Chicago and West Michigan Railway

The Chicago and West Michigan Railway was formed on October 1, 1881 through the consolidation of four existing lines, the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, the Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad, the Grand Haven Railroad and the Indiana and Michigan Railroad. At its founding it controlled 353.6 miles of track across Michigan, connecting New Buffalo to Pentwater through Holland and Muskegon along with lines serving Grand Rapids and Big Rapids, and it grew through the 1880s and 1890s by extending into Indiana, acquiring the White River Railroad, and pushing north to Traverse City and Bay View, reaching its greatest extent by 1892. In 1899 the company merged with the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway and the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad to form the Pere Marquette Railway, though it persisted as a non-operating Indiana subsidiary until March 12, 1917. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/