89:, which sit northeast of Lansing, successfully lobbied to change the route to run through their cities, then northwest to Traverse Bay. This was a pronounced change from the initial plan, in which the line ran in a straight line northwest from Lansing. The new route's odd shape prompted a Lansing newspaper to dub it the "Ram's Horn Railroad." That epithet had been applied earlier in the decade by Iowa newspaperman James Morgan to a proposed road from
53:
The AL&TB was one of several railroads chartered in the 1850s to take advantage of a land grant program instituted by the federal government. Under an act of 1856 and successive acts
Michigan had in its gift over 5,000,000 acres (20,000 km) of land which could be given to railroads (which
219:
214:
78:
to some point on or near
Traverse Bay." This route would bisect the existing railroad network and provide a railroad connection to Lansing, the new state capital.
209:
224:
229:
59:
54:
would then re-sell these lands for a profit) in exchange for constructing certain routes. At the heart of
Michigan's network at the time were the
204:
104:
48:
100:
The company began by building a 28-mile (45 km) line from
Lansing to Owosso, which it completed in November 1862.
36:
108:
55:
187:
House
Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session
62:, both of which ran east–west across the southern Lower Peninsula. As proposed in the route would run from "
75:
67:
86:
71:
97:, whose route was also determined by political considerations and ultimately was not built.
82:
63:
163:
198:
90:
94:
174:
185:
32:
28:
39:, poor finances and politically motivated routes frustrated these aims.
49:
History of railroads in
Michigan § Land grants and mining roads
31:
during the 1850s and 1860s. Initially planned as an ambitious
81:
Almost immediately local interests intervened: the cities of
149:
Daboll (1906), 464; United States
Congress (1882), 14.
127:
125:
123:
220:Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad
105:Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad Company
8:
165:Past and Present of Clinton County, Michigan
27:is a defunct railroad which operated in the
162:Daboll, Sherman B.; Dean W. Kelley (1906).
35:railroad which would run the length of the
215:Railway companies disestablished in 1867
60:Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
25:Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad
119:
210:Railway companies established in 1857
176:History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa
103:The railroad was sold in 1866 to the
7:
107:, which in turn became part of the
14:
225:Rail lines receiving land grants
230:1857 establishments in Michigan
184:United States Congress (1882).
1:
37:Lower Peninsula of Michigan
246:
205:Defunct Michigan railroads
46:
109:Michigan Central Railroad
56:Michigan Central Railroad
173:Keatley, J. H. (1883).
140:Keatley (1883), 34.
131:Daboll (1906), 464.
29:state of Michigan
237:
191:
180:
169:
150:
147:
141:
138:
132:
129:
245:
244:
240:
239:
238:
236:
235:
234:
195:
194:
183:
172:
161:
158:
153:
148:
144:
139:
135:
130:
121:
117:
51:
45:
21:
20:
19:
12:
11:
5:
243:
241:
233:
232:
227:
222:
217:
212:
207:
197:
196:
193:
192:
181:
179:. O.L. Baskin.
170:
168:. S.J. Clarke.
157:
154:
152:
151:
142:
133:
118:
116:
113:
47:Main article:
44:
41:
17:
16:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
242:
231:
228:
226:
223:
221:
218:
216:
213:
211:
208:
206:
203:
202:
200:
189:
188:
182:
178:
177:
171:
167:
166:
160:
159:
155:
146:
143:
137:
134:
128:
126:
124:
120:
114:
112:
110:
106:
101:
98:
96:
92:
88:
84:
79:
77:
73:
69:
65:
61:
57:
50:
42:
40:
38:
34:
30:
26:
186:
175:
164:
145:
136:
102:
99:
80:
76:Grand Rapids
52:
24:
22:
74:, and from
199:Categories
156:References
33:land grant
68:Hillsdale
58:and the
91:Dubuque
87:Saginaw
72:Lansing
43:History
95:Keokuk
83:Owosso
115:Notes
64:Amboy
85:and
70:and
23:The
93:to
66:by
18:Map
201::
122:^
111:.
190:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.