The Wyandotte Terminal Railroad was officially created in the state of Michigan, United States of America, on September 14, 1904. It ended its operations as a railroad in 1982.

History

The Wyandotte Terminal Railroad was first built and owned by Michigan Alkali, a company that made a material used in producing soda ash and other products that use sodium. It was created to provide railroad switching services for its two factories, which were located about four miles apart along the Detroit River in Wyandotte, Michigan, United States of America. Later, Michigan Alkali became known as Wyandotte Chemical and eventually as BASF Wyandotte Corporation. The railroad operated a nine-mile terminal railroad that connected to the Michigan Central, the New York Central, the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton, and the Wyandotte Southern Railroads.

Operations

The Wyandotte Terminal Railroad once owned nearly 9 miles of track and handled all railroad switching within and between the two large BASF Wyandotte plants located on the Detroit River in Wyandotte, Michigan. Wyandotte is a city located just south of Detroit. The railroad exchanged railcars with two major railroads, the Michigan Central Railroad (which later became the New York Central, Penn Central, and eventually Conrail) and the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad. It also exchanged railcars with a nearby industrial railroad called the Wyandotte Southern Railroad.

In the final years of its operation, the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad ran a train six days a week from BASF Wyandotte Chemical’s South Plant to its North Plant. The train started at the South Plant and traveled about a mile on its own tracks to the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad’s Ford Yard, located at the southern end of Wyandotte near Pennsylvania Road and Center Street. There, the train exchanged railcars with the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad and the Wyandotte Southern Railroad. The train then traveled north for about four miles on the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad’s tracks to deliver railcars to the North Plant of BASF Wyandotte Corporation. Just west of the North Plant, the train returned to the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad’s tracks and traveled about half a mile to the North Plant. After switching railcars at the North Plant, the train returned to the South Plant using the same route, exchanging railcars with the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad at Ford Yard if needed. The Wyandotte Terminal Railroad also exchanged railcars with Conrail at the North Plant. Additional locomotives were kept at both plants to handle switching within each plant. Most railcars used by the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad were tank cars and covered hoppers.

Locomotives

In 1945, Wyandotte Terminal Railroad replaced its group of steam-powered switching engines with three Baldwin Locomotive model VO 660 diesel-electric switching engines, numbered 101 through 103. In January 1949, the railroad purchased a fourth new Baldwin switching engine, model DS 4-4-660, numbered 104. All of these engines were painted green with yellow striping. Later, a fifth diesel-electric switching engine, a General Electric 65-tonner, was obtained from its parent company, Michigan Alkali.

In 1975, Wyandotte Terminal Railroad bought two used diesel-electric switching engines from American Locomotive to replace Baldwin engines 102 and 104, which were no longer working. One of these engines was a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Alco model S-2, numbered WTR 106, and the other was a former Nickel Plate Railroad Alco model S-4, numbered WTR 107. Around this time, the railroad began repainting its engines in an orange color with black striping.

All of Wyandotte Terminal Railroad’s Baldwin diesel-electric engines have been scrapped except for number 103, which is now part of the collection at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.

The End of Wyandotte Terminal Railroad

In 1982, BASF Wyandotte Corporation stopped using the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad to move trains at its two plants in Wyandotte, Michigan. Instead, the company made agreements with two major railroads, Conrail and the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad, to handle train switching for its plants. On March 28, 1983, the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad submitted papers to the State of Michigan to officially end its business as a company.