It’s a typical Michigan winter day on 22 January 1981 as the southbound Conrail “Clinton Local” trundles south through Tecumseh, Michigan.
Photographer Ed Hodges caught the train just after crossing Chicago Blvd. (M-50) and passing the town fire station. The train is led by Conrail GP-8 #5457 and consists of three boxcars from the Budd Company plant at Clinton, as well as two cabooses. While the reason for this is not known, on a day like today a broken heating stove would easily render a caboose uninhabitable!
At this time Evans Street was a one-way street as far as Kilbuck Street.
As the trains passed through Tecumseh, the bell was always turned on at the north side of town (Brown Street) and left on until reaching the Tecumseh rail yard (Patterson St.). This kept local residents aware of the train, without the need to blow the horn for crossings.
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