Some of our volunteers have been hard at work this spring clearing a few trees around our office and building a new display track for our Triple Crown Services RoadRailer, Bogie, and CouplerMate! The three pieces are now assembled and proudly displayed at the front of our campus. The RoadRailer technology was originally invented by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in the 1950’s but continuously evolved into the configuration of elements now on display at our office. Wabash National manufactured these unique pieces to solve the age-old question of how to transfer freight between the road and the rails. This…

As we approach the 100th birthday of our CSS&SB #1 this fall, our volunteers have begun some interior restoration work to freshen up the car! Step one has been disassembly, with volunteers working to remove the original mahogany woodwork and trim around the windows in the larger section of the car. Sanding and planing revealed much of the wood is still in great condition, so the goal is to re-use as many pieces as possible. The window sills and interior sideboards will need to be replaced as many have swelled from water. This project will progress in phases, with 2-4…

Our one-of-a-kind GMDH-3 got a new radiator installed thanks to the hands of a few dedicated volunteers. After finding a massive hole in the original radiator, we had a new one fabricated for installation. In order to complete this task, the unique nose cone needed to be removed, offering a great time to patch some of the holes in the fiberglass. Following the installation of the new components, the locomotive was test-fired again with success. There is still a long list of items required to bring this unique locomotive back to service, but this is a huge step in the…

One of our speeders was recently taken to Trenton High School for some repairs by their auto shop students! The speeder will receive new lights, a new wheel, a repair to the charging system, and a general refresh to keep it going for our track crews! We are proud to have this connection with Trenton High School through one of our volunteers. The students have taken on a number of small restoration projects in recent years and we are immensely grateful for their help! Of course, it also affords some unique learning opportunities in turn!

We are excited to announce that we have acquired a complete Triple Crown RoadRailer unit thanks to a generous donation by Norfolk Southern and its subsidiary Triple Crown Services! CouplerMate TCSR 960048, Bogie TCSR 5381 and Trailer TCSZ 468820 have made their way to Clinton over the past few weeks to become exciting new additions to our unique collection. RoadRailer technology was first pioneered in Michigan in the 1950s by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The first trains operated from Grand Rapids to Traverse City, with service later extended to Detroit and various other cities as the service blossomed. The…

Despite the scorching temperatures recently, a pair of volunteers climbed up on top of our wide vision cabooses, GTW #79053 and DWP #53101, to give them a new coat of roof paint! This silver paint job will ensure the roofs remain in excellent shape for years to come and will help keep the cars a little cooler in the window. Not to mention improving the looks for passengers taking in those sweet cupola views!

What a busy spring! Our volunteers have been hard at work over the last few months to prepare for and execute the rebuilding of our Clark Street crossing in Clinton. This 3-track crossing was a huge undertaking, but we could not be happier with the end results! With the village repaving the entire street, we stepped in to rebuild the railroad tracks and ensure this crossing will last for years to come. We’d like to thank The Village Of Clinton MI for their support and partnership throughout this project! We appreciate your patience as we continue to tackle large projects…

We are ecstatic with the new carpet in our gift shop! The original carpet was stained from many years of office use and the underlaying layers of floor were no better. Our volunteers tore out all the old carpet and we had new carpet tiles installed. This new floor will be easier to clean and replace (if needed) and really breathes a new life into our gift shop and board room! Check it out on your next visit!

This past week we received our new (to us) brush cutter! This Kershaw 32-8 brush cutter was built for Norfolk Southern. It has a 270 horsepower 6V-71T Detroit Diesel and we cannot wait to hear it come to life. The machine weighs 24 tons, has two 10-foot cutting heads, and can reach 30 feet out on either side of the track. With this acquisition, our volunteers will have a much easier time keeping up with the vegetation along our railroad line. We’d like to thank DC Tunison Specialized Transportation for moving this piece of equipment from New York and the…

After some minor work by our volunteers to clean the car and reinstall the steps that were temporarily removed to allow the car to be transported over the road, this caboose is now in service! Passengers can book this car as a private caboose experience seating up to 10 passengers – perfect for families or groups of friends that want a more private ride on the rails! This caboose will eventually be restored to it’s original appearance of blue and orange, but for now it will do just fine to increase our capacity and offer yet another unique way to…