Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad

The segment of its main line from Detroit to Lansing became an important component of the Pere Marquette Railroad, organized in 1900, and is still in use by CSX.

George O. Shauttuck and J. Lewis Stackpole of Boston--acting as trustees for the lenders--purchased the railroad for $60,000 at a mortgage sale in Detroit on December 14, 1876.

A new corporation was organized on December 27, 1876 under the name Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad, with most of its stock going to the lenders in exchange for their forgiving the DL&LM's debts.

Declared business objectives of the DL&N were: In 1882, the principal officers were Alpheus Hardy, president; Thomas Fish, general superintendent; and J.J. McVean, engineer.

[5] At its inception in December 1876, the DL&N inherited 206 miles (332 km) of track, more than 10,000 feet (3,048 m) of wooden bridges and trestles, 26 locomotives, and more than 750 railcars of all types.

[8] In August, 1888, two new rail segments built by the Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit Railroad and immediately leased by the DL&N went into service.

The second was the Ramona Branch, a short extension from Oakdale Park Station to Reeds Lake, later East Grand Rapids, Michigan to serve the resorts there.