We’ve been workin’ on the railroad! Maybe not all the live-long day, but our volunteers are always busy with something! Check out the latest updates about everything our volunteers have been working on below.
- Do you want to help with projects like these? Consider becoming a member of the society and volunteering with us! Visit our Membership page for details about getting involved.
- You can also support these projects with a monetary donation – visit our Donate page for more information.
- These projects all require supplies and tools to make them happen. Visit our Wish List page for some ideas of the tools and materials we could use to continue these great projects.
New Donation: N&W #518021
Check out our new display track! Built in 1914 by the shops in Roanoke, Virginia, Norfolk & Western caboose #518021 joins our roster as the oldest piece of rolling stock in our collection. This caboose was donated by N&W to the United Way in the 1970s, and subsequently sold to a railroad museum in Ohio. It changed hands to another museum before being sold as surplus. It eventually ended up in a farm in Hillsdale before being donated to our organization by Mr. Grover Johnson. We are excited to place this piece on permanent display and we are looking forward
Project Update: ‘Little Red’ Gets a Touch-Up
More like a makeover! Thanks to the work of a small crew of volunteers, SMRS #2022 is now repainted into a flashy full coat of red! New vinyl graphics bring our logo to the cab and will really make her pop on our trains! In addition, Maple City Glass, Inc out of Adrian helped us out when a vandal broke one of the cab windows. We are grateful for their quick ability to help us out and ensure that ‘Little Red’ is looking her best!
Project Update: Trains Return to Tecumseh and #3 Stretches Her Legs
With the completion of our track construction projects, we are pleased to announce that a train has returned to Tecumseh for the first time since 2022! These projects were a huge undertaking for our volunteers and we could not be more proud of the hard work and dedication they put in to get these projects completed! We also took this opportunity to break in #3, our newest locomotive! We anticipate #3 to enter service on one of our trains very soon. Check back for more information about our train schedules in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to have you
Project Update: Bidwell Street Railroad Crossing Rebuild
We are pleased to announce the reconstruction of Bidwell Street in Tecumseh! This project would not have been possible without the work of our dedicated volunteers, Troy Rohrbach at the City of Tecumseh DPW for facilitating road closures, and Slusarski Excavating & Paving for helping with the paving of this crossing. The project was completed by building a ‘panel track’ – a section of track built off-site that can be slotted into a gap in the track. By using this process, we were able to keep the road open until we were ready to undertake the replacement. The road was
Project Update: Newburg Meadows Railroad Crossings Completed
We are proud to announce the completion of 2 huge projects! In partnership with Newburg Meadows, we have constructed two new railroad crossings to facilitate their neighborhood expansion. We’d like to thank our dedicated volunteers for their hard work and Slusarski Excavating & Paving for helping with the paving of these crossings. We are thrilled with the success of this partnership with Newburg Meadows and are excited to see the expansion of housing opportunities in our community!