map of GTW predecessor railroads]]
is the American arm of
Canadian National (CN; AAR reporting mark CNA) operating in
Michigan ,
Illinois ,
Indiana and
Ohio . Since a corporate restructuring by CN in
1971 the railroad has been under a subsidiary holding company known as the
Grand Trunk Corporation .
Grand Trunk Western’s mainline, known as its Chicago Division, 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 extensive trackage in
Detroit, Michigan , and Ohio. Its presence in Detroit has made the railroad an essential link for the
Automotive Industry . GTW has become known as a major hauler of parts and autos from manufacturing plants around Detroit and across Michigan.
Grand Trunk Western was made up of several smaller railroads in Michigan including the following:
- Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway
- Chicago, Detroit & Grand Trunk Junction
- Michigan Air-Line Railway
- Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway
- Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon
- Detroit & Huron
- Detroit & Pontiac
- Peninsular Railroad Company
- Pontiac, Oxford & Northern Railroad
In 1880 the was created by Canada's
Grand Trunk Railway System , '''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 May 9, 1928 Canadian National consolidated all of its rail lines in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana and formed the '''Grand Trunk Western Railroad''', a separate company owned by CNR that operated its routes in the United States.
Grand Trunk Western and the
Nickel Plate Railroad (NKP) co-owned the
Detroit And Toledo Shore Line Railroad (DTSL). 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.
In 1980 GTW purchased the
Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad (AAR reporting mark DTI) which increased its trackage around Detroit's industries and gave it routes into Ohio. DT&I was fully merged into GTW in Dec., 1983.
It also attempted to buy The
Milwaukee Road (AAR reporting mark MILW) to create a connection with its corporate cousin the
Duluth, Winnipeg And Pacific (AAR reporting mark DWP). 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 west 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, Canada , 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
1975 GTW also obtained trackage rights with
Penn Central (AAR reporting mark PC) to use its
Detroit River Tunnel between Detroit and
Windsor, Ontario .
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 ''The Mohawk'' as a fast through train between Chicago and
Brush Street Station in Detroit. Passenger operations were handed over to
Amtrak (AAR reporting mark AMTK) 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 trains now originate or terminate over this former commuter line making stops in the northern
Detroit suburbs of Pontiac,
Birmingham and
Royal Oak, Michigan .
GTW also operated rail-barge 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 ferry vessels across
Lake Michigan from
Grand Haven , and
Muskegon, Michigan to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin . 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. The Lake Michigan ferry operations were discontinued 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 a larger St. Clair river tunnel opened that allowed ''double decker'' trains to cross into Sarnia and the ferries ceased operation on the river.
seen here at
Senatobia, Mississippi on December 4, 2006, is an example of GTW power.]]
Grand Trunk Western has always shared equipment, color schemes and corporate logos with parent company Canadian National. It followed CN's
Herald 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 as seen in the photo at the right. At the same time the railroad would also adopt its company slogan; ''The Good Track Road.''
In 1995, Canadian National began a corporate image program to consolidate all of its U.S. railroads under the brand (AAR reporting mark CNA). 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, white and Morency Orange colors and logo they would still retain their respective reporting marks, GTW, IC or WC, on each of their locomotives.
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 .
- In 1859, a 12 year-old Thomas A. Edison was given his first job as a newsboy on the Grand Trunk line between Port Huron and Detroit.
- Grand Trunk Western was one of the last North America n railroads to use Steam Locomotive s in regular service, until 1960.
- The band Grand Funk Railroad derived its name from Grand Trunk Western Railroad. The railroad runs through the city of Flint, Mich., where the band originated.
