroad operating within Michigan from 1881 until 1899 and was among the trio of railroads that combined to establish the Pere Marquette Railway.

Established on October 1, 1881, the C&WM emerged through the merger of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, the Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad, the Grand Haven Railroad, and the Indiana and Michigan Railroad.

Network

At its founding, the C&WM managed roughly of rail lines:

Line	Length	Original company
New Buffalo–Holland–Muskegon–Pentwater	169.5 miles (272.8 km)	Chicago & West Michigan (C&WM) and Grand Haven (GH)
Holland–Grand Rapids–White Cloud	70 miles (110 km)	C&WM and Grand Rapids, Newaygo & Lake Shore (GRN&LS)
Allegan–Holland	23 miles (37 km)	GH
Muskegon–Big Rapids	51.2 miles (82.4 km)	GH
Mears–Hart	3.3 miles (5.3 km)	C&WM
Fruitport–Muskegon	13.5 miles (21.7 km)	Grand Rapids & Lake Shore (C&MLS)
White Cloud–Bitely	17 miles (27 km)	White River (WR) (leased)

The initial growth of C&WM came in 1882 with a southern extension connecting New Buffalo to La Crosse, Indiana. Two years later, in 1884, the company acquired the White River Railroad, which added a stretch from White Cloud to Baldwin that linked with the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad. By 1890, the railway expanded further northward from Baldwin by an additional distance reaching Traverse City.

On February 28, 1891, C&WM established the Chicago and North Michigan Railroad to construct a further northern extension spanning to Bay View, completed in 1892. This project also included a branch line running from Williamsburg to Elk Rapids.

In collaboration with William Alden Smith in 1897, C&WM facilitated construction of a route southeast from Rapid City through Kalkaska heading toward northern Missaukee County. This line was finished by the Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad in 1898 and subsequently leased to C&WM in 1899; it was officially merged into Pere Marquette in 1903.

The year 1899 saw C&WM merge with both the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway and Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad to create the Pere Marquette Railway. Nevertheless, due to legal complications involving property transfers within Indiana, C&WM continued as a dormant subsidiary there until March 12, 1917.

At present, only certain sections remain operational: New Buffalo to Holland, Holland to Hamilton, Grand Rapids to Ludington, Walhalla to Manistee, and Grawn to Williamsburg. The majority of other routes were dismantled during 1982-83 following their abandonment by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.