Lingering snow on the ground indicates that spring is late when Edward Hodges took this photo at Raisin Center, Michigan on 09 April 1982.
We are looking east on the Norfolk & Western Railway’s Detroit District at the point where Conrail’s Clinton Secondary Track crossed the line at grade. The former-Wabash St. Louis to Detroit line was at this time double-tracked from Stan interlocking, on the south side of Adrian, all the way to Detroit. Automatic block signals guided traffic.
At Raisin Center, an automatic interlocking plant guarded the intersection of the two lines, with Wabash-style signals used on both lines. Installed about circa 1930, the equipment was probably replaced during World War 2 when a collision between a Wabash and a New York Central train here left a pile of equipment across this entire area.
The diamonds were removed by the N&W in the summer of 1982 following the cessation of Conrail service on the Lenawee Junction to Clinton line. Later, in the 90s, most of the line towards Detroit was single-tracked. Two tracks remain today at this point, with the switch leading to single track being located a few hundred yards east.
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