Huron and Eastern Railway is a short line railroad operating of track in

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

and

Flint/Tri-Cities Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corr ...

area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., who purchased it from

RailAmerica RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, was a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada. In 2007, RailAmerica was acquired by Fortress Investment Group. Before that, it ...

in 2012. Its headquarters is in the former

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...

depot in

Vassar, Michigan Vassar is a city in Tuscola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Founded March 1, 1849. The population was 2,727 at the 2020 census and 2,697 in 2010 (an increase of about 1.1%). The city is located on the western edge of Vassar Township but i ...

History

HESR began operations in 1986, over 83 miles of former Chesapeake and Ohio track in Michigan's thumb area. This track served areas in

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

and Sanilac Counties, roughly between Bad Axe and Croswell, with a few spurs to outlying small towns. On December 22, 1988, HESR acquired

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

's Bad Axe Subdivision between

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

and Bad Axe. On January 22, 1991, HESR again added more track to its system, acquiring a cluster of former

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 ...

lines from the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway. This new track crossed the current HESR track in

Reese Reese may refer to: Places Germany * Reese, Germany, a hamlet in Lower Saxony on the River Aue United States * Reese, Michigan, United States, a community east of Saginaw * Reese, Pennsylvania, United States, a community in Blair County * Reese, T ...

, and allowed the HESR to now serve Vassar and

Caro Caro may refer to: Places * Caro, Michigan, United States * Caro, Morbihan, France * Çaro, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France Other uses * Caro (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Caro (surname), including a list of peo ...

, among other towns. On April 30, 1998, HESR purchased CSX's Port Huron Subdivision from Saginaw to

Brown City Brown City is a city in Lapeer and Sanilac counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,325 at the 2010 census. The city is located almost exclusively in Sanilac County, with only a small portion of the city extending into Lape ...

. The line beyond Brown City is still in place to Avoca, but has been out of service since the HESR acquisition. On January 26, 2004, HESR again increased in size with the acquisition of the Central Michigan Railway, allowing the HESR to reach Bay City and Midland, as well as interchange with Class I

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

in Durand. Furthermore, in May 2004, RailAmerica underwent an inter-corporate merger between the Saginaw Valley Railway and HESR. Saginaw Valley, who operated a line from

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

to Denmark Junction. The result was another Huron and Eastern line extending west from Saginaw. Due to the merger, HESR is sometimes referred to as the Huron and Eastern Saginaw Valley Railroad.Huron & Eastern Railway Company, Inc.-Corporate Family Merger Exemption-Saginaw Valley Railway Company, Inc.
US Surface Transportation Board, May 14, 2003 The former Saginaw Valley line west to Richville and was soon abandoned with the exception of a two-mile segment from Richville to Denmark Junction. HESR had three parallel lines into Saginaw from the east, and the line was in desperate need of repair. Other than the former Saginaw Valley line, Huron and Eastern has abandoned very little track.

Today

Huron and Eastern's locomotive power is a mix of former Central Michigan, Saginaw Valley, and original HESR rolling stock. The railway's main line extends northeast from Saginaw to Bad Axe, and then southeast to Croswell. HESR has over 100 freight railroads around Mid-Michigan, and 140 and more Transloading access points. HESR's other line extends from Midland east to Bay City, and then south, through

to Durand. The line was former Central Michigan Railway and

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding ...

track. HESR interchanges with

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

and

Great Lakes Central Railroad The Great Lakes Central Railroad is an American Class II 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 Cen ...

in Durand; and Lake State Railway in

and Bay City.Huron & Eastern Railway Overview
Genesee & Wyoming official site The railroad's traffic comes largely from agricultural products, as well as industrial goods, such as

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

fly ash Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash (in the UK) plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs)is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates (fine particles of burned fuel) that are driven out of coal-fired ...

, and chemicals. The HESR hauled around 34,000 carloads in 2008.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huron Eastern Railway RailAmerica Michigan railroads Railway companies established in 1986 1986 establishments in Michigan American companies established in 1986