Time Line - 1949

Last Year | Next Year

• May: The last steam engine on the Grand Rapids Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad is sent south to Indiana, making the Division one of the first fully dieselized. [PRRHTS-W/2000]

  June: The Pennsylvania Railroad experiments with A-B-A diesel combinations on their GR&I branch. This combination proves effective in pulling trains over a ruling 1.41% grade between north of Elmira to Boyne Falls, a distance of nine miles. It also eliminated the need to turn units. This hill was traversed by the Division's primary freight runs GR6 and GR7, at that time daily freights that were often more than 120 cars long. [PRHTS-W/2000]

• October 1: Steel mills go on strike. Some labor contracts are settled within 30 days, others continue until nearly Christmas. Iron ore in the Upper Peninsula slows. [RO]

• November 1: Mineral Range Railroad is merged into DSS&A. [MRRC]

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• Pennsylvania RR is authorized to end passenger service between Cadillac and Mackinaw City. [MDOT]

• GTW lowers track in the old Port Huron-Sarnia tunnel to accommodate taller cars. [MHM]

• The LS&I acquires 1/2 interest in the C&NW Michigamme Branch from Copps Spur through duncan to Martin's Landing, a distance of 10.6 miles. Construction begins on tracks to Humboldt and Republic Mines, completed in 1952. [MRC-10/1987]

Time line Key:

• Railroad event in Michigan
• Event relating to mining
• Event related to car ferries
• Event outside of Michigan
• Improvement in Technology
• Railroad built or extended
• Railroad abandoned and/or removed
• Economic panic or depression