Timetable: Pere Marquette - Main Line - Grand Rapids to Porter

This is a mostly single track main line extending to Porter, Indiana and Chicago beyond. Passing sidings as of 1949.

Key: BB=Bascule Bridge | C=Coal | CS=Car Shop | D=Open > Day | DN=Open Day and night | DS=Dispatcher | DT=Double Main Track | EH=Engine house | F=Diesel Fuel | HI=Half Interlocked Crossing | I=Interlocked Crossing | J=Junction | LB=Lift bridge | N=Open at night | P=Passing Track w/40' car capacity | Q=Quarry | RH=Roundhouse # stalls | RT=Railroad Resort | S=Scales | SB=Swing bridge | T=Turntable | TC=Telegraph call | W=Water | X=Crossing | Y=Wye | Yard=Yard

Image info: Top, a map of the line from Grand Rapids to Porter, IN. [RSE-1949-04]

Notes

Grand Rapids Union station owned by PRR and shared by PM and MC.

Plaster Creek is the source of the water supply for the locomotives at Wyoming Yard.

Wyoming Yard coal dock has a 500 ton capacity.

Grandville begins double track all the way to Grand Rapids. Switch controlled by CTC operator at Waverly.

Waverly had a coal pile and locomotives filled by crane. The CTC operator here controlled Grandville to East Saugatuck.

East Saugatuck hill was 1.23% ascending grade southbound for two miles with numerous curves. Helper engines for the grade were based at Helper, mp. 37.5.

Riverside was beginning of double track south through Benton Harbor to Vine (except for drawbridge).

Drawbridge was single track, interlocked. Speed 10 mph on bridge.

Livingston had a two mile siding constructed in 1944.

New Buffalo had a eight stall roundhouse built in 1920 with a 90' turntable. A 300 ton coaling station was built here in 1930. Also had a wayside water treatment plant. All steam powered trains took on coal here for the trip to and from Chicago terminals.

Porter interlocking tower staffed by the NYC.

[REF] = [MRC]

Time Line

1901. September. The secretary of war has notified the city council of Benton Harbor and the Big Four and Pere Marquette railroads that unless the three swing bridges across the Paw Paw river are in and completed within six months, a penalty will be required. [YEX-1901-0927]

1902. New 75-lb. rail has been laid from Fennville south and from Stevensville to South Bridgeman making about 22 miles. Electric block signals have been installed at New Richmond and East Saugatuck. [MCR-1903]

1915. The Pere Marquette will install approximately 25 miles of single-track block automatic signals and 1.7 miles of double-track. This closes up two gaps in its present system, making complete the automatic signaling protection between Porter, IN and Riverside, MI. [TSE-1915-10]

1949. The C&O completed a planned five-year program on improvements of 119.2 miles of single track and 13.9 miles of double track between Porter, IN and Lamar, MI (Grand Rapids). No changes were made to the grade or alignment, however, rails, ties and rock ballast are all new throughout. The major change was the modernization of sidings with respect to length and location, as well as the reduction of the number of sidings. The final phase was to install power switch machines and signaling to form complete centralized traffic control. The 84.4 miles of CTC between Lamar and St. Joseph is controlled by the dispatcher at Waverly. The 48.6 miles between St. Joseph and Porter is controlled by a machine at New Buffalo which is handles by an operator who works under the direction of the dispatcher at Waverly. The schedules include six passenger trains, eight manifest freights and two local freights. With extra trains, the number of daily trains varies from about 20 to 30. Passing sidings were reduced from 25 to 13. Average siding length was improved from 45-85 cars to 2 miles in length. [RSE-1949-04]

1949. As a result of the new CTC installation between Porter IN and Lamar (Grand Rapids), a new CTC code line was installed on the same poles holding telegraph and telephone wires. The code line is No. 8 copper wire for the most part. The three wires for the signal controls are No. 10 Copperweld. Two No. 8 copper wires distribute the 110-vold a.c. power. At each power switch layout there is a set of 12 cells of either DMGO-7 or DMGO-9 Exide storage batteries which feed the switch machine and the code equipment. Two separate sets of six cells each feed the signal line. Each "OS" track circuit is fed by two 1,000-a.h. Edison primary batteries. The other track circuits are each fed by three cells of 500-.h. primary battery. [RSE-1949-04]