The Port Huron and Northwestern Railway (PH&NW) is a defunct railroad which operated in the Thumb area of Michigan during the 1880s. The company was chartered by a group of Port Huron, Michigan businessmen on March 23, 1878, and opened its first line, Port Huron to Croswell, on May 12, 1879. The PH&NW's main line ran from Port Huron through Vassar to East Saginaw; this 91-mile (146 km) stretch opened on February 21, 1882. In addition the PH&NW operated three branch lines: , which was a continuation of the original Croswell line and ran up the Lake Huron coast; Port Austin, which split from "Sand Beach" at Palms and went through Bad Axe before reaching the northern tip of the Thumb; and Almont, which ran due west from Port Huron.