Object Lesson: The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Logo

I saw a connected “GT” logo on a bridge over the freeway in metro Detroit. What does it stand for?

“Grand Trunk.” It is the logo for Grand Trunk Western Railroad, once nicknamed the “Good Track” road.

So, what’s the status of Grand Trunk Western; is it still an active railroad company?

Not exactly. Grand Trunk Western , or GTW, is what railroad enthusiasts describe as a “fallen flag:” a railroad company whose name disappears or fades, usually after a liquidation or merger.

The name “Grand Trunk” comes from GTW’s predecessor Grand Trunk Railway (GT), a Canadian company and North America’s first international railroad, which operated from 1852 until 1919, when Canada nationalized most of its major railroad companies. Canadian National (CN) took over GT’s railways. Then, in 1928, CN created GTW as a subsidiary to consolidate its GT properties in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.

In 1970, CN created the Grand Trunk Corporation, which oversaw GTW along CN’s other American subsidiaries. In 1995, CN was denationalized and sold to private investors; and in 2002, withdrew the GTW identification, operating system-wide as CN, though GTW still technically exists on paper as a corporation.

Today, you may occasionally spot a railcar that was never repainted with the CN colors, but they are becoming rarer and rarer.

But this is Detroit — we’re known for American cars. Why are we talking about Canadian trains?

GTW, GT, and their predecessors have historically played a vital role in Detroit’s automotive industry. A significant partner was General Motors. In the early 1900s, GT brought the first Ford engines and bodies from Detroit and Pontiac to Ford of Canada in Windsor. GT’s list of customers also included Chrysler’s Highland Park, Jefferson, and Plymouth Plants; as well as the Cadillac Motor Car Co.

Today, CN’s tracks criss-cross in Detroit’s historic Milwaukee Junction neighborhood, and the few miles surrounding this intersection are a ride past the ghosts of the city’s automotive boom. The rails pass the Russell Industrial Center , which was once the Murray Body Corporation Plant; nearby is the GM Factory ZERO Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center , the site of the Dodge Main plant from 1910 to 1980.

Across I-75 and southwest along the tracks is New Center Stamping , formerly the Fisher Body #37 plant, which was built in 1919. The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, birthplace of the Model T, is just two blocks away. Further down in this direction past New Center is the Lincoln Street Art Park and the Recycle Here! center, housed in the former Warren Motor Car Company Building, which later became a Lincoln plant.

This is a lot to take in. I need a drink — does this relate to bars at all?

It does — the Grand Trunk Pub , located at 612 Woodward near Campus Martius, was once a GT ticket station. According to a 1911 Detroit Free Press report, GT bought the building for $75,000 (the modern day equivalent of about $2.4 million) and spent $25,000 on renovations (about $800,000 in today’s dollars).

After GT passengers purchased a ticket at the Woodward station, they would head over to the Brush Street Depot (later called the Brush Street Station) to catch their trains. The Brush Street Depot/Station was located at the edge of Brush near the Detroit River. When GT became GTW, the Brush Street Station continued to operate. The site also included a freight house, and a ferry system that went to Windsor.

The station was a hub for commuters until 1973 when it was demolished to make space for a larger building — the Renaissance Center.

Did people stop riding it after that?

Nope. In 1974, the newly created Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA, which later became SMART) took over financial responsibility for GTW’s commuter rail between Detroit and Pontiac. However, the service only lasted 9 years, discontinued in 1983. Today, you can use Amtrak to get from Detroit to Pontiac.

Isn’t there an old Grand Trunk station in Mt. Clemens?

Yes. In 1859, a GT passenger depot along the GT Detroit-Port Huron route opened in downtown Mt. Clemens.

That year, a 12-year-old boy named Thomas Edison (yes, the Thomas Edison) secured a job as a paperboy and candy salesman on the GT train that stopped there, which ran from Detroit to Port Huron. Then, on a summer’s day when he was 15, Edison saved a GT station agent’s three-year-old son from getting run over by a box car. To thank Edison, the agent, named J.U. Mackenzie, taught him train telegraphy and operation. Mackenzie went on to work in Edison’s labs later in life, and contributed to many of his inventions.

The depot operated until 1980, and is now the Michigan Transit Museum , contains many GT and GTW historical artifacts in its collection.

How did GT get from Port Huron to Canada?

Initially, by ferry. Then, by tunnel — but not just any: GT opened the world’s first international submarine railway tunnel in 1891, which connected GT’s Port Huron rails to Sarnia.

During World War I in 1915, a German immigrant in Detroit targeted the tunnel for destruction, along with facilities in Detroit and Windsor that were making war supplies. However, the saboteur was caught before his plan came to fruition (which was to send an explosive-laden car into the tunnel to blow it up).

More Grand Trunk Relics in Metro Detroit:

• Detroit’s Dequindre Cut Greenway is a former GTW rail line — the Dequindre Line that once took Pontiac-bound passengers from the Brush Street Station to the Milwaukee Junction; and later SEMTA commuters from the Renaissance Center.
• A towering warehouse near St. Aubin and Ferry on Detroit’s east side is the former Grand Trunk Warehouse & Cold Storage facility, built in the 1920s and vacant since 2002.
• Royal Oak has several rail bridges with faded “Grand Trunk Western Railroad” engravings over 13, 12, and 11 Mile roads; Webster, and Normandy.
• Birmingham’s Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot still stands at 245 Eaton. It was the only GTW depot with an elevated platform.
• Rochester had a GT/GTW depot that stood from 1885 until it was destroyed in 1971 by a train derailment. The 56-car freight was carrying Pontiac and GM cars from Pontiac to Port Huron. It was never rebuilt, and the stretch of railroad where the accident happened is the Clinton River Trail today.
• Fraser has a Depot Street (which used to have a depot) that runs toward the CN tracks, and a Grand Trunk Street which runs parallel. Further up the tracks in Richmond, there’s a Grand Trunk Avenue, which similarly runs parallel to the CN line.

Special thanks to Alex Bogert, vice president of the Michigan Transit Museum and member of the Grand Trunk Western Historical Society ; and Jack Seavitt, Trustee Emeritus at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum , both of whom were interviewed for this story.

This story originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on July 8.

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