Lake State Railway
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| Reporting mark | LSRC |
|---|---|
| Locale | Michigan |
| Dates of operation | 1992– |
| Predecessor | Detroit and Mackinac Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 292 miles |
| Headquarters | Saginaw, Michigan |
| Website | http://lsrc.com/ |
Lake State Railway is a railroad operating in the Saginaw Valley and northeastern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The railroad moves large quantities of aggregate and limestone, as well as coal, grain, and chemical products. Some of the company's largest customers include Dow Chemical Company, S. C. Johnson & Son, Lafarge, ConAgra Foods, Archer Daniels Midland, Conrad Yelvington, and Consumers Energy.
Lake State began operations in 1992 when it acquired all the lines operated by the Detroit and Mackinac Railway. One of the lines acquired was originally Michigan Central from Bay City to Cheboygan. Another line—originally D&M trackage—branched off in Pinconning and followed Michigan's eastern coastline to Rogers City. The trackage north of Gaylord to Cheboygan was abandoned shortly thereafter. While a few minor spurs were abandoned, no other mainline was until 2001, when its line past Alpena to Rogers City was removed.
In 2005, Lake State acquired 67 miles of trackage from CSX Transportation around Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. This trackage is operated under the subsidiary Saginaw Bay Southern Railway.
In late 2011, it was announced that the SBS would merge with Lake State, with LSRC being the surviving company. The merger was strictly for railway accounting purposes; LSRC functions today as an Interline Settlement System (ISS) carrier, while SBS functioned as a Junction Settlement (JS) carrier through CSX. Lake State will convert the former SBS lines to ISS. Following the news of the merger, Lake State has stopped painting the Saginaw Bay Southern logo on its locomotives.
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