Michigan Central and ceased to exist as an independent company; the Michigan Air Line Railway merged with the Grand Trunk Western in 1928. In 1984, Grand Trunk Western sold an 8-mile stretch of track between Wixom (CSX line) and West Bloomfield in Oakland County to Coe Rail, Inc. It operated the Michigan Star Clipper Dinner Train and a small freight division. In 2006, Railmark Holdings acquired Coe Rail and in 2007, it renamed the line to the Michigan Air-Line Railway, essentially back to its original name. The Michigan Star Clipper Dinner Train made its last excursion on 31 December 2008 and was retired from service completely in January 2009. On 12 November 2009, Railmark sold the Michigan Air-Line Railway to the Nebraska-based Browner Turnout Company. In January 2011, Michigan Air-Line Railway applied to abandon its route, resulting in freight operations ending in December 2011. The railroad saw its last trains on 25 March 2012, consisting of moving equipment from Walled Lake to Wixom. It was removed between Wixom and West Bloomfield beginning in May of 2012. This left the last original main-line segment of the original Michigan Air Line Railroad abandoned. In February 2015, the city of Walled Lake began drafting plans to convert the Wixom to West Bloomfield portion into a rail trail known as the Michigan Air Line Trail. The pedestrian bridge over M-5 was completed in 2018, with the remainder of the trail finished in 2020. This completes the continuous trail from Wixom to Pontiac. As of May 2019, portions of the original railroad continue to serve many industries, but these lines are no longer mainline routes; they are only smaller spurs. See also Chicago and Canada Southern Railway, another partially built western extension of the Canada Southern Railway References External links History of the Michigan Air-Line Railroad Company History of the Michigan Central Railroad Company South Lyon Depot (Witch's Hat) Companies affiliated with the Michigan Central Railroad Grand Trunk Railway subsidiaries Defunct Michigan railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Illinois railroads Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Predecessors of the Grand Trunk Railway Railway companies established in 1868 Railway companies disestablished in 1916 1868 establishments in Michigan