The Definitive History of the Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway Inc. 1977-2006
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- Last Updated: August 29, 2026
- This article will update when progress is made.
Customer Location Map
Commodities Quick View Chart
The Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway transported a diverse mix of bulk and manufactured goods. TSBY served industries and agricultural interests across Michigan. The relied on long-distance rail freight connections to local industries via its own trackage and with trucking partners. Key Commodities, Quantities, and Locations included:
| Commoditiy | Quantity | Originating / Transfer Locations | Destination / Customers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Products | Approximately 10 million bushels per year | Grain elevators at various locations, including Middleton, west of Ashley, and north of Owosso near Chesaning and St. Charles | Outbound shipments to processing facilities or interchange partners |
| Industrial Sand | Approximately 300,000 tons per year | Yuma sand facility | Cleveland, Ohio, for use in a Ford plant making engine blocks |
| Plastics | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Clare plastics holding facility | Local businesses, with last-mile delivery handled by trucks |
| Lumber | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Received from the Pacific Northwest or Canada | Various businesses in Michigan |
| ABC Coke | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Birmingham, Alabama, foundry | Transload station in Cadillac, then transferred to trucks |
| Molasses, Sugar, Beet Pulp | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Michigan Sugar Company plant in Caro | Outbound shipments |
| Pickles | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Dykhouse Pickle Co. in Vassar | Destinations served by insulated boxcars and refrigerator cars |
| Agricultural Chemicals | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Unspecified origin | Seasonal deliveries to farms and agricultural businesses |
| Propane and Cement | Not specified (part of overall carload increase) | Various origins | Destinations within the railway's service area |
Customer Location Data By City
The Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway served numerous communities throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, each with a variety of customers and industries, many with their own unique rail-service requirements.
With the assistance of today’s AI tools, I am able to develop a broader understanding of the businesses that were historically served by the TSBY, including businesses that remain in operation today. By combining historical records with information about these businesses, we can begin to better understand the types of customers the TSBY served and the role the railway played in supporting local industries.
Alma
Frankfort/Elberta
PETS was a small rail-served food-processing customer in Frankfort. The operation dates to 1973, when it was founded by Michigan tart-cherry growers. During the TSBY era, the facility received rail shipments of fruit and juice products and reportedly received approximately one carload of sweetener every two to three weeks.
The operation is now Graceland Fruit, Inc., located at 1132 Main St., Frankfort, MI 49635. Rail service ended in 1987 when TSBY abandoned the line.
The former railroad right-of-way through Frankfort had its tracks and ties removed by 1994. The Michigan DNR purchased the abandoned railroad corridor in 1998, after which the former rail bed was developed as the Betsie Valley Trailway.
- Car Types: Tank Cars and Refrigerated Boxcars
- Shipment: Loads In, Loads Out, Empties Out
Millington
Munger
Osmer
Petoskey
Thompsonville
Travers City
Burwood Products Company, later also referred to as Burwood Industries, was a Traverse City manufacturer of clocks, wall décor, and decorative accessories. It was located at 807 Airport Access Rd, Traverse City, MI 49686 and received covered hopper cars carrying plastic pellets for its manufacturing operations. The company eventually entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ultimately closed in 1997 when its restructuring failed. Federal records confirm that Burwood Products was a significant Traverse City manufacturer during this period.
A 1970s federal transportation document specifically mentions Burwood Products in connection with C&O’s proposed abandonment of its Bay View–Manistee line, stating that Burwood expected to use another route if the C&O line was discontinued and that doing so could generate more than $200,000 in additional railroad revenue. After C&O left Traverse City, Burwood became a customer of the Michigan Northern Railway in 1982, when the railroad assumed operation of the former C&O line to Williamsburg. The line was subsequently operated by the TSBY around 1984.
- Car Types: Covered Hoppers
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Cherry Growers was a producer of local cherry and related fruit products and was located at 6331 US-31, Grawn, MI 49637. After C&O left Traverse City, Cheery Ggrowers became a customer of the Michigan Northern Railway in 1982, when the railroad assumed operation of the former C&O line to Williamsburg. The line was subsequently operated by the TSBY around 1984. Cherry Growers stopped using rail around 2009 and later closed.
- Car Types: Insulated Boxcars
- Shipment: Loads In, Loads Out
A 1976 Traverse City High School yearbook advertising section lists Farm Bureau Services, Inc. as a yearbook sponsor located at 631 Woodmere Avenue, Traverse City, MI 49686. The advertisement describes the business as handling “Feed, Fence, Seed, Building Materials, and Garden Supplies.”
I was not able to locate any historical track maps confirming that facility was directly rail-served. However, its location appears to be in the correct proximity to the yard to be consistent with the railroad accounts identifying a Farm Bureau feed mill along Woodmere Avenue.
- Car Types: Covered Hoppers
- Shipment: Unknowen
Integrity Iron & Metal was a scrap-metal recycling customer served by the Michigan Northern and subsequently serviced by the TSBY around 1984. The MICN gained it 1982 after C&O left Traverse City. It is now associated with Beacon Recycling.
TSBY and local officials actively tried to get Integrity Iron & Metal to increase its rail shipments. The company eventually accepted the offer in the early 2000s, began shipping many more cars, and actually extended its siding by approximately 500 feet to accommodate three additional cars. During busy periods TSBY switched it as many as five times per week, sometimes handling three or more cars at a time.
Eventually, after Integrity was acquired by Rifkin, the scrap was trucked from its location at 2762 Cass Rd, Traverse City, MI 49684 to Saginaw instead of being moved by TSBY to interchange with CSX.
- Car Types: Gondolas
- Shipment: Empties In, Loads Out
McGough’s dates back to about 1890, when Joseph H. McGough established a mill operation, and in 1895 he bought out his partners in the hay, grain and feed business. The company has remained a Traverse City agricultural/feed business for more than a century. The current business is still operating at 501 Lake Ave, Traverse City, MI 49684
The company’s own history specifically says: “we no longer receive coal deliveries from the Pere Marquette trains that used to stop behind our store.”
- Car Types: Covered Hoppers, Boxcars and pipe gondolas.
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Location: 2365 W South Airport Rd, Traverse City, MI 49684
- Car Types: Boxcars
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Location: Not Yet Knowen
- Car Types: Covered Hoppers, Boxcars and pipe gondolas.
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Square Deal Country Store is located at 900 Woodmere Ave, Traverse City, MI 49686 and the current Google Maps business listing confirms they are still there as of August 2026.
The Michigan Northern customer list identifies a Farm Bureau feed mill along Woodmere Avenue, receiving covered hoppers. But a 2022 discussion by a person familiar with the Michigan Nothing customer list specifically mentions the country store as a separate customer who received the occasional box car. The line was subsequently operated by the TSBY around 1984.
- Car Type: Boxcars
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Location: Not Yet Knowen
- Car Types: Gondolas.
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Wickes operated a lumber yard at 5161 US-31, Grawn, MI 49637. Grand Traverse County records confirm the property was owned by Wickes Lumber in 1995, while local sources establish the facility as the former Wickes Lumber building. The line was subsequently operated by the TSBY around 1984.
- Car Types: Center Beam & Bulkhead Flats and Boxcars
- Load Status: Loads In, Empties Out
Williamsburg
Schultz, Snyder & Steele was a lumber distributor located at 5763 S Bates Rd, Williamsburg, MI 49690. The company was later purchased by NorPac, eventually went bankrupt, and that the Williamsburg yard was subsequently acquired by Amerhart, which resumed receiving 1-3 railcars per week to this day.
- Car Types: Center Beam Flats and Boxcars
- Shipment: Loads In, Empties Out
Yuma
The Yuma sand facility became a major TSBY customer after Michigan divided operation of the former Ann Arbor line in 1982. The facility provided a significant source of rail traffic, generating more than 300,000 tons of industrial sand during its operation. Unit trains of loaded hopper cars were shipped south over the TSBY for interchange with the Ann Arbor Railroad at Osmer. The facility remained operational threw 2006.
The facility changed ownership several times during its service life. Known operators and owners include:
Sargent Sand Company — an earlier owner of the operation.
Wexford Sand Company — the name associated with the physical sand operation on some maps and historical records.
Fairmount Santrol — a later owner. The company eventually restructured its operations and closed the Yuma mine around 2016.
Because the operation changed ownership over the years, historical references to the facility may appear under several different company names.
- Car Types: Covered and Open Top Hoppers
- Shipment: Empties In, Loads Out
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