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 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 western edge of t ...

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 the ...

, and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

during its time.

Michigan Operations

The Cadillac & Lake City Railway began operations in 1964 over former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(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, and Lake City, Michigan, .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 Cadillac, Michigan end of the operation was at Missaukee Junction, Michigan, 1 mile north of

Haring, Michigan Haring is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 335 as of the 2020 census. Haring is located within Haring Charter Township just north of the ...

where Ephraim Shay had a residence during the development of the

Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared st ...

and just over 2 miles north of Cadillac, Michigan. It was here that all traffic was transferred to and from the

(PRR); prior to the 1968 merger of the PRR with the

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

(NYC); thence becoming the

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

(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 through Limon, Colorado, to Colby, Kansas, 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 The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...

EMD F units, and

GP7s, and former Colorado & Wyoming switchers at Colorado Springs 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 ow ...

. Operations of the CLK then consisted of

Cimarron Hills Cimarron Hills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Cimarron Hills is an enclave of the City of Colorado Springs. The CDP is a part of the Colorad ...

in Colorado Springs to Limon, about of trackage. Power consisted of two Cleburne, Texas, rebuilt CF7s, 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 Limon, Colorado 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