In 1920 Henry Ford purchased the former DT&I (Detroit, Toledo, and Ironton [note: that is Ironton, Ohio... down on the Ohio river... not Ironton, MI]). His intent was to control costs of both incoming supplies and outgoing finished vehicles. Although the railroad was not a major line it had connections with all of the east-west lines across the country at the time. In short order he decided he could reduce costs even more by using electric locomotives rather than steam. He was already generating his own power at the River Rouge complex and he decided the electric would be efficient up to 30 miles away from the generator.
This rail line crosses from Wayne County into Monroe County at Flat Rock and then goes to Carleton and then Maybee and then crosses the River Raisin east of Dundee and M-50 it's the overpass that you have go down and under. Next there is a rail crossing in Dundee Township called Dyan. It heads pretty much southwest from there down to Delta Ohio. That is about as far as I've ever 'tracked' (intended pun) it!
I got to thinking about this 'history' again last week while looking at all the photos of the scene at the recovery and investigation of Chelsea's body. You can see the footings or piers in the photos that were intended to support big arches (cantanaries) that would then carry the electric wires to power the locomotives.
This is one of dozens of photosin the news last week that show the piers although this one is about the best one I've seen.

Here's another one showing them stretching off toward the I-275 overpass. This is looking southwest toward Carleton. It's hard to see the ones on the opposite side of the tracks... and some have been removed over the years so maybe they're not all there. If you use Google aerials it will zoom down close enough to see them. I could see them as far SW as the intersection with the tracks and Stewart Road. So, obviously old Henry intended for them to go at least that far!!!

Here is a photo showing what the arches look like... this is from somewhere in the Downriver area where there are still plenty of them just standing.
Note that the powerlines in this photo have absolutely nothing to do with the arches... they're just in the background.

Again, using the Google aerial photos the first arch still standing (going northeast from Flat Rock) is just north of Pennsylvania and just east of I-75 (probably hidden from view on 75 from the landfill.
A question for the 'old timers'...
does anyone remember seeing these in Monroe County?
If so, how far southwest did they go?
Flat Rock, Carleton, Maybee or Dyan?
The info is pretty well documented in Wayne County so it would be nice to try to add some more info for Monroe County.
There is an interesting 'feature' of this line down in Delta, Ohio. You can see the tracks just east of the steel plant going directly south. They are elevated and several of the county roads go under them. From what I can see this was built so they could 'hump' the rail cars from up there (they let gravity roll them down and then someone is running a series of switches to sort them to different trains... this lets them move without having to use a locomotive to move them. You can see on the side of some rail cars...

'Do Not Hump'... it's not what you may have thought it was

The articles below have various info on how far the 'electrification' project was to extend. Over the years I've read sources that say as far as Dyan and others say Maybee and Carleton.
http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2013/10/26/henry-fords-railroad/http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Stories/DT&I-TheRailroadThatWentNoPlacePart2.htmhttp://detroit1701.org/Henry%20Ford's%20Electric%20Railroad.htmlLess details here but still some related info if you want to sort it all out... also lots more info on the many other rail lines that criss crossed Monroe County.
http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Timeline/TimeLine1920s.htmhttp://www.rrpicturearchives.net/archiveThumbs.aspx?id=59615Any thoughts or comments appreciated... but especially info on how far both the piers and possibly the arches extended into Monroe County.