Wyandotte Terminal Railroad

Wyandotte Terminal Railroad was incorporated in the State of Michigan, United States of America, on September 14, 1904. It ceased operations as a railroad in 1982.

Wyandotte Terminal Railroad was originally created and owned by Michigan Alkali, a producer of an ingredient in the making of soda ash and other sodium-based products, to provide railroad switching services to its two plants located about four miles from each other on the Detroit River in Wyandotte, Michigan, United States of America. Michigan Alkali was later named Wyandotte Chemical and eventually BASF Wyandotte Corporation.

At one time owning almost 9 miles of track, Wyandotte Terminal Railroad did all the intra-plant and inter-plant railroad switching for BASF Wyandotte’s two large plants located on the Detroit River in Wyandotte, Michigan. The City of Wyandotte is located just south of the City of Detroit. Wyandotte Terminal Railroad interchanging freight cars with two Class 1 railroads, the Michigan Central Railroad (later known as New York Central, Penn Central Railroad and, eventually, Conrail) and the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad, as well as neighboring industrial railroad named Wyandotte Southern Railroad.

During the last few years of operations, Wyandotte Terminal Railroad would operate a train six days a week from BASF Wyandotte Chemical’s South Plant to its North Plant. Leaving the South Plant, this train would run on about a mile of its own trackage to the Detroit Toledo & Ironton Railroad’s (“DT&I”) Ford Yard located at the extreme south end of the City of Wyandotte to interchange freight cars with DT&I and Wyandotte Southern Railroad. From Ford Yard the train would then run north approximately four miles with freight cars destined for the North Plant of BASF Wyandotte Corporation utilizing trackage rights on the DT&I line. Just west of the North Plant the train would regain Wyandotte Terminal Railroad trackage and proceed about a half-mile to the North Plant. When finished switching at the North Plant, this train would return to the South Plant via the same route, again interchanging freight cars received from the North Plant with DT&I at Ford Yard, if necessary. Wyandotte Terminal Railroad interchanged with Conrail at its North Plant. Wyandotte Terminal Railroad kept additional locomotives at each of its two plants to perform the intra-plant switching. Freight cars handled by the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad were largely tank cars and covered hoppers.

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