The Lenawee County Railroad Company was a railroad that generally operated only from Monday to Friday. But photographer Edward Hodges had some luck when he stumbled upon LCRC Alco S2 #1 switching in the Adrian, Mich. yard on Saturday, 31 October 1981. He took a few photos, and although the weather was overcast, they provide an interesting view of the LCRC in Adrian at that moment in time. Let’s look around as #1 switches the Jackson Iron & Metal Co. scrapyard.
Number 1 “Addison J. Comstock”, named after an early pioneer, was the railroad’s first locomotive, an Alco S1 built in October 1948 (33 years previously) as B&O #9058. Present when operations began on 1 October 1977, the locomotive was originally painted black, with yellow lettering.
In 1979, the locomotive appeared in the LCRC’s blue paint scheme, with white lettering. Already by October 1980, the lettering had been re-done in yellow, which we see in these photographs. The experiment was short-lived, and by 1981 the locomotive had had its white letter restored, which it and other LCRC units wore for the rest of their careers. (I have not found a photograph of #2 with yellow lettering, so this experiment may have been limited to #1).
Tied onto a Conrail gondola of scrap, #2 awaits its next move. Ahead of the locomotive is the track which ran up a steep gradient to the Hoover Universal plant (also known as “Stubbies”, the former Stubnitz-Green Spring Company).
Looking east, as #1 idles on the Jackson Iron & Metal lead, we get a view of what was the once-thriving New York Central yard. To the left, the former NYC roundhouse stands. Minus its turntable, it was in use at the time by a welding supply company. In the distance, in the only remaining portion of the NYC yard, stands a cut of LCRC’s 50′ boxcars. These were built during the incentive per-diem boxcar craze in the late 1970s, but by this time many were returning to the LCRC for storage due to a glut on the market. The condition of the main track (to the left) reflects the early era of the LCRC, before the State of Michigan invested funds for track rehabilitation.
In less that 2 years, #1 would end up in this very scrapyard itself, a victim of a frozen block. Yet the LCRC itself would survive until 1990.
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