A post relating to railfanning
-
Edward D. Hodges, Sep. 17, 1938–Jan. 12, 2020
I received word this morning from Tecumseh, Michigan of the passing of my long-time friend and contributor to this blog, Edward D. Hodges, on Sunday evening. A railroad modeler, photographer, historian, traveller and all-around enthusiast, Ed’s love of railroading was […]
-
The first train reaches Tecumseh—180 years ago
Before August 2018 runs its course, I thought it appropriate to note that this month marks an even 180 years of the arrival of the first train in Tecumseh. The Palmyra & Jacksonburg Railroad a line constructed north from a […]
-
Ghosts of the Newfoundland Railway
I first learned of CN’s narrow gauge operations in Newfoundland when I read Tom Nelligan’s article on the island’s mixed trains in the June 1980 edition of Passenger Train Journal. It took me 37 years–until 2017–to finally make a visit […]
-
Photo day—Terminal to Terminal
EMD NW-2 #9300 arrives at the Toledo Terminal engine facility at Hoffman Road in Toledo, Ohio on 11 March 1983, towing Toledo Terminal caboose #93. The unit was built in May 1949 and delivered to the Detroit Terminal Railroad as their […]
-
DT&I caboose 116 at Flat Rock
It’s 07 May 1989, and Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad caboose #116 sits on the end of a train in the Flat Rock, MI yard, having recently arrived on a road train from Ohio. Built in 1949 by the International […]
-
Photo day—N&W SC-1 at Milan
It’s only late afternoon on 18 December 1982, but dusk is already setting in as the shortest day of the year nears. N&W train SC-1, the “Super Charger” from Detroit to Kansas City, disturbs the quiet of small-town Milan, MI as […]
-
Clinton Yard—then and now
Since the early 1960s, when the section north to Manchester and Jackson was removed, Clinton, Michigan has served as the terminus of the Jackson (later Clinton) Branch of the New York Central, Penn Central and Conrail. In the 1980s, the […]
-
On the Gdańsk Narrow-Gauge Railway (GKD)—Part 1
On my first trip to Poland as a railfan, I was very much in the dark. There was no public internet in 1990, and information about interesting operations was almost impossible to find abroad. On 17 September 1990, while riding […]
-
The “Cut-Off” come to life—Michigan motor car adventures in the 1950s
by Jeffrey Dobek photos from the Gary Zeitler collection This article originally appeared in Issue 34 of “The Speeder”, the publication of the Motor Car Collectors of America, in Autumn 1995. Over the last decade, the motor car hobby has grown, […]
-
Tecumseh’s last freight train—35 years on
Before March ends, I thought it worth noting that March this year marks 35 years since the last freight train passed through Tecumseh, ending 145 years of continuous freight service on the Clinton Branch between Lenawee Junction and Tecumseh. It […]