The Palmyra Jacksonburgh Railroad, located in

Southern Michigan Southern Michigan is a loosely defined geographic area of the U.S. state of Michigan. Southern Michigan may be referred to as a sub-region or component area to other regions of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is an area of rolling farmland, in ...

, was the first railway system in the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It was abandoned in 1981 but is now an active railroad museum.

History

In April 1833, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad company was given a charter to start the building of a railroad. The Palmyra Jacksonburgh Railroad was the first railway in the state of Michigan. It was built in 1837 - the year that Michigan became a state - as the Tecumseh branch. The charter that was received in 1833 granted them the ability to create a railway that would run through Clinton, Michigan and finish in Jacksonburgh (which is now known as

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

). The new railroad branch tried to start building in 1838, but because of financial problems the railroad could not be built. However, in 1844 it was sold to the state to be operated by the Southern Railroad, which two years later became the Michigan Southern. After a few years construction began once more. The railroad reached Clinton in 1853,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1855, and finally Jacksonburgh in 1857. In 1855, it became part of the Northern Indiana Railroad. Once reaching Jacksonburgh, the branch was completed as the Palmyra Jacksonburgh Railroad. It was bought by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

system in 1915. From this point until around the 1930s, this railroad was among the causes of the expansion of

. However, starting in the 1930s the use of the train began to dwindle due to increasing automobile ridership. The railroad lost significant revenues from the lack of passenger service. The system still ran on importing and exporting goods throughout the country. In 1963 and 1965 the tracks between Clinton and Jackson were removed, cutting the branch off from businesses. New York Central folded into

Penn Central Railroad The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

in 1968. In 1970 Penn Central filed for bankruptcy in 1970, and in 1981 its successor, Conrail, filed to abandon the track.Michigan Railroads
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Southern Michigan Railroad Society

In 1985 the

Southern Michigan Railroad Society The Southern Michigan Railroad Society is a railway museum in Clinton, Michigan, United States. It has preserved of track and a variety of railroad equipment including the only GMDH-3 locomotive ever built. Trains are operated on a seasonal sc ...

, led by three high school students, purchased the Clinton Branch and transformed it into an operating railroad museum. The society continues to preserve, restore, and to educate the public about the first railroad in Michigan. They offer various trips on the remaining tracks of what used to be an operating railroad, and work on a volunteer basis.Southern Michigan Railroad Museum
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Historical Tours

Many of the events they offer are a tour during the Clinton Fall Festival, a tour during the Appleumpkin Festival, and the Fall Colors tour. They also feature a few winter excursions. These are the Tecumseh Holiday Open House, and a tour through the Tecumseh Holiday Lighted Parade.

References

{{reflist Defunct Michigan railroads Railway companies disestablished in 1981 Railway companies established in 1833 American companies established in 1833