Drawbridge: Paines, MI - Tittabawassee River Drawbridge

The joint line of the Michigan Central (JL&S) and Flint & Pere Marquette had a drawbridge over the Tittabawassee River, 2,100 feet east of the Paines station.

Photo info: A 2022 overhead view of the bridge, which is still in use as a fixed bridge. The section to the right appears to be the former draw. [GM]

Notes 

Time Line

1886. The bridge was built. Draw span is 108 feet. [MCR-1890]

1897. This bridge was not interlocked and required a complete stop before crossing the draw. [ETT-1897-11]

1917. October. Harry Rippenberg, 29 years of Pains is in the county jail and has a flesh wound as the result of his efforts to cross the MC railroad bridge at Paines. The bridge has been guarded since the beginning of the war and Rippenberg tried to cross Thursday morning. James McDonald, the guard, stopped him and Rippenberg struck him and knocked him down, whereupon the guard fired his revolver. The bullet entered the left of his breast and came out the left shoulder circling on the flesh. Indications are that McDonald shot while lying on the ground. [SAG-1917-1011]

1925. April 15. The MC railroad bridge over the Tittabawassee River near Paines station was wrecked when the crane arm and bucket of a road digging machine sideswiped the girders and cause the derailment of a freight car resulting in a sag of about two feet in the bridge floor at the east end of the west span. Traffic over both the MC and PM will be tied up for at least two days. Both railroads use this line which separates at Paines.

The road machine was being carried on two flat cars of a PM train. The locomotive and most of the freight cars already had crossed the bridge. All trains of both roads have been cancelled until temporary repairs can be installed. [SAG-1925-0415]

1925. April 17. Construction of a new MC railroad bridge over the Tittabawassee river at Paines will be necessary as a result of the wrecking of the present bridge by a PM freight train. Temporary repairs will be made. In the mean time, MC freight trains are being detoured by way of Detroit and PM trains by way of Clare and Plymouth. The bridge outage makes it necessary to use Saginaw Transit Co. busses to bridge the gap between Saginaw and Paines. By this arrangement passenger trains are kept running on schedule and freight trains are the only ones compelled to take a longer time by way of the detour lines. [SAG-1925-0417]