The Detroit, Howell and Lansing Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in central

Central Michigan

Central Michigan, often called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Southern Michigan can be considered as a subregion of Central Michigan. As its name implies, it is the central area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and...

 and southeast

Southeast Michigan

Southeast Michigan, also called Southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are concentrated in Metro...

 Michigan during the early 1870s. The company formed on March 29, 1870 through the consolidation of the Detroit and Howell

Detroit and Howell Railroad

The Detroit and Howell Railroad is a defunct railroad organized in 1864 to build a line connecting Howell and Detroit in southeast Michigan....

 and the Howell and Lansing

Howell and Lansing Rail Road

The Howell and Lansing Railroad is a defunct railroad which proposed to construct a railway line between Howell and Lansing in central Michigan. The company incorporated on June 23, 1868 and began grading along the length of the line. The H&L had some difficulty obtaining financing; by the time it...

. From the two companies the DH&L gained a partially-graded right-of-way 84 miles (135.2 km) long, with track laid on perhaps half of it, stretching from Lansing

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

 southeast to Detroit

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

.

On March 16, 1871 the company consolidated with the Ionia and Lansing

Ionia and Lansing Railroad

The Ionia and Lansing Rail Road is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan in the 1860s and 1870s. The company incorporated on November 13, 1865; the investors hailed primarily from Lansing, Ionia and Portland...

 to form the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan. The company had existed as an independent entity for less than a year.