The Cadillac & Lake City Railway was a railroad which operated in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. The operation was owned by Western States Properties, Inc. and several investors who operated lines in three states;

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

during its time.

Michigan Operations

The Cadillac & Lake City Railway began operations in 1964 over former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), ex:

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grappl ...

(GR&I) trackage between its namesake cities of

Cadillac, Michigan Cadillac ( ) is a city in and county seat of Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census, which ranks it the third most-populated city in the Northern Michigan region after Traverse City and Al ...

, and

Lake City, Michigan Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Missaukee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 836. Lake City is locally known as the "Christmas Tree Capitol" because of the millions of Christmas t ...

, .Brandt Family Cabin Journal, P.14, dated 10/10/1965: "Betty, Bill, and Kids Up Sat morning. Stopped @ Lake City & watched the Steam Engine be cleaned & started - The train men sure take their job seriously..." The actual terminus for the

end of the operation was at Missaukee Junction, Michigan, 1 mile north of Haring, Michigan where

Ephraim Shay Ephraim Shay (July 17, 1839 – April 19, 1916) was an American merchant, entrepreneur and self-taught railroad engineer who worked in the state of Michigan. He designed the first Shay locomotive and patented the type. He licensed it for manufactu ...

had a residence during the development of the Shay locomotive and just over 2 miles north of

. It was here that all traffic was transferred to and from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR); prior to the 1968 merger of the PRR with the New York Central (NYC); thence becoming the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

(PC). All operations ceased in 1971, with the entire Michigan operation abandoned in September 1984 and all rail since removed.

Kansas Operations

In July 1981, the Cadillac & Lake City Railway began operations over a former portion of the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

between

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, th ...

through

Limon, Colorado Limon is a statutory town that is the most populous municipality in Lincoln County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,880 at the 2010 United States Census. Limon has been called the "Hub City" of Eastern Colorado because Interst ...

, to

Colby, Kansas Colby is a city in and the county seat of Thomas County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,570. History In 1882, a post office was established near the center of Thomas County. Area homesteaders l ...

, about . The CLK also had trackage rights via the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

from Limon to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, , but rarely exercised them. Power for the CLK trains consisted of former Burlington Northern Railroad EMD F units, and

GP7s, and former Colorado & Wyoming switchers at

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and Denver.

Colorado Operations

In May 1984, the Limon to Colby operations were turned over to the

Kyle Railroad The Kyle Railroad is a regional railroad line that runs from North Central Kansas into Eastern Colorado. It is based in Phillipsburg, Kansas and runs on track, mostly the former Rock Island Railroad Chicago to Denver main line. The Kyle was o ...

. Operations of the CLK then consisted of Cimarron Hills in Colorado Springs to Limon, about of trackage. Power consisted of two

Cleburne, Texas Cleburne is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 29,337. The city is named in honor of Patrick Cleburne, a Confederate general. Lake Pat Cleburne, the reservoir that pro ...

, rebuilt

CF7 The Santa Fe CF7 is an EMD F-unit railroad locomotive that has had its streamlined carbody removed and replaced with a custom-made, "general purpose" body in order to adapt the unit for switcher, switching duty. All of the conversions were perform ...

s, one EMD SW1, and an ex-CMStP&P GP20. All of the Cadillac & Lake City's rail operations have since ceased with most of the tracks between Powers Boulevard (in Colorado Springs) to the Wye in

being removed in the mid-1990s. There is still (2008) a lot of evidence of the former railroad simply left to rot away. Items such as an old box car just west of Marksheffel road in Colorado Springs, many telegraph poles, insulators strewn about near the old line, and the old raised grade are a common sight on the route. A depot remains in Calhan, CO in deteriorating but rather good shape. East of Matheson, CO, a long trestle remains, where the line crosses Big Sandy Creek. Originally Milwaukee road GP9 #2405, this unit rebuilt to GP20m and relettered for the C&LC is seen near Limon, CO in September 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadillac Lake City Railway Defunct Colorado railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Michigan railroads Transportation in Wexford County, Michigan Transportation in Missaukee County, Michigan Companies based in Colorado Springs, Colorado