In 1982, the family that owned the Port Huron & Detroit Railroad decided to get out of the railroad business and put it up for sale. The Illinois & Michigan Railroad had just started business, was looking for railroads to purchase, and snapped it up.
The PH&D was a bit of an odd duck after the rest of the I&M system had been assembled, given that it was approximately 120 miles away from the nearest bit of I&M-owned track, so continued to operate much as it always had.
When the I&M fell on hard times and was taken over by the D&H and LT&L, it kept operating as it always was, and eventually was passed into the hands of the Parsons Vale Trust’s Groupe Ferroviaire Murmuration, where it remains.
The PH&D never merged its roster with that of the Parsons Vale Trust, and remains a 100% Alco joint. The three locomotives it had at the time of the I&M purchase remain on the system, with the later addition of a remanufactured RS-11.
| road number | in service | class | description | type | builder | built | HP | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 1 | S-1 | S-138 | DE | Alco | 1945 | 1300 | Remanufactured at ILW in 2015 |
| 60 | 1 | S-2 | BL1300RM | DE | Alco | 1945 | 1300 | Remanufactured at Brookville in 2019; Cummins QSK38 prime mover. |
| 62 | 1 | S-4 | S-438 | DE | Alco | 1956 | 1300 | Remanufactured at ILW in 2020 |
| 70 | 1 | RS-11 | RS-29 | DE | Alco | 1957 | 2400 | Remanufactured at ILW in 2018 |