1867, a distance of about 20 miles. They had two engines in service, and also had a single passenger coach, single baggage car, six box cars, 24 flat cars and five hand cars.

In 1869, financial troubles plagued the railroad and it was put into receivership. Jesse L. Williams of Fort Wayne was court ordered to control the company. He hired the Continental Improvement Company in 1869 to complete the railway between Cedar Springs and Little Traverse Bay. Mr. Williams restored profitability to the railroad and he was dischared from his position in June of 1871. Control was restored to the GR&I Railroad Company.

In June of 1869, a section to Morley Michigan was completed. The following year it made it up to Big Rapids. In 1872 it ran up to Traverse City, branching off at Paris, Michigan. From Paris the railway was completed through Boyne Falls to Petoskey in 1873. Daily train service from Boyne Falls heading south commenced that year.

By 1888, the railroad had expanded its fleet to 66 locomotives and 3,100 cars. Its gross earnings were close to $2.3 million in 1887. Although passenger travel was light, hauling lumber to the south represented most of the money coming in to the railway. By 1890, however, tourism started to pick up as northern Michigan became a destination place. Tourism was advertised in downstate and out-of-state newspapers offering special prices to head up north. A secondary passenger influx came when people started moving up to the north for lumbering jobs.

To access areas around northern Michigan, the railroad branched off in Boyne Falls toward Boyne City, Gaylord, and various lumber camps around the area. A roundhouse was constructed to route trains off the main railway onto these spurs. Remnants of the roundhouse foundation can be found just north of town, if you know where to look.

Train Engineers

By the early 1900s four passenger trains were running up north to and from Mackinaw to Grand Rapids. The railway was highly profitable until the early 1920, when it began losing money. The lumbering boom was about finished and people were buying automobiles which diminished the importance of the passenger rail service.

The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was bought by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1918. In 1975 the Michigan Department of Transportation bought the railroad property and it largely ceased operation in 1984, although the portion of track from Cadillac north to Petoskey is operated by the Great Lakes Central Railroad.

Michigan Northern Railway also operated some of the GR&I system until the mid-1980s in northern Michigan.

One of the spurs off the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was a branch between Boyne Falls and Boyne City. This route had long since been abandoned. However, in 1970 the Boyne City Railroad was formed. Controlling interest in the railroad assets was held by Grand Rapids industrialist Hollis M. Baker. He was a model train enthusiast who always dreamed of owning a real train system. His dream was fulfilled when he bought the railway. He reopened the long idle railroad between Boyne Falls and Boyne City.

Boyne Falls Depot and the Flying Dutchess

The round trip excursion was primarily a tourism attraction, not so much for actual commutes between the two towns. The service operated three round trips daily during the summer. The steam locomotive was British made and called the Flying Dutchess. Passengers sat surrounded in the lush velvet early 1900s passenger car.

A second train also operated and was a mixed freight-passenger unit with open cars. The main power was provided by Lady Bug, which was a small diesel-electric type of locomotive.

A train station depot was erected in Boyne Falls where passengers gathered to buy tickets and wait for the train ride. Near the depot stood a 21-foot high statue of a railroad engineer with an oilcan. Passengers would embark for a day of shopping in Boyne City and return later in the afternoon.

Unfortunately the service was short lived. Although the railroad carried about 25,000 passengers each summer, the railway closed in 1973. The closure was largely blamed on the energy crisis in the 1970s.

An auction was held to sell off the assets in 1976 and attracted people from throughout the country