Chapter 5 -- Some Unusual Operations

SUBURBAN OPERATIONS
With the exception of the Ford Rouge service to east Dearborn, D.S.R. never planned to run cars to the suburbs. However, the conditions created by the acquisition of all of the city lines forced an immediate change in plans. Ultimately six suburban operations would be undertaken while one more operations was at least considered. However, only one operation lasted for any period of time. There were other interurban operations which were now operated by the Eastern Michigan Railway. There were no plans for the D.S.R. to provide service on these remaining interurban lines to the north and south of Detroit.

CENTERLINE
The loss of the city lines would have left this three and one quarter miles of single track along the east side of Van Dyke Avenue isolated from the remainder of the D.U.R. system and many miles from the nearest car house. Thus, ownership of the track was thrust upon the D.S.R. in the 1922 purchase. D.U.R had considered this an interurban service and charged two additional 5¢ zone fares from Harper and Van Dyke to the loop just north of Ten Mile Road. Single-truck, two-man cars equipped with interurban arc headlights were used to provide this service. When D.S.R. acquired the line they immediately extended the city fare zone to the city limits at Seven Mile Road and charged only one extra fare to the end of the line. The quality of the service was soon vastly improved with the replacement of the lurching singletruck cars with 1700-series double-truck cars and later improved again with modern Peter Witt cars. Service north of Seven Mile Road was replaced with a shuttle bus in mid-1932 during the widening of Van Dyke. Rail service was restored in 1934 but only to a new wye in the median of Eight Mile Road, now the city limits.

CONTRACT WITH THE EASTERN MICHIGAN RAILWAYS
By 1928 the D.U.R. had been reorganized as the Eastern Michigan Railway. Its financial condition was precarious and most of its suburban cars obsolete and in poor operating condition. It contracted with D.S.R. to operate much of the suburban remnants of its former interurban system. This relieved the Eastern Michigan of the mileage costs over D.S.R. tracks to downtown Detroit, enabled them to close some suburban carhouses and ended the $5 per car per day storage costs on D.S.R. property. Two fare boxes were to be used. The Eastern Michigan would receive all fares collected outside Detroit and would maintain track, overhead and furnish power. D.S.R. would receive all fares collected in Detroit and would be paid 25¢ per car mile. Later this was reduced to 20¢ by operating cars beyond the city limits with one-man crews. The Detroit two-man car ordinance was avoided by having inbound and outbound runs meet at the city limits and exchange crews and fare boxes.

FARMINGTON
On July 29, 1928, service began to Grand River Avenue and Farmington Road in Farmington. Up to this time D.S.R. was operating city cars from downtown to the Redford wye and a Birney was shuttling to a crossover at the city limits near Seven Mile Road. The 6¢ city fare was charged to Redford and the six mile extension to Farmington was divided into four 5¢ zones. In 1929 D.S.R. opened a new loop off the interurban tracks at Seven Mile Road. Then the shuttle service was replaced with through cars and the city fare was extended to the new loop. In 1931 the State Highway Department began negotiating with the Eastern Michigan Railways for its right-of-way to widen Grand River. The Highway Department informed D.S.R. that they would provide an easement for trolley service but D.S.R. was not interested. Trolley service to Farmington ended on February 1, 1931. Soon thereafter the Eastern Michigan removed the tracks and overhead and sold the right-of-way to the State.

WYANDOTTE
D.S.R.'s next suburban extension began on August 19, 1928, when service was extended on West Jefferson Avenue from the Rouge River to Penn wye in Wyandotte. Service beyond to Trenton had been abandoned by the interurban about one year earlier. Included in this extension was the mile and a quarter long Great Lakes branch on Richter and Great Lakes Avenues to the shipyards and steel mills on the river. Off-peak service on this branch was with Birney cars while all other services were deck roof P.A.Y.E. cars, usually of the 1400 and 1500-series and later 3200 series Peter Witts. The six and three quarter miles all on city streets beyond the city limits was divided into four 5¢ fare zones. The Wayne County Road Commission was planning road improvements along Biddle Avenue (West Jefferson) including replacement of the decrepit bridge over Ecorse Creek. Thus, trolley service was cut back to the Rouge River bridge on January 18, 1931.

MT. CLEMENS
On December 9,1928, D.S.R. began operating to their new loop off the interurban tracks on Gratiot and Hauss Road just south of Ten Mile Road. Service was provided by Peter Witt cars. One extra 6¢ fare was charged for riding north of Eight Mile Road. On January 13, 1930, interurban service through Mt. Clemens to Port Huron was discontinued and D.S.R. immediately extended its Gratiot line to the Canfield interurban carhouse on the north side of Mt. Clemens, twelve miles beyond the Detroit city limits. Traffic was so light that in 1931 Mt. Clemens service was reduced to a single daily franchise run and through service from downtown Detroit to Hauss Road was replaced with a shuttle car from a new loop in Eastwood Amusement Park north of Eight Mile Road. To keep through service to Hauss Road the village of East Detroit tried to be annexed to the City of Detroit. Although approved by the suburban voters, the city voters rejected the proposal. All service north of Eastwood loop ended on September 10, 1932. The Eastern Michigan Railway scrapped the tracks and overhead and sold the right-of-way to the State Highway Department for the widening of Gratiot Avenue.

WEST DEARBORN
On October 17, 1929, D.S.R. extended its Michigan Avenue line three and one quarter miles to the interurbans' Mason wye in West Dearborn. Interurban service through Dearborn to Ann Arbor and Jackson had ended a month earlier. On September 7, 1930, the line was extended an additional mile and one half to a D.S.R.-built loop at Telegraph Road. Full service was short-lived as service to West Dearborn was reduced to rush-hours only on January 14, 1931. As the Depression deepened service to Telegraph Road was reduced, on February 6, 1932, to six trips a day -- three in the morning and three in the evening. A short three weeks later all service beyond Schaefer Road was terminated on February 29, 1932. This was effectively the end of suburban service on the Michigan Avenue line. The interurban to Jackson had been separated from D.U.R. in the reorganization that created the Eastern Michigan Railways. This service was now being operated under the aegis of the Michigan Railway. The fare to West Dearborn and the financial agreement with D.S.R. are unknown.

ROYAL OAK
The D.S.R. finally got into the suburban trolley business on a permanent basis when the interurban through Royal Oak to Flint was abandoned on April 17, 1931. The City of Royal Oak purchased the track and overhead north of Eight Mile Road for $12,200 plus some unpaid taxes just two hours before a sale to a Pontiac scrap dealer would have become final. An agreement was quickly made with D.S.R. to lease the track to the wye at Main and Catalpa in Royal Oak for $5,000 annually. D.S.R. would provide all maintenance and pay for power. The conductor collected an extra 6¢ fare by walking through the car with a small metal box when crossing the city limits at Eight Mile Road. Service was begun May 30, 1931. One way route mileage was 4.42 miles beyond the city limits with about half of this open track along the landscaped center parkway of Woodward Avenue. Traffic was local in nature except for huge crowds carried to the new Detroit Zoo at Ten Mile Road. Most through commuters used the faster Grand Trunk Railroad. A favorite trip of local rail buffs was to take the midnight Chicago train to the Royal Oak station and return on the last streetcar of the night. The line continued running through World War II and was replaced with a shuttle bus from the Fairgrounds on May 3, 1947.