A post relating to the Southern Michigan Railroad Society (SMRS)
-
Clinton Yard—then and now
Since the early 1960s, when the section north to Manchester and Jackson was removed, Clinton, Michigan has served as the terminus of the Jackson (later Clinton) Branch of the New York Central, Penn Central and Conrail. In the 1980s, the […]
-
The “Cut-Off” come to life—Michigan motor car adventures in the 1950s
by Jeffrey Dobek photos from the Gary Zeitler collection This article originally appeared in Issue 34 of “The Speeder”, the publication of the Motor Car Collectors of America, in Autumn 1995. Over the last decade, the motor car hobby has grown, […]
-
Photo day—AApparation in the fog
On the foggy morning of 27 July 1986, the Southern Michigan Railroad Society’s ex-Ann Arbor Railroad RS-2 #303 has come to life. Pushing dead sister #301 and Jim Frye’s ex-GTW caboose, the veteran Alco has crept north for the first time […]
-
Final freight in Clinton
Conrail’s days as the operator of the Clinton Branch from Lenawee Junction to Clinton, Michigan were coming to a close at the beginning of 1982. The company had already applied to abandon the line, and the only active shippers remaining […]
-
Photo day—the SMRS ICE train
No, this was not a tour by the German ICE train, but rather a trip made by members of the Southern Michigan Railroad on an icy day in January 1988. Starting from Clinton, a group of members set out with […]
-
A walk along the DT&M Spur
When the Southern Michigan Railroad Society purchased its line in the 1980s from Conrail, the sale included what was known as the DT&M Spur in Tecumseh. This was the last remnant of the former-Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee Railroad (DT&M), which […]
-
Dashing through the snow—in a Plymouth!
The first piece of full-sized railroad equipment owned by Southern Michigan Railroad Society (not counting the track cars which were accumulating at the time), was the 35-ton Plymouth locomotive. It was donated by the Hayes-Albion Company in Albion, Michigan, and […]
-
Photo day—SMRS work crew at Tecumseh in 1984
It looks like the weather in Tecumseh on Saturday, 08 December 1984 was pretty nice as this Southern Michigan Railroad crew set out to work on some maintenance tasks on the line. Here, at Shawnee St. in Tecumseh, they have been […]
-
Photo day—MRC visits the SMRS
It’s 06 September 1986, and a busload of members of the Michigan Railroad Club set out from Dearborn, Michigan on one of the club’s “mystery” trips, today for a visit and ride on the Southern Michigan Railroad. The SMR prepared […]
-
Santa arrives in Clinton—SMRS 1983–84
In the early 1980s, the Village of Clinton, Michigan held a “Christmas Walk” on the Sunday after Thanksgiving each year. Being civic-minded, the newly formed Southern Michigan Railroad Society (SMRS) worked with the village to bring Santa to town each year […]