A post relating to railroading in Lenawee County, Michigan
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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 […]
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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, […]
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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 […]
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The Artrain comes to Tecumseh
The Michigan Artrain was founded in 1971, as a project to take art to the many small towns in Michigan where there was a railroad, but not an art museum. Over the next several years it toured the state, but later […]
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Photo day—AApparation in the fog
On the foggy morning of 27 July 1986, the Southern Michigan Railroad Society’s ex-Ann Arbor Railroad RS-2 #303 has come to life. Pushing dead sister #301 and Jim Frye’s ex-GTW caboose, the veteran Alco has crept north for the first time […]
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CR 5457 and the Clinton Branch
Throughout the first half of the 1970s, standard motive power on the Clinton Branch was a black EMD SW-7/8/9 switcher, leading the Clinton Local down and back the 13.5 miles between Clinton and Lenawee Junction, Michigan. With the arrival of Conrail in […]
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Final freight in Clinton
Conrail’s days as the operator of the Clinton Branch from Lenawee Junction to Clinton, Michigan were coming to a close at the beginning of 1982. The company had already applied to abandon the line, and the only active shippers remaining […]
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Photo day—the SMRS ICE train
No, this was not a tour by the German ICE train, but rather a trip made by members of the Southern Michigan Railroad on an icy day in January 1988. Starting from Clinton, a group of members set out with […]
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A walk along the DT&M Spur
When the Southern Michigan Railroad Society purchased its line in the 1980s from Conrail, the sale included what was known as the DT&M Spur in Tecumseh. This was the last remnant of the former-Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee Railroad (DT&M), which […]
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Tecumseh southbound
It appears to be a warm day on 13 June 1980, when photographer David J. Mrozek caught the Conrail “Clinton Local” just after leaving Tecumseh. At this time the “Local” would leave Clinton mid-afternoon each day, traveling through Tecumseh and […]