Patterson Railroad

The Patterson Railroad is a defunct railroad that existed in Michigan during the early 1870s. The company incorporated on September 21, 1870 and filed articles on October 3 to construct a line between Patterson Mills (now Belding) and Kiddville (defunct; lay to the north-east across the Flat River). The Patterson completed a convert|1.67|mi|km|adj=on in July 1872, at which point the property became part of the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad, whose line it met at Kiddville. [According to Meints, the company was "donated" on July 18. See Meints (1992), 124; Michigan Railroad Commission (1873), lxxiv.] The DL&M would later become part of the Pere Marquette Railroad, which also built a line (the Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad) south from Belding.

The Belding–Kidd line continued to exist throughout the 20th century, eventually becoming part of the Greenville–Lowell line operated by the Mid-Michigan Railroad, a Rail America company. In December 2007 Mid-Michigan petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to abandon the line. The grade is to be converted to a rail trail. [cite news | title=Mid-Michigan Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--In Kent and Montcalm Counties, MI | work=Transportation Department Documents and Publications | date=December 17, 2007 | accessdate=2008-02-11]

Notes

References

*cite book| title=Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies| first=Graydon M.| last=Meints| year=1992| publisher=Michigan State University Press| location=East Lansing, Michigan| isbn=0870133187
*cite book| title=Annual Report| year=1873| author=Michigan Railroad Commission| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Mbs3AAAAMAAJ