Railway timeline (Viewer Photo) By the late 1870s, Northern Michigan had mostly been lumbered out. So the railroads, which were originally built to transport lumber, decided to switch gears.

Jerry Murray, 32. of Ypsilanti, trainmaster for the Southern Michigan Railroad in Clinton, said people are drawn to the long, slow whistle of the steam locomotive.

Michigan has a long past with trains. In 1887, there were 89 logging railroads in Michigan, and in 1920, there were 8,734 miles of train routes across the state.

Singapore, Michigan was a lumber town near Saugatuck in west Michigan. The 19th century settlement eventually shuttered due to deforestation from logging.

The total mileage operated in Michigan is 7,019. There are several hundred miles operated by private parties, logging railroads, , which escape taxation and ignore police regulations, being ...