The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 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 of road and of track; that year it reported 4,304,000 net ton-miles of revenue freight and 600 million passenger-miles. Genealogy Michigan Central Railroad Battle Creek and Bay City Railroad 1889 Buchanan and St. Joseph River Railroad 1897 Central Railroad of Michigan 1837–1846 Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad 1831–1837 Detroit and Bay City Railroad 1881 Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad 1916 Frederick and Charlevoix Railroad 1901 Detroit River Tunnel Company Railroad 1918 Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad 1871 Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad 1866 Grand River Valley Railroad 1870 Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad 1851 Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad 1870 Michigan Air Line Railway 1870 Michigan Midland and Canada Railroad 1878 Saginaw Bay and Northwestern Railroad 1884 Pinconning Railroad 1879 Glencoe, Pinconning and Lake Shore Railroad 1878 St. Louis, Sturgis and Battle Creek Railroad 1889 History The line between Detroit and St. Joseph, Michigan, was originally planned in 1830 to provide freight service between Detroit and Chicago by train to St. Joseph and via boat service on to Chicago. The Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad was chartered in 1831 with a capital of $1,500,000. The railroad actually began construction on May 18, 1836, starting at "King's Corner" in Detroit, which was the name by which the southeast corner of Jefferson and Woodward Avenue was then known. Note that this is not the location of Michigan Central Station, which apparently replaced this building. The small private organization, known then as the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad, quickly ran into problems securing cheap land in the private market, and abandonment of the project was discussed. The City of Detroit invested $50,000 in the project. The State of Michigan bailed out the railroad in 1837 by purchasing it and investing $5,000,000. The now state-owned company was renamed the Central Railroad of Michigan. By 1840 the railroad was again out of