On a hot summer afternoon in 1988, the Southern Michigan Railroad Society’s train has arrived in downtown Tecumseh. Passengers have gotten off to walk about the town, and there will be a small break before the train starts its return run to Clinton, backing up!
Engineer Richard Loucks is in the cab, probably wondering why he volunteered for this job—the Plymouth locomotive’s cab was extremely hot in the summer, with only minimal ventilation. The black paint scheme didn’t help, either. Doors and windows needed to be kept own at all times in hot weather. In the winter, there was almost no heating all, and the cab was also a miserable place to be.
At this time, the SMRS passengers did not venture south of M-50/Chicago Blvd. in the summer season. Trains arrived here from Clinton, and then reversed back.
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