A post relating to history
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Conrail in Lenawee County—countdown to abandonment
Throughout 1981, the possibility that Conrail would abandon its trackage in Lenawee County was a topic for the local media. The articles were published throughout that year, and provide a look back at the thinking and ideas being mulled at […]
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Photo day—Dexter at twilight
In the last rays of the setting sun, Amtrak train #352, “The Lake Cities”, races through the small town of Dexter, Mich. on 08 October 1982. The train is en route from Chicago to Toledo, and will soon be slowing […]
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Conrail Presidential Special (1983)
In the spring of 1985, Conrail president L. Stanley Crane and railroad officials toured the Conrail system. Part of the inspection included Conrail lines in Michigan. The special train first arrived in Michigan running from Toledo to Detroit. Then, on […]
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The last winter of the Clinton Branch—40 years later
by Jeffrey Dobek Photos—the author, except as noted A filing with the Interstate Commerce Commission on November 16, 1981 signaled the coming end of Conrail freight service on the Clinton Branch between Lenawee Junction and Clinton, Michigan: Although press reports […]
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Conrail in Sturgis
Located in St. Joseph County, Michigan, Sturgis was once an important railroad junction. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern/New York Central’s “Old Road”—the original LS&MS main line to Chicago—passed through. The Old Road had a crossing in town at RK […]
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Photo day—Conrail on the Carrothers
Conrail GP40 #3263 and a GP30 sister lead a northbound train off the Carrothers Branch at Walbridge, Ohio on 09 March 1982. The train is about to cross the diamonds of the Toledo Terminal Railway and continue towards Toledo. To […]
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Photo day—Amtrak’s “St. Clair” at Detroit (1973)
Amtrak train #363, the westbound “St. Clair”, stirs up the dust as it crosses Central Ave. at the west end of Livernois Yard in Detroit on the afternoon of July 6, 1973. Classic cars spice up the scene, and in […]
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On railroad nicknames
by Edward D. Hodges A popular pastime of many railfans has been to form new names from the initials of railroads. In many cases these names were none too complimentary. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, for example, was referred […]
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Photo day—Westbound at Vickers
Conrail caboose #21215 brings up the rear of a westbound freight train at Vickers Crossing at Toledo (Northwood), Ohio on March 3, 1984, finishing a crossover movement between main tracks. The train has just passed over the diamonds of the […]
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Shades of red in downtown Tecumseh
It’s a sunny fall day as the Southern Michigan Railroad Society’s GE 44-ton switcher #75 leads a northbound Fall Color Tour train across Chicago Boulevard (M-50) in downtown Tecumseh, Michigan on 05 October 1996. Despite the green light, traffic on […]