The Milwaukee & Northern - Champion Branch
Fifty-eight miles of track were laid from the Menominee River to Champion, Mich., in 1887. From then until January of 1893, Champion was the northern terminus of the main line. After the line to Ontonagon was completed in 1893, the section from Channing to Ontonagon became the main line. The section from Channing to Champion then became the Champion Branch.
The M&N became the Superior Division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (CM&StP), or Milwaukee Road (MILW), on 1 July 1893. It reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific (CMStP&P) in 1928.
The Escanaba & Lake Superior (E&LS or ELS) uses the line from Channing to the Michigamme River (between Floodwood and Witch Lake) for car storage. The section from there to Republic still has rails, but it is quite overgrown and some grade crossings have been removed. The rails between Republic and Champion have been removed, and that section is now the Republic/Champion Grade Trail.
Channing, Mich., was Milepost 0 on the M&N Champion Branch.
This station was originally named Ford Siding. The name was changed to Channing, in honor of J. Parke Channing, circa November of 1892. He had completed some surveying in the area for the M&N.
There are two depots, built end-to-end, at Channing. Reliable information regarding their construction has proven elusive, so far. We believe that the smaller, older, southern depot was erected in 1893 by the M&N. The newer, larger, northern depot was built by the MILW later, in or prior to 1907 (the earliest photograph we have seen). A couple of references claim that the depot and adjoining yard were built in 1888. We believe that claim to be erroneous, although we are not absolutely certain. There was nothing here in 1888, a year after the rail line had been completed. There was no need for a yard or a depot here. In 1892, when the name was changed from Ford Siding to Channing, the depot was an old box car and there was little else here, as J. Parke Channing (the namesake of this community) later recalled. But the next year, when the extension from Channing to Sidnaw was completed and a new village sprouted at the new, important railroad junction, the M&N constructed a yard and a new depot to replace the old boxcar. A newspaper article from 27 July 1893 proudly proclaimed that “a new and neat depot has just been completed.”
MILW 531 rests in front of the former M&N depot at Channing, Mich., photographed circa 1912. This view is looking northward. Photograph courtesy of the Dickinson County Library and the Upper Peninsula Regional Digitization Center.
ELS 503 and ELS 402 rest in front of the former M&N depot at Channing, Mich., on 26 June 2021. This view is looking northward. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Republic, Mich., was Milepost 254 on the M&N.
Looking southwest toward the MILW, former M&N, depot at Republic, Mich., from what is now the Park City Rd. grade crossing. Postcard from the MNRHS Archives.
Champion, Mich., was Milepost 263 on the M&N.
This depot was built by the M&N in 1887, when they reached Champion. The Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic (DSS&A), through a predecessor, the Marquette & Ontonagon (M&O), had reached Champion in 1865. At some point between 1892 and 1902 (according to the Sanborn maps), the newer M&N depot was converted to a union depot to serve the passengers of both railroads. The older DSS&A depot was converted to a union freight house for use by both railroads. According to an article in the Spring 1993 issue of The Soo, the former M&N depot was sold to the highest bidder in 1975. It was dismantled and the lumber was used to frame a house in nearby Clarksburg. The fate of the former M&O/DSS&A depot is unknown to us.
Looking northwest toward the MILW/Soo Line (SOO) union depot at Champion, Mich. This is the MILW side. Postcard from the MNRHS Archives.
Looking northwest toward the MILW/Soo Line (SOO) union depot at Champion, Mich., on 28 March 1970, three days before the agency was scheduled to be closed. This is the MILW side. Photograph courtesy of the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.
Looking west toward the MILW/DSS&A union depot at Champion, Mich., ca. 1909. The train rests on the MILW rails, the rails in the foreground belong to the DSS&A. The former DSS&A depot is partially visible at the far right. Photograph courtesy of the Houghton Co. Historical Society and Upper Peninsula Regional Digitization Center.
The former MILW roundhouse at Champion, Mich., on 3 July 1986. We are not sure if this is the original M&N roundhouse, or one built later by the MILW. Photograph courtesy of the Rev. Herman Page Collection – Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.
The former MILW roundhouse at Champion, Mich., on 26 July 2022. We are not sure if this is the original M&N roundhouse, or one built later by the MILW. Photograph by Tom Bruss.
Is this a roundhouse or an enginehouse? Some references refer to this structure as an enginehouse. Some people, including this web site’s administrator, share the belief that if the building is rectangular, with 90-degree corners, it’s an enginehouse. If the back wall of each stall is longer than the front wall of each stall, like on this building, it’s a roundhouse.
Daily Northwestern article on 1 March 1888, about two deer running on the tracks in front of a M&N train near Champion, Mich., on 29 February 1888.
The copy of the newspaper article, at left, is not very good, so here is a transcript of it:
“Green Bay Gazette: Railroad officials who were on the Milwaukee & Northern train north from Champion yesterday forenoon report a novel sight. When a short distance this side of Champion two deer sprang on the track ahead of the engine and started on a run. The train was moving along at a rate of about twenty five or thirty miles an hour, but the animals did not seem to have very much trouble in keeping ahead. This uneven race was kept up for about three miles, when the deer came to a railroad bridge. It being too wide to clear, they parted, one jumping to the right side of the bridge and the other to the left, and disappeared into the woods in different directions.”