Michigan Central Railroad
Michigan Central Railroad (red) and New York Central system (orange) as of 1918 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan |
| Locale | Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario |
| Founder | John Biddle |
| Dates of operation | 1841–1995 |
| Predecessor | Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad |
| Successor | New York Central Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 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. After about 1867 the railroad was controlled by the New York Central Railroad, which later became part of Penn Central and then Conrail. After the 1998 Conrail breakup, Norfolk Southern Railway now owns much of the former Michigan Central trackage.
At the end of 1925, MC operated 1,871 miles (3,011 km) of road and 4,139 miles (6,661 km) of track; that year it reported 4,304,000 net ton-miles of revenue freight and 600 million passenger-miles.