The Southern Michigan Railroad Society is a
railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives ( steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic ...
in
Clinton, Michigan,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. 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 schedule.
History
The Society began as the "Lenawee Area Railroaders", an informal association of railway buffs and modelers. They held monthly gatherings in Tecumseh, Clinton, and
Adrian, Michigan, and starting in June 1981 they published a newsletter, "The Cross Tracks". In 1982 when it was learned that
Conrail would abandon their Clinton Secondary Track they founded the nonprofit Southern Michigan Railroad Society, a volunteer membership organization, "to back an attempt by local citizens to purchase and preserve the former
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 ...
's Clinton Branch rail line."
In 1983 the Society purchased the abandoned former Clinton Engines building, located adjacent to the railroad at 320 S. Division Street from The Village of Clinton for a nominal sum. In July 1984, they reached agreement with Conrail to purchase the railroad, for $100,000.
In 1985, a small
"track speeder" motorcar had been donated to the Society, and during Clinton's Fall Festival, speeder rides were improvised for the public. This was successful. The Society was able to obtain other motorcars, and for several years operated a successful passenger service while they gathered funds to truck in full-size equipment. At the height of motorcar operation, there were two "motorcar trains" of up to 5 motorcars running simultaneously between Clinton and Tecumseh.
The first large equipment to be obtained was an operating Plymouth locomotive and two cabooses. Within a few years, this was augmented with a pipe gondola car fitted for carrying passengers. Later, a 1920 Chicago South Shore interurban car was added to the train. Additional locomotives arrived, including a former
Western Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation.
The WM beca ...
GE 44-ton and the
GMDH-3.
In September 2009 a hostile takeover attempt was launched against the Society by a Tecumseh-area property developer and lawyer.
In 2013 the Society acquired a 22,000 square foot shop building in Clinton to be used as a maintenance and restoration facility.
Heritage railroad
The railroad runs from
Clinton, Michigan, through
Tecumseh, Michigan
Tecumseh is a city in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the River Raisin. Tecumseh is about southwest of Detroit, south of Ann Arbor, and north of Toledo, Ohio. The main street of downtown is Chicago Boulevard, also designat ...
, to
Lenawee Junction, Michigan. This line is the second railroad constructed in the State of Michigan, and the first branch line. It was originally the
Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad, running between
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...
(near Lenawee Junction) and
Jackson, Michigan.
The railroad runs between the towns of Clinton and Tecumseh during the summer months and from Tecumseh to the rural railroad junction of Raisin Center, where the track originally crossed the Norfolk Southern mainline. An additional two miles of track (now disconnected from the northern section) runs from Raisin Center to Lenawee Junction. Most trains operate between the Clinton and Tecumseh, permitting stopovers. In October, "Fall Color Tours" traditionally used the longer segment to Raisin Center, although in 2014 and 2015 they were run between Clinton and Tecumseh instead. Fall Color Tours will return to its traditional route in 2016.
A notable feature of the line is Bridge 15, a Howe deck truss bridge listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Operations
Operations typically run from May to October and December, usually operating between Clinton and Tecumseh. Special events include Clinton's Fall Festival in late September, color tours between Tecumseh and Raisin Center in October, and a "Santa train" in December.
The train typically includes a South Shore car, passenger gondola and a caboose or two, powered by a 44-ton diesel.
Collection
Among the Society's equipment:
* The two
Ann Arbor ALCO RS-1
The ALCO RS-1 was a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Alco-GE between 1941 and 1953 and the American Locomotive Company from 1953 to 1960. ALCO subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works built an additional three RS-1s in 1954. This model has ...
locomotives, #20 and #21. #20 is located in
Shepherd, Michigan in static display. #21 will be undergoing a study for return to service in 2015.
* The only
General Motors GMDH-3 diesel-hydraulic
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
locomotive ever built. It is not currently operational.
* Former Western Maryland
GE 44-ton switcher #75, in operation on most trips.
* Former
Detroit and Mackinac Railway
The Detroit and Mackinac Railway , informally known as the "Turtle Line", was a railroad in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The railroad had its main offices and shops in Tawas City with its main line ...
GE 44-ton Switcher #10, built for the M&STL as their D-742, recently acquired and awaiting restoration to operational service.
* The last mechanically intact
New York Central MU Car, #4330 (numbered Penn Central 1291).
* Two 1920
Chicago South Shore cars, #1 and #36.
* The former Pullman sleeper "Emerald Vale", later used by the Ann Arbor Railroad as a work train car.
*
New York Central bay window caboose #21692.
*
New Haven Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
caboose #C-626, for a time repainted as Penn Central #19882, a caboose which ran on this line.
* A large collection of
"track speeder" railway motorcars.
* A small Plymouth locomotive.
* An Ann Arbor Railroad boxcar.
* Two flat cars.
* Grand Trunk Western transfer caboose #75053.
* An NYC Pipe Gondola converted to open air passenger car.
References
External links
Southern Michigan Railroad Society Web sitenew site available 10-17-09, current with updated links)
The line's truss bridgeData about nonprofit from justgive.org*
{{authority control
Railroad museums in Michigan
Heritage railroads in Michigan
Organizations established in 1982
Museums established in 1982
Museums in Lenawee County, Michigan
1982 establishments in Michigan