TheLansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway was an electricinterurban railway which briefly operated independently incentral Michigan during the early 20th century. It was the site of a failed attempt to introducealternating current to the interurban scene.
The company incorporated on April 10, 1900, with the intention of constructing a new line north fromLansing throughSt. Johns andMaple Rapids toSt. Louis (today the route ofU.S. Highway 127). During its inception the company had come to the attention ofBion J. Arnold, an American engineer well known for his innovations inelectrical engineering, who would later buildNew York City'sInterborough Rapid Transit subway system. Arnold sought an opportunity to test his idea for usingsingle-phasealternating current instead ofdirect current for locomotive power. His company received the contract for the road's construction and work commenced in mid-1900.[1][2]
On February 3, 1902, the company completed a 18.5-mile (29.8 km) line as far asSt. Johns. On entering Lansing trains joined the Cedar Street line of the localstreetcar system. The electrical systems were not yet ready, so the railroad was operated by steam locomotives supplied by theMichigan Suburban Railroad. Arnold's account states that steam service began on November 15, 1901; Meints puts the completion of the line in February 1902.[2][3] Construction of theoverhead lines was finished by December 1902, and tests began the following March. The first trial trips occurred on June 15, 1903, using a specially-built experimental locomotive. The company had ordered three interurban cars from theJewett Car Company ofJewett, Ohio. These were of wooden construction, 56 feet 5 inches (17.20 m) in length, capable of seating 50 passengers, but at that stage Arnold's experimental motor lacked themotive power to drive them. A new locomotive fitted with two motors was readied for tests in early December, but a fire swept through the company'scar house, destroying the locomotive, two of the Jewett cars, and a steam locomotive. While engineers constructed a new locomotive, "Phoenix," the company rebuilt the line to permit DC operation, thereby allowing Lansingstreetcars to operate over it. On August 3, 1904, the new locomotive made a trial run of 8 miles (13 km) out toDeWitt. A blowncircuit breaker ended the test prematurely.[4][5]
On March 26, 1904, theLansing and Suburban Traction, which already owned the streetcar lines in Lansing, bought the Lansing, St. Johns & St. Louis, prompting the need to permit DC operation over the line. In the end, Arnold's experiments notwithstanding, the Lansing & Suburban operated the line using standard 600-volt direct current instead of 6000-volt alternating current. The line would change hands several times before finally ending up in the hands of theMichigan Electric, which abandoned it on May 16, 1929.[6][7]