Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railway explained

Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railway
Headquarters:	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Locale:	West Michigan

The Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railway (aka The Fruit Belt Line) operated on track laid between Kalamazoo and South Haven, Michigan. Much of the track has been removed and is now known as the "Van Buren Trail".

The railway went through the following towns, starting from the east:

• Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Oshtemo, Michigan
• Brighton, Michigan
• Rix, Michigan
• Walker, Michigan
• Eassom, Michigan
• Mattawan, Michigan
• Newbre, Michigan
• Lawton, Michigan
• Paw Paw, Michigan
• Barrison, Michigan
• Lake Cora, Michigan
• Lawrence, Michigan
• Hartford, Michigan
• Toquin, Michigan
• Covert, Michigan
• Packard, Michigan
• Fruitland, Michigan
• Cableton, Michigan
• South Haven, Michigan^[1]

References

• Paw Paw Versus the Railroads . Thomas D. . Brock . Thomas D. Brock . Michigan History . 39 . June 1955 . 129–183.
• Book: Standard atlas of Kalamazoo County Michigan . Geo.A. Ogle & Co. . Chicago . G.A. Ogle . 1910.
• Book: Hager, David C. . Next Stop Kalamazoo: A History of Railroading in Kalamazoo County . Kalamazoo Public Museum . 1976 . Kalamazoo.
• The fruit belt line: Southwest Michigan's failed railroad . Graydon . Meints . September 2005 . 31 . 2 . Michigan Historical Review . 117–149.

External links

• Van Buren County Road Commission - Van Buren Trail page
• Southwest Michigan Fruit Belt Project
• Record of KLS&C #950 Pullman passenger car in private collection
• Pioneer Railcorp (current owner since 1995) - info on dinner train excursions
• 1909 Report on KLS&C by the Michigan Railroad Commission
• Michigan Passenger Stations - currently missing KLS&C depot photos...

Notes and References

1. Web site: South Haven Depot. Michigan Passenger Stations. Van Winkle, Louis. January 2004. 2008-08-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517134915/http://mc.net/~louisvw/depot/sh/s-haven.htm. 2008-05-17. dead.