The Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the state 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, ...

between 1872 and 1881. The GRN&LS was chartered on September 11, 1869, under the leadership of David P. Clay. The company operated a line between

Grand Rapids 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 ...

and White Cloud (where it joined the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore). The initial segment, from Grand Rapids to

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, was completed on May 19, 1872. The line reached Newaygo on September 11, 1872; the first passenger train between the two towns ran the same day, to much fanfare from the local populace. On September 24, 1875, the line was extended over the

Muskegon River The Muskegon River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 21, 2011 river in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Fr ...

to White Cloud. On September 30, 1881, it consolidated with other companies to form the Chicago & West Michigan. During its twelve years of independent existence the company sustained a net loss of $36,554.28.Ivey (1919), 40–41.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Rapids Newaygo Lake Shore Railroad Railway companies established in 1869 Railway companies disestablished in 1881 Defunct Michigan railroads West Michigan Companies based in Grand Rapids, Michigan Predecessors of the Pere Marquette Railway 1869 establishments in Michigan American companies disestablished in 1881 American companies established in 1869