Chronicles of a Detroit Railfan: Volume 3, Detroit Terminal Railroad

The Chronicles of a Detroit Railfan series of books brings back to life the many fascinating railroads serving a great city in the last quarter of the 20th Century when they were still so very interesting and so many. Detroit Terminal Railroad was a shortline, “terminal” railroad that formed a semicircle around the City of Detroit serving Detroit's industries. Formed in 1905 to extend rail service to the then rural area north of Detroit, the City of Detroit and its industries grew out to it, making Detroit Terminal a very busy and prosperous railroad until the deindustrialization of Detroit starting in the 1960’s. Volume 3 of Chronicles of a Detroit Railfan chronicles the last days of the Detroit Terminal Railroad in 1981 before it was merged into Conrail, as witnessed and photographed by the author.