Detroit and Mackinac Railway
| Reporting mark | D&M, DM |
|---|---|
| Locale | Michigan |
| Dates of operation | 1894–1992 |
| Successor | Lake State Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Detroit and Mackinac Railway (reporting marks D&M, DM), informally known as the "Turtle Line", was a railroad in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The main line ran from Bay City north to Cheboygan; it operated from 1894 to 1992.
At the end of 1925 it incorporated 375 miles of road and 470 miles of track; that year the Turtle Line reported 81 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 7 million passenger-miles. In 1967 it reported 124 million ton-miles on 224 miles of road.
The Detroit, Bay City & Alpena Railroad, was a 3 ft 2 in (965 mm) narrow gauge short line operated from Bay City northward to the Lake Huron port of Alpena. The line was converted to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in 1886 and was reorganized into the Detroit and Mackinac (D&M) on December 17, 1894. During the late 1890s and the first decade of the Twentieth Century, the timber resources of northeastern Michigan were fully utilized and the D&M expanded its trackage northward from Alpena to Cheboygan. The Bay City-Cheboygan main line prospered, and a stone passenger depot was constructed in Harrisville.
The main constituent of the freight service offered by the D&M and its predecessor railroads was timber from what was then the vast forests of northeastern Michigan; the D&M built spurs and branch lines to the forested areas. Another branch line served the limestone quarries of Rogers City. In 1922, the railroad also had branch lines to Au Gres, Comins, Curran, Hillman, Lincoln, Prescott, and Rose City.
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