Grand Trunk Western Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway
(CN), constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division (itself part of CN's Southern Region).
It currently operates in Michigan
, Ohio
, Indiana
and Illinois
, forming the CN mainline from Port Huron, Michigan
to Chicago, Illinois, as well as serving Detroit, Michigan
and Toledo, Ohio
.
The GTW gained fame among railfans for being one of the last North America
n railroads to use steam locomotive
s in regular service, which lasted until 1960. Since a corporate restructuring by CN in 1971 the railroad has been placed under a subsidiary holding company known as the Grand Trunk Corporation
.
Grand Trunk Western's mainline runs between Chicago, Illinois and Port Huron, Michigan
. It serves as a connection between the railroad interchanges in Chicago and the rail lines in eastern Canada
and the Northeastern United States
. The railroad also has lines from Detroit, Michigan
to Durand, Michigan
, and from Detroit to Port Huron. Both lines connect with the Chicago-Port Huron main line. A route also connects Detroit with Toledo, Ohio, and a short branch connects the Chicago-Port Huron line with Kalamazoo. GTW's presence in Detroit and the Michigan cities of Flint, Pontiac and Lansing has made it an essential link for the automotive industry
. For many decades, GTW has been a major hauler of automobiles and auto parts.
Starting in the mid 2000's, Canadian National Railway began retiring many of the Grand Trunk's locomotives, and only a handful of locomotives (consisting of mostly GP38-2's) are still in service. It is not known if Canadian National will purchase any new locomotives for the railroad, or if the Grand Trunk image will fade away entirely.
In 1880 the Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway was created by Canada's Grand Trunk Railway
, GTR, to build a line linking Canada to Chicago across lower Michigan. GTR, predecessor to the Canadian National Railway
, CNR, wanted to avoid the expensive cost of using Cornelius Vanderbilt
's Michigan Central Railroad
as a way into Chicago. The route eventually became the Grand Trunk Western Railway which was amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway in 1923.
On November 1, 1928, CN created the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company by consolidating most of its operating subsidiaries in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, which had been operated under the umbrella name Grand Trunk Railway System:
The Cincinnati, Saginaw and Mackinaw Railroad was also part of the system, but only leased, not consolidated until January 1, 1943. The GTW absorbed the Muskegon Railway and Navigation Company on August 23, 1955.
The Grand Trunk Western and the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
(Nickel Plate) co-owned the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad
. It was a small carrier that had a multi-track mainline bridging Detroit and Toledo and served major industries. GTW eventually took complete control of the line from the Norfolk and Western Railway
, successor to the Nickel Plate, in April 1981, and consolidated it on October 1, 1981.
In June 1980 GTW purchased the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad
from the Penn Central Corporation, which increased its trackage around Detroit's industries and gave it routes into Ohio. The DT&I was fully merged into GTW in December 1983.
It also attempted to buy the Milwaukee Road to create a connection with its corporate cousin the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway
. It would have given GTW trackage from Chicago to northern Minnesota
but its bid was rejected.
GTW major terminals and rail yards are located in Detroit, Battle Creek
, Durand
, Flint
, Port Huron
and Pontiac
, as well as Elsdon Yard on Chicago's southwest side. Elsdon Yard is now closed. The Chicago board, also known as the Elsdon board, operates out of Markham yard (CN/IC yard).
The St. Clair River Tunnel, completed in 1891 between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
, connected Grand Trunk with its parent CNR. On April 5, 1995, Canadian National opened a new, larger tunnel next to the original 1891 tunnel. The new tunnel can accommodate double stacked intermodal
containers and tri-level auto carriers used in freight service.
in Detroit. Passenger operations were handed over to Amtrak
in 1971. Amtrak's Chicago to Port Huron trains, known as its Blue Water Service, operates over GTW's route between Battle Creek and Port Huron.
GTW along with the Erie Railroad
, Wabash Railroad
, Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
and Monon Railroad
was a co-owner of the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad
, C&WI, which performed passenger and express car switching at Dearborn Station in Chicago. The group also ended up creating the Belt Railway Company of Chicago that connected every rail line in Chicago.
The railroad also operated suburban commuter trains between downtown Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan
from August 1931 until January 1974 when the now defunct SEMTA (Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority) took over operating the commuter trains. Amtrak’s Detroit–Chicago trains now originate or terminate over this former commuter line making stops in the northern Detroit suburbs of Pontiac, Birmingham
and Royal Oak, Michigan
.
service across the St. Clair River
between Port Huron and Sarnia and a railcar ferry service across the Detroit River
between Detroit
and Windsor, Ontario. It also ran car ferries across Lake Michigan
from Muskegon, Michigan
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. Originally the ferries originated in Grand Haven, Michigan. The lake ferries were operated by GTW's subsidiary Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
. GTW's Lake Michigan car ferry fleet of steamers included the SS Grand Haven, SS Milwaukee
(which was lost in a storm in October 1929), Grand Rapids, Madison and the City of Milwaukee.
The Detroit River ferries ceased running in 1975. They were replaced with trackage rights over the Penn Central through PC's Detroit River Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario
. Construction of Renaissance Center in Detroit starting in 1973 necessitated the demolition of GTW's Brush Street Station and carferry slip.
GTW discontinued the Lake Michigan carferries in October 1978. The St. Clair River ferries had initially been discontinued circa 1891 when the first St. Clair Tunnel opened, but were reinstated in 1971 due to clearance problems for some cars at the tunnel. In 1995 when the larger St. Clair tunnel opened, the ferries ceased operation on the river. The CN/GTW ferries at Port Huron were the last railcar ferrying operation in Great Lakes waters.
styles with its own name on the previous "tilted shield" and "Maple Leaf" logos. In 1960, GTW had its own initials incorporated into the "wet noodle" logo. However, in 1971 GTW broke tradition and began receiving its new locomotives in its now famous bright blue, red/orange and white scheme. In 1975 the railroad adopted its company slogan: The Good Track Road. This slogan highlighted GTW's track maintenance efforts, in a time when many Eastern railroads suffered from deferred maintenance.
In December 1991, Canadian National began a corporate image program to consolidate all of its U.S. railroads under the CN North America brand. Grand Trunk Western along with other CN owned subsidiaries would see their images replaced with the CN logo and name. All GTW corporate identification and that of its new corporate cousins the Illinois Central Railroad
, IC (acquired by CN in 1999) and Wisconsin Central Ltd., WC (acquired by CN in 2001) are referred to with CN’s corporate image. However, while each railroad’s locomotives would receive CN’s black, Grey #17 and Red-Orange #11 colors and logo they would still retain their respective reporting marks, GTW, IC or WC, on each of their locomotives.
Despite the corporate re-branding, for many years GTW's blue colors and "GT" logo persisted on rolling stock and locomotives. The image has become more rare with each passing year, however.
CN’s subsidiary Grand Trunk Corporation
now controls almost all of CN's U.S. operations which include Grand Trunk Western, Illinois Central, Wisconsin Central, Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific and Great Lakes Transportation
, GLT, which includes the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad, B&LE and the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
, DMIR. The Association of American Railroads
has considered the Grand Trunk Corporation as a single Class I railroad
since 2002.
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(CN), constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division (itself part of CN's Southern Region).
It currently operates in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, forming the CN mainline from Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...
to Chicago, Illinois, as well as serving Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
The GTW gained fame among railfans for being one of the last North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n railroads to use steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s in regular service, which lasted until 1960. Since a corporate restructuring by CN in 1971 the railroad has been placed under a subsidiary holding company known as the Grand Trunk Corporation
Grand Trunk Corporation
The Grand Trunk Corporation is the subsidiary holding company for the Canadian National Railway's properties in the United States. It is named for the former Grand Trunk Railway, which CN absorbed in the early 1920s...
.
Grand Trunk Western's mainline runs between Chicago, Illinois and Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...
. It serves as a connection between the railroad interchanges in Chicago and the rail lines in eastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. The railroad also has lines from Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
to Durand, Michigan
Durand, Michigan
Durand is a city in Shiawassee County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,933.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.-Demographics:...
, and from Detroit to Port Huron. Both lines connect with the Chicago-Port Huron main line. A route also connects Detroit with Toledo, Ohio, and a short branch connects the Chicago-Port Huron line with Kalamazoo. GTW's presence in Detroit and the Michigan cities of Flint, Pontiac and Lansing has made it an essential link for the automotive industry
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
. For many decades, GTW has been a major hauler of automobiles and auto parts.
Starting in the mid 2000's, Canadian National Railway began retiring many of the Grand Trunk's locomotives, and only a handful of locomotives (consisting of mostly GP38-2's) are still in service. It is not known if Canadian National will purchase any new locomotives for the railroad, or if the Grand Trunk image will fade away entirely.
History
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
, GTR, to build a line linking Canada to Chicago across lower Michigan. GTR, predecessor to the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
, CNR, wanted to avoid the expensive cost of using Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
's Michigan Central Railroad
Michigan Central Railroad
The Michigan Central Railroad was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada...
as a way into Chicago. The route eventually became the Grand Trunk Western Railway which was amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway in 1923.
On November 1, 1928, CN created the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company by consolidating most of its operating subsidiaries in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, which had been operated under the umbrella name Grand Trunk Railway System:
- Grand Trunk Western Railway
- Bay City Terminal Railway
- Chicago, Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railroad
- Chicago and Kalamazoo Terminal Railroad
- Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee RailwayDetroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee RailwayThe Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway is a defunct railroad which operated in the US state of Michigan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
- Detroit and Huron Railway
- Grand Rapids Terminal RailroadGrand Rapids Terminal RailroadThe Grand Rapids Terminal Railroad was a terminal railroad in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Established about 1906, it was absorbed by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in 1928....
- Michigan Air Line Railway
- Pontiac, Oxford and Northern Railroad
- Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon RailwayToledo, Saginaw and Muskegon RailwayThe Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway is a defunct railroad incorporated in January, 1886. The railroad offered service between Ashley, Michigan and Muskegon, Michigan starting on August 1, 1888...
The Cincinnati, Saginaw and Mackinaw Railroad was also part of the system, but only leased, not consolidated until January 1, 1943. The GTW absorbed the Muskegon Railway and Navigation Company on August 23, 1955.
The Grand Trunk Western and the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
(Nickel Plate) co-owned the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad
Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad
The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan.The Pleasant Bay Railway was incorporated in Michigan in March 1898 and purchased the Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway, an Ohio company incorporated in January 1898, in...
. It was a small carrier that had a multi-track mainline bridging Detroit and Toledo and served major industries. GTW eventually took complete control of the line from the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
, successor to the Nickel Plate, in April 1981, and consolidated it on October 1, 1981.
In June 1980 GTW purchased the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad
The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...
from the Penn Central Corporation, which increased its trackage around Detroit's industries and gave it routes into Ohio. The DT&I was fully merged into GTW in December 1983.
It also attempted to buy the Milwaukee Road to create a connection with its corporate cousin the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway
Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway
The Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway is a subsidiary railroad of Canadian National Railway operating in northern Minnesota, United States. A CN system-wide rebranding beginning in 1995 has seen the DWP logo and name largely replaced by its parent company...
. It would have given GTW trackage from Chicago to northern Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
but its bid was rejected.
GTW major terminals and rail yards are located in Detroit, Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
, Durand
Durand, Michigan
Durand is a city in Shiawassee County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,933.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.-Demographics:...
, Flint
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, Port Huron
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...
and Pontiac
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
, as well as Elsdon Yard on Chicago's southwest side. Elsdon Yard is now closed. The Chicago board, also known as the Elsdon board, operates out of Markham yard (CN/IC yard).
The St. Clair River Tunnel, completed in 1891 between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, connected Grand Trunk with its parent CNR. On April 5, 1995, Canadian National opened a new, larger tunnel next to the original 1891 tunnel. The new tunnel can accommodate double stacked intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
containers and tri-level auto carriers used in freight service.
Passenger trains
Grand Trunk Western's primary passenger trains were The Maple Leaf, the International Limited, the Inter-City Limited and The LaSalle, which provided service between Chicago’s Dearborn Station and Toronto Union Station. In 1967, GTW introduced The Mohawk as a fast through train between Chicago and Brush Street StationBrush Street Station
Brush Street Station was the Grand Trunk Western Railroad passenger depot in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The station was located at Brush Street between Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit River....
in Detroit. Passenger operations were handed over to Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
in 1971. Amtrak's Chicago to Port Huron trains, known as its Blue Water Service, operates over GTW's route between Battle Creek and Port Huron.
GTW along with the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
, Wabash Railroad
Wabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
, Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two World Wars before being purchased by the Missouri Pacific...
and Monon Railroad
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
was a co-owner of the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad
Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad
The Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad was the owner of Dearborn Station in Chicago and the trackage leading to it. It was owned equally by five of the railroads using it to reach the terminal, and kept those companies from needing their own lines into the city...
, C&WI, which performed passenger and express car switching at Dearborn Station in Chicago. The group also ended up creating the Belt Railway Company of Chicago that connected every rail line in Chicago.
The railroad also operated suburban commuter trains between downtown Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
from August 1931 until January 1974 when the now defunct SEMTA (Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority) took over operating the commuter trains. Amtrak’s Detroit–Chicago trains now originate or terminate over this former commuter line making stops in the northern Detroit suburbs of Pontiac, Birmingham
Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
and Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
.
Car ferries
GTW also operated rail-bargeTrain ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
service across the St. Clair River
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
between Port Huron and Sarnia and a railcar ferry service across the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
between Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and Windsor, Ontario. It also ran car ferries across Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
from Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. Originally the ferries originated in Grand Haven, Michigan. The lake ferries were operated by GTW's subsidiary Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
The Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company was the Grand Trunk Western Railroad's subsidiary company operating its Lake Michigan railroad car ferry operations between Muskegon, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1905 to 1978...
. GTW's Lake Michigan car ferry fleet of steamers included the SS Grand Haven, SS Milwaukee
SS Milwaukee
The SS Milwaukee was a train ferry that served on Lake Michigan. It was launched in 1902 and sank with all hands off Milwaukee on 22 October 1929. 52 men were lost with the vessel. -On the Milwaukee run: 1908–1929:...
(which was lost in a storm in October 1929), Grand Rapids, Madison and the City of Milwaukee.
The Detroit River ferries ceased running in 1975. They were replaced with trackage rights over the Penn Central through PC's Detroit River Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
. Construction of Renaissance Center in Detroit starting in 1973 necessitated the demolition of GTW's Brush Street Station and carferry slip.
GTW discontinued the Lake Michigan carferries in October 1978. The St. Clair River ferries had initially been discontinued circa 1891 when the first St. Clair Tunnel opened, but were reinstated in 1971 due to clearance problems for some cars at the tunnel. In 1995 when the larger St. Clair tunnel opened, the ferries ceased operation on the river. The CN/GTW ferries at Port Huron were the last railcar ferrying operation in Great Lakes waters.
Grand Trunk Corporation
Grand Trunk Western has always shared equipment, color schemes and corporate logos with parent company Canadian National. It followed CN's heraldHeraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
styles with its own name on the previous "tilted shield" and "Maple Leaf" logos. In 1960, GTW had its own initials incorporated into the "wet noodle" logo. However, in 1971 GTW broke tradition and began receiving its new locomotives in its now famous bright blue, red/orange and white scheme. In 1975 the railroad adopted its company slogan: The Good Track Road. This slogan highlighted GTW's track maintenance efforts, in a time when many Eastern railroads suffered from deferred maintenance.
In December 1991, Canadian National began a corporate image program to consolidate all of its U.S. railroads under the CN North America brand. Grand Trunk Western along with other CN owned subsidiaries would see their images replaced with the CN logo and name. All GTW corporate identification and that of its new corporate cousins the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
, IC (acquired by CN in 1999) and Wisconsin Central Ltd., WC (acquired by CN in 2001) are referred to with CN’s corporate image. However, while each railroad’s locomotives would receive CN’s black, Grey #17 and Red-Orange #11 colors and logo they would still retain their respective reporting marks, GTW, IC or WC, on each of their locomotives.
Despite the corporate re-branding, for many years GTW's blue colors and "GT" logo persisted on rolling stock and locomotives. The image has become more rare with each passing year, however.
CN’s subsidiary Grand Trunk Corporation
Grand Trunk Corporation
The Grand Trunk Corporation is the subsidiary holding company for the Canadian National Railway's properties in the United States. It is named for the former Grand Trunk Railway, which CN absorbed in the early 1920s...
now controls almost all of CN's U.S. operations which include Grand Trunk Western, Illinois Central, Wisconsin Central, Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific and Great Lakes Transportation
Great Lakes Transportation
Great Lakes Transportation LLC is a group of transportation related companies primarily consisting of rail and water carriers catering to the needs of the steel making industry centered around the Great Lakes of North America...
, GLT, which includes the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad, B&LE and the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
, DMIR. The Association of American Railroads
Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
has considered the Grand Trunk Corporation as a single Class I railroad
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
since 2002.