The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

region of the United States and southern parts of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

in Canada. It had trackage in the states of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and the Canadian province of

. Its primary connections included Buffalo;

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

; and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The company was named after

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette, Society of Jesus, S.J. (; June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Society of Jesus, Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. M ...

, a French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste Marie.

History

The Pere Marquette was incorporated on November 1, 1899, in anticipation of a merger of three Michigan-based railroad companies that had been agreed upon by all parties. It began operations on January 1, 1900, absorbing the following companies: * Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM) * Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western Railroad (DGR&W) * Chicago & West Michigan Railway (C&WM) The first shop facilities were inherited from the Flint and Pere Marquette in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

. However, the city of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

was chosen as the primary repair facility for rolling stock in 1905, which became known as the Wyoming Shops after the neighborhood in which they were located. Wyoming Yard was one of the system's primary freight classification yards. The shops were renovated and expanded in 1923 after those of Saginaw were downgraded, and converted to service diesel engines in 1946. The massive roundhouse began to be slowly demolished in the 1970s and finally removed completely by CSX by 1984. The company was reincorporated on March 12, 1917, as the Pere Marquette Railway. In the 1920s the Pere Marquette came under the control of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

financiers

Oris Oris SA is a Swiss luxury manufacturer of mechanical watches. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Hölstein in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. History Genesis and early growth Oris was founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christ ...

and

Mantis Van Sweringen Oris Paxton Van Sweringen (April 24, 1879 – November 22, 1936) and Mantis James Van Sweringen (July 8, 1881 – December 12, 1935) were American brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop Shaker Heights, Ohio. They are better kn ...

. These brothers also controlled the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate), the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

and the

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmo ...

, and planned to merge the four companies. However, the ICC did not approve the merger and the Van Sweringens eventually sold their interest in the Pere Marquette to the C&O in 1929. The company continued to operate separately as the Pere Marquette Railway until being fully merged into the C&O on June 6, 1947. Forty years later, the C&O was absorbed into

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

. In 1984,

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

named its passenger train between Chicago and

, the '' Pere Marquette''. The train in the 2004 film ''

The Polar Express ''The Polar Express'' is a 1985 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detaile ...

'' was modeled after steam locomotive

Pere Marquette 1225 Pere Marquette 1225 is an N-1 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built in October 1941 by the Lima Locomotive Works for the Pere Marquette Railway (PM) in Lima, Ohio. No. 1225 is one of two surviving PM 2-8-4 locomotives, the other b ...

. The film also included audio recordings of the locomotive in operation. It is the locomotive that

Chris Van Allsburg Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for ''Jumanji'' (1981) and '' The Polar Express'' (1985), both of which he al ...

said was the inspiration for the book, having seen it as a child when it was on the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

campus. The locomotive was scheduled to be at the premiere in Grand Rapids, where the writer was born, but was canceled because of interferences with the schedule of CSX. It is now housed and maintained at the

Steam Railroading Institute The Steam Railroading Institute is a non-profit organization that preserves, restores, and operates historical railroad equipment and items. Located in Owosso, Michigan, it was founded in 1969 as the Michigan State University Railroad Club and la ...

Owosso, Michigan Owosso () is the largest city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,714 at the 2020 census. It is located west of Flint, and northeast of Lansing. The city is mostly surrounded by Owosso Township on its we ...

Surviving steam locomotives

* PM 1223 - 2-8-4 "Berkshire" displayed at Chinook Pier in

Grand Haven, Michigan Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River (Michigan), Grand River, for which ...

. PM 1223 is the oldest surviving example of the 2-8-4s in America. * PM 1225 - 2-8-4 "Berkshire" operational by the Steam Railroading Institute in

. PM 1225 appears in the motion-capture form in the 2004 Christmas movie ''

.''

1907 wreck

On July 20, 1907, an excursion train carrying 800 passengers from

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

collided near

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

with a freight train, killing 31 and injuring 101. The accident apparently happened because of a hand-written schedule on unlined paper whose columns did not line up, and was misread by the freight crew. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

investigation also cited safety violations, including use of pine instead of oak for car walls and the omission of steel plates required for mail cars. This was Michigan's worst rail disaster.

Routes and current disposition

* Toledo Division –

, to Alexis and (via trackage rights over Ann Arbor Railroad)

, Ohio (In use by

south of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, leased to

Lake State Railway Lake State Railway is a railroad operating in the Saginaw River, Saginaw Valley and northeastern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The railroad moves large quantities of aggregate and limestone, as well as coal, grain, and chemical p ...

north of Plymouth) * Ludington Division – Saginaw to

Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and the largest city in Mason County, Michigan, Mason County. The population was 7,655 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the fourth largest city i ...

(Partially now part of the

Pere Marquette Rail-Trail The Pere Marquette Rail-Trail (PMRT) is a rail trail in Michigan occupying a abandoned CSX Transportation, CSX railroad corridor in Midland County, Michigan, Midland County and Isabella County, Michigan, Isabella County that was once part of ...

, between Baldwin and Ludington in use with Marquette Rail, and Saginaw to Midland used by Lake State Railway Company, with the rest of the line removed in 1991; the ferry closed in 1990) * Detroit Division –

(In use by CSX) * Grand Rapids Division – Elmdale, Michigan, to Saginaw (Alma-Saginaw in use by

Mid-Michigan Railroad The Mid-Michigan Railroad is a railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates of track in Michigan. History The company incorporated in 1987, for the purpose of acquiring railway lines from the CSX Corporation. The company was owned at incept ...

) * Chicago Division – Grand Rapids to

Porter, Indiana Porter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 5,210 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Porter is in t ...

, and (via trackage rights over various lines)

(In use by CSX) ** La Crosse Branch –

New Buffalo, Michigan New Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,708 during the 2020 census. History The area around the mouth of the Galien River was originally populated by Miami and Potawatomi peoples. Later, Fren ...

, to La Crosse, Indiana (Abandoned north of

Wellsboro, Indiana Wellsboro is an unincorporated community in Noble Township, LaPorte County, Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Mi ...

, by C&O in 1989, most tracks removed; Wellsboro to La Crosse in use by the

Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad The Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad is a Class III railroad, Class III short-line railroad, short-line railroad operating of rail line in northwestern Indiana. From the headquarters town of La Crosse, Indiana, La Crosse, lines run northwest to th ...

) * Petoskey Division – Grand Rapids to

Bay View, Michigan The Bay View Association of the United Methodist Church, known as Bay View, is an example of two uniquely American community forms: the Methodist camp meeting and the independent Chautauqua. Designed for the first purpose in 1876 as the county's ...

, was the basis for the Pere Marquette's longest route, the Chicago and Detroit-Bay View ''

Resort Special The ''Resort Special'' was a seasonal sleeping car, night train from Chicago, renowned for serving resort towns such as Traverse City, Charlevoix, Michigan, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Michigan, Petoskey on the northwestern part of Michigan’s lower ...

.'' (In use by Marquette Rail between Grand Rapids and Manistee and by the

Great Lakes Central Railroad The Great Lakes Central Railroad is an American regional railroad operating in the state of Michigan. It was originally called the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway , which was formed on August 26, 1977, to operate over former Penn Central lines ...

between Grawn and Williamsburg, with the rest dismantled in 1983 after being abandoned by C&O in 1982) * Canadian Division – Lines in Canada, including

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, and

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

, via

Blenheim, Ontario Blenheim is a community in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. History The Chatham-Kent region was settled as a British colony following Alexander McKee's acquisition of land under Treaty #2 ( McKee's Purchase) in 1790. Treaty #2 negotiations t ...

, to

St. Thomas, Ontario St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It gained its city charter on March 4, 1881. The city is also the seat for Elgin County, although it is independent of the county. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population of the city w ...

, and St Thomas east to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, via trackage rights over the Canada Southern (

Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway The Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway was a railway based in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton that ran in Southern Ontario from 1892 to 1987. It never reached the other two cities in its name although it had branch lines extending to Dunnville, O ...

trackage rights over CASO from

Welland, Ontario Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Ontario, N ...

, to Buffalo via

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...

). * Saginaw Subdivisions – Saginaw to

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

, via two routes and to

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

(Mostly abandoned between 1951 and 1988, some sections in use with the

Huron and Eastern Railway Huron and Eastern Railway is a short line railroad operating of track in The Thumb and Flint/Tri-Cities area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., who purchased it from RailAmerica in 2012. Its ...

)

Historic photographs

File:Pere Marquette Railway streamliner.JPG, Postcard depiction of the line's streamliners, the ''Pere Marquette''. File:Pere Marquette streamliner dining car.JPG, Postcard of one of the railroad's dining cars. File:Pere Marquette Flyer 1910.JPG, A Pere Marquette Flyer . File:Pere marquette ship ad.png, Ad for a Pere Marquette cruise to Duluth, 1905. File:Port_Huron_PM_Bridge.jpg, The Pere Marquette Railway bridge in

, as seen in 2021. It was demolished in 2023.

Car ferries

The Pere Marquette operated a number of rail car ferries on the

and St. Clair rivers and on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

and

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. The PM's fleet of car ferries, which operated on Lake Michigan from

, to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Kewaunee, and

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...

(see

SS Badger SS ''Badger'' is a passenger and vehicle ferry in the United States that has been in service on Lake Michigan since 1953. Currently, the ship shuttles between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a distance of , connecting U.S. Highwa ...

), were an important transportation link avoiding the terminal and interchange delays around the southern tip of Lake Michigan and through Chicago. Their superintendent for over 30 years was William L. Mercereau.

Pere Marquette 18

On September 10, 1910, the SS Pere Marquette No. 18 was bound for

from

, with a load of 29 railroad freight cars and 62 people on board. Near midnight, the vessel began to take on massive amounts of water. The captain dumped nine railroad cars into

in a failed attempt to prevent the ship from sinking. The SS Pere Marquette 17, traveling nearby, picked up the distress call and sped to assist the distressed vessel. Shortly after SS Pere Marquette 17 arrived, the Pere Marquette 18 sank, resulting in the loss of 29 out of 62 total people onboard. The location of the wreck was unknown until July 23, 2020 when shipwreck hunters Ken Merryman and Jerry Eliason confirmed the location using sonar and drop cameras at a depth of approximately 500 feet (152 meters).

References

Pere Marquette Historical SocietyPM 1225 Steam Railroading Institute

External links

Pere Marquette System Map

Remembering the Pere Marquette Railway (Kevin Keefe)

Pere Marquette Berkshire steam locomotives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pere Marquette Railway Railway companies established in 1917 Railway companies disestablished in 1947 Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Michigan railroads Defunct Ohio railroads Defunct Ontario railways Railroads in the Chicago metropolitan area Predecessors of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Former Class I railroads in the United States Defunct New York (state) railroads 1917 establishments in Michigan 1947 disestablishments in Ohio 1947 mergers and acquisitions