Cadillac, MI trackage history question

[GP30M4216]

Question for the group: what is the history of this connecting line between the AA west of town and the former GR&I yard and mainline heading north out of town? Was this line always here before the AA and GR&I were unified into the TSBY operation, or was this a newer construction? It seems like a complex operation to have to run around their train to switch from the Annie to head north onto the GR&I, or vice versa. It seems maintaining the GR&I route through downtown from the diamond site up to the yard would have been much more advantageous and expedient. Was there once a connection track at the AA-GR&I diamond site south of downtown?

[pudgy]

Looks like it was built by the TSBY after consolidating operations.

https://rail.guide/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW ... /-85.40941

[Ben Higdon]

I’ve wondered about this line before. It appears to be an industrial track of the PRR which crossed the AA. The wye tail track on the AA is part of the alignment. If you look at the oldest (1954) aerial on historicaerials, the roundhouse lead, and a property line just north of the oval track at the fairgrounds, also lines up. Perhaps it was an unbuilt ROW that PRR acquired for industrial track within the city. Seems like I’ve seen documentation that PRR and AA shared it but I could be wrong.

[AARR]

This was the Cadillac Beltline. For many years AA and PRR alternated years switching the customers on it. That's about all I can remember right now.

[AANscaleRunner]

Cadillac and Northeastern Railroad, owned by Cummer Lumber Company. Ran approximately 13 miles from Cadillac to Lake City from 1884 to 1900. The track between the Ann Arbor and the Grand Rapids and Indiana was transferred to the GRI around that time. I'm assuming the wye was transferred to the GRI or Ann Arbor at that time also. Information from the various railroad books written by Graydon M. Meints. I highly recommended them as reference sources for Michigan railroads.

[Erroneous Monk]

It seems like a complex operation to have to run around their train to switch from the Annie to head north onto the GR&I, or vice versa. It seems maintaining the GR&I route through downtown from the diamond site up to the yard would have been much more advantageous and expedient.

Seeing as Cadillac has primarily acted as an origination and terminating station in the TSBY/GLC era this set up actually makes more sense. Retaining the GR&I line and removing this route allows for through freight but makes accessing both the Annie and GR&I yards much harder. Under GLC the two yards coexist and are used on a very regular basis and thus quick access to each is preferred. GLC either runs north or south from Caddy with their local freight but almost never through it. In a perfect world both connections would probably be retained but in this case, prioritizing yard access saves much more time than favoring through runs.

I believe the only through trains in Cadillac recently have been to the Yuma sand mine, which would have bypassed the connector entirely.

[MQT1223]

Cadillac and Northeastern Railroad, owned by Cummer Lumber Company. Ran approximately 13 miles from Cadillac to Lake City from 1884 to 1900. The track between the Ann Arbor and the Grand Rapids and Indiana was transferred to the GRI around that time. I'm assuming the wye was transferred to the GRI or Ann Arbor at that time also. Information from the various railroad books written by Graydon M. Meints. I highly recommended them as reference sources for Michigan railroads.

What track ran to the NW in this image?

[joeyuboats]

I believe it was ANN ARBOR, on its way to Frankfort/Elberta.The north- south line was PRR/ PC.

[AARR]

I believe it was ANN ARBOR, on its way to Frankfort/Elberta.The north- south line was PRR/ PC.

I think he’s referring to the line above the AA line. The AA line runs west out of Cadillac.

[AANscaleRunner]

What track ran to the NW in this image?

That should be the Cummer and Diggins logging railroad. It snaked its way northwest towards Mesick, roughly following where M-115 is today. It may also have branched off towards Hoxeyville in the southwest corner of Wexford County.

[MQT1223]

What track ran to the NW in this image?

That should be the Cummer and Diggins logging railroad. It snaked its way northwest towards Mesick, roughly following where M-115 is today. It may also have branched off towards Hoxeyville in the southwest corner of Wexford County.

There are a few places where it looks like a railroad grade crosses M-115 as you head towards Mesick... did they basically build over the logging line with M-115?