Pere Marquette Railroad

Pere Marquette Railway
Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western Railroad, Chicago & West Michigan Railway
Founded	November 1, 1899; 127 years ago
Defunct	June 6, 1947
Fate	Merged into Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Successor	Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Headquarters	Grand Rapids, United States
Area served	Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario
Key people	Oris Van Sweringen, Mantis Van Sweringen, William L. Mercereau (superintendent of car ferries)
Products	Rail transport services
Parent	Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (from 1929)

The Pere Marquette Railway served the Great Lakes area in the United States and southern Ontario, operating tracks across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario. Its important junctions included Buffalo, Toledo, and Chicago. The railway took its name from Jacques Marquette, who established Michigan’s earliest European settlement.

History

Formed on November 1, 1899, the Pere Marquette commenced service on January 1, 1900, following the consolidation of three Michigan railroads:

Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM)
Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western Railroad (DGR&W)
Chicago & West Michigan Railway (C&WM)

Initially, maintenance facilities were located in Saginaw, Michigan; however, by 1905, Grand Rapids became the central hub for rolling stock repairs at the Wyoming Shops. These shops expanded in 1923 and were upgraded to accommodate diesel locomotives by 1946. The adjacent roundhouse was progressively dismantled by CSX by 1984.

After reorganizing as the Pere Marquette Railway in 1917, control shifted during the 1920s to Cleveland financiers Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen. The Van Sweringen brothers also held stakes in other significant railroads such as the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), intending to merge four railroads. The Interstate Commerce Commission denied this merger request; as a result, the Van Sweringens sold their Pere Marquette holdings to C&O in 1929. The Pere Marquette continued independent operations until it was fully absorbed into C&O on June 6, 1947. Four decades later, C&O itself became part of CSX Transportation.

In 1984, Amtrak designated its Chicago–Grand Rapids route as the Pere Marquette service.

The steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225 served as inspiration for the 2004 movie The Polar Express, highlighting the railroad’s lasting cultural influence. This engine is preserved at the Steam Railroading Institute located in Owosso, Michigan.

Surviving steam locomotives

PM 1223 - A 2-8-4 "Berkshire" locomotive exhibited at Chinook Pier in Grand Haven, Michigan. PM 1223 holds the distinction of being the oldest surviving 2-8-4 engine in the United States.
PM 1225 - Another 2-8-4 "Berkshire" locomotive that remains operational under the care of the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan. It was featured using motion-capture technology in the film The Polar Express released in 2004.

1907 wreck

On July 20, 1907, an excursion train carrying approximately 800 passengers collided with a freight train near Salem, resulting in 31 fatalities and over 100 injuries. This tragedy was caused by a misinterpreted handwritten timetable alongside safety shortcomings such as inadequate car construction materials. It stands as the deadliest rail accident in Michigan’s history.

Routes and current disposition

Toledo Division – Running from Saginaw to Alexis and continuing to Toledo, Ohio via trackage rights over the Ann Arbor Railroad. South of Plymouth, CSX manages operations while north of Plymouth is leased to Lake State Railway.
Ludington Division – Extends between Saginaw and Ludington, Michigan. Parts have been converted into the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail; segments are operated by Marquette Rail and Lake State Railway; other sections were removed by 1991; ferry services ceased in 1990.
Detroit Division – Connects Detroit with Grand Rapids, Michigan, currently under CSX operation.
Grand Rapids Division – Links Elmdale, Michigan to Saginaw; the Alma-Saginaw portion is utilized by Mid-Michigan Railroad.
Chicago Division – Runs from Grand Rapids to Porter, Indiana, with trackage rights extending service into Chicago; operated by CSX.
- La Crosse Branch – Spanning from New Buffalo, Michigan to La Crosse, Indiana. The northern segment beyond Wellsboro was abandoned in 1989; Wellsboro to La Crosse is managed by Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad.
Petoskey Division – From Grand Rapids to Bay View, Michigan, origin point of the Chicago and Detroit-Bay View Resort Special. Operations are divided between Marquette Rail (Grand Rapids-Manistee) and Great Lakes Central Railroad (Grawn-Williamsburg); remaining portions dismantled following abandonment post-1983.
Canadian Division – Covers Canadian routes including Windsor and Sarnia through Blenheim to St. Thomas and extends eastward toward Buffalo using Canada Southern Railway trackage rights.
Saginaw Subdivisions – Multiple routes connecting Saginaw with Port Huron via two different corridors plus Bay City. Most sections were abandoned between 1951 and 1988; some stretches remain active under Huron and Eastern Railway management.

Car Ferries

The Pere Marquette operated a fleet of rail car ferries traversing the Detroit River, St. Clair River, as well as Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. Its vessels on Lake Michigan linked Ludington, Michigan with Milwaukee, Kewaunee, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, establishing an essential transportation corridor that circumvented delays commonly experienced around southern Lake Michigan and the Chicago area. William L. Mercereau held the position of superintendent for more than three decades.

Pere Marquette 18

On the night of September 10, 1910, the SS Pere Marquette No. 18 sank near midnight while traveling from Ludington to Milwaukee, carrying 29 railroad freight cars and 62 passengers and crew. To combat flooding, the captain ordered nine railcars to be cast overboard, but despite these efforts, the ship went down shortly after assistance arrived from SS Pere Marquette 17. This tragedy claimed 29 lives. The precise location of the wreck remained unknown until July 23, 2020, when explorers using sonar and underwater cameras identified it resting at approximately 500 feet below the surface.

References

External links