Norman Krentel 400 pages hardcover
Michigan Railway Company: The Northern and Southern Divisions,
the first comprehensive history of the Michigan United Railway Company,
traces the rise and fall of Michigan's most significant electric
railway. This volume covers the company's founding in local rail-based
public transportation systems in Lansing, Jackson, Battle Creek,
Kalamazoo, and Owosso-Corunna and ends with its eventual demise,
abandoned prior to the stock market crash of 1929. Norman L. Krentel
follows the fragments of lines in lower Michigan, which came together to
form the MUR. He examines the interurban lines, which were broken down
into five divisions, each with a separate superintendent. These
divisions were Northern and Southern, which had formerly been Michigan
United Railways; Northwestern, which had been Grand Rapids, Holland, and
Chicago Railway; Western; and Northeastern.
This also explores how electric railway history is intertwined with
the state of Michigan. The interurban electric rail system supported
automobile manufacturing, allowing for the shipment of parts supplies,
and finished automobiles through Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Major auto plants like REO and Oldsmobile had rail sidetracks served by
Michigan Railway's interurban freight trains. Electric railway history
is thus an essential, previously overlooked factor in Michigan's
industrial development.
