The Interurban / Interurban Depot

The Jackson and Battle Creek Traction Company began interurban service to Marshall in 1903. Its electric trains were powered by overhead lines in towns and by a sometimes deadly third rail in the countryside. Often just a single car, they provided local and limited service along the forty-five miles between Battle Creek and Jackson. Other lines carried passengers on to Detroit and Grand Rapids. The original fare was one and a half cents per mile with a five cent minimum. Interurban Depot The Marshall interurban depot was located at what is now 220 West Michigan Avenue. Built in 1903, the depot had a waiting room, a freight house, and an electrical transformer. Originally serving the route from Jackson to Battle Creek, with regular stops in Albion, Marshall and Parma, the interurban ran hourly. Consolidated with the Michigan United Railway Company in 1906, it began to decline with the automobile’s rise. The last interurban rolled out of Marshall on December 1, 1928.