Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-07-30
Shoemaker Brother
MICHIGAN BELT Line ROAD
The Proposed New Line VIII
be Built.
And Napoleon Is Right On 1t.

Milwaukee has become interested
in the great lake and land route
which is to be line from that cit y
to FostorIa, Ohio. The milwaukee,
Wisconsin of July 18th, says
AT Grand Rapids, Mich, the Wis
consin representative saw J. W
Boynton, president of the railroad
companies named, and when asked
for confirmation of the report and
what the company was doing in that
/ direction, President Boynton said
"Our company has excellent ter
minals at Grand Haven, consisting
of three quarters of a mile of the
best dockage on the harbor there,
and it is key to the commerce of
the lakes. Our terminals are suf-
| ficiently large to side-track $4,000
carloads of freight at one time, if
necessary. Our lake frontage is
nearly two miles in extent.
Yes, sir; We have made arrange
ments for entering Milwaukee. In
your city it is proposed to use tenn
porarily the slips of the Chicago,
Milwaukee q st. Paul company: also
that of the Northwestern railroad,
until such time as we can add to
our terminals in Milwaukee, already
purchased, but which for obvious
reasons can not at this time be given
to the public. Our line extends from
Grand Haven to Fostoria, O., and
fully nine-tenths of the right of way
for the road between Grand Haven
and Fostoria has been secured. The
entire line is surveyed and located,
and 165 miles of the roadbed is grad
ed ready for the ties and rails"
From other sources it was learned
that the company is actively at work
in different sections that the con-
struction of ferryboats was under
way, and that the enterprise Is as
sured. Starting at Grand Haven.
where the company will receive its
trains from Milwaukee direct from
the ferry boat, the line runs in a
southeasterly direction through the
following named counties, to Fos-
toria, o.: Ottawa, east to Kent,
thence south through Allegan, Bar
ry, Calhoun, Branch. Williams, Hen
ry and Wood counties, the latter
three in Ohio, to Fostoria. The line
touches the towns Grand Rapids,
Gun Lake, Battle Creek, Camden,
and other Michigan and Ohio towns +,
and strikes some excellent country.
At Fostoria the road will strike the
Baltimore & Ohio, Lake Erie and
Western, Ohio Central and several
other Eastern lines.
The new route will provide for
Milwaukee just what the Wisconsin
Central is giving the Manitowoc, and
will open up the entire Northwest
for the shipment of coal and other
products directly from the Southeast,
and the shipment eastward of grain,
dairy and other products west of
Lake Michigan. For some years
railroad men have declared that it
did not pay Western line to ship
grain to the seaboard, via Chicago,
as the Eastern lines received the
bulk of the tariff for their long hauls.
The only way in which it could be
made paying traffic for roads west
of Lake Michigan, it has all along
been claimed, was to secure a quick
outlet across the lake from Mil
waukee or other ports on the Wis
i consin shore. The proposed ferry
system, operated in connection with
the line of the Central Michigan and
Michigan & Ohio Belt Line roads,
will solve the problem of reaching
the seaboard with grain from the
Northwestern country.