A post relating to the state of Michigan
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Winter’s End—Clinton, MI 1979
Spring was not far away when Edward Hodges photographed Conrail’s Clinton Local at Clinton, Mich. in March of 1979. It is likely a weekend day, as no crew is present and the train is tied down with locomotive idling on […]
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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—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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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 […]
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Photo day—Weekend rest
Conrail’s Clinton local waits out the weekend, tied down on the Budd Company siding at Clinton, Michigan, on Saturday, 21 January 1981. Photographer Edward Hodges hiked out to the location to photograph the train, as operations on the Clinton line neared […]
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Late snow
Winter snow was still apparent on the ground as Lenawee County Railroad Company #2 “George Crane” blocked Logan Street in Adrian, MI on 08 April 1982. The crew is switching the Hoover/Stubnitz facility (originally Stubnitz Spring, later merged with Hoover […]