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Photo day—LCRC switches the Southern Michigan
During the early years of the Southern Michigan Railroad Society in the mid-1980s, the line from Lenawee Jct. to Clinton, Mich. was already severed at Raisin Center by the removal of the crossing diamonds with the Norfolk & Western Railway’s […]
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Photo day—Extra 301 North at Lenawee Junction
Flying white “extra” flags, a peculiar set of equipment crosses Lenawee Highway and enters the former-Clinton Branch trackage of the Southern Michigan Railroad Society at Lenawee Junction, MI on a cold January morning in 1986. The move marks the end […]
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Photo day—Alcos in the snow
It is 22 December 1985, and Lenawee County Railroad #2 “George Crane” has just spotted former-Ann Arbor Railroad RS-2s #301 and #303 (carrying reporting marks “SMRX”) on the west leg of the wye at Lenawee Junction, Michigan for delivery to […]
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Switching at the Junction
Looking like a scene from the 1960s, this photograph was taken at Lenawee Junction, Michigan on the Lenawee County Railroad on 03 November 1986. The LCRC is switching equipment of the Southern Michigan Railroad following a weekend display in Blissfield […]
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A new series about the history of Tecumseh’s railroads
Today marks the publishing of the first part of Edward Hodges’ history of the railroad of Tecumseh. The first part is a history of the Palmyra & Jacksonburgh Railroad, the north/south line which later became the New York […]
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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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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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Lumbering out of Lenawee
Photos by Edward Hodges Grey skies portend the future of Conrail’s Clinton Branch at Lenawee Junction, Michigan on December 15, 1981. Ed Hodges was on-hand to capture the northbound departure of this short freight train. A carload of lumber for […]
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Photo day—Bidwell Street Crossing
It Is Saturday, June 6, 1987, and a southbound Southern Michigan Railroad passenger service is just crossing Bidwell Street in the city of Tecumseh, Michigan. The train is led by the SMR’s 35-ton Plymouth locomotive #57 (lettered for the long-gone […]
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Photo day—Palmyra caboose hop
On 27 June 1982, Edward Hodges caught a Conrail train returning from Lenawee Junction, Michigan to Toledo, Ohio passing the site of the former station at Palmyra, Mich. In March of 1982, Conrail had abandoned service on the Clinton Branch […]