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.
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!
Project Update: SMRS #3 Becomes SMRS #3
A group of volunteers have taken on the task of making #3 feel truly at home here with us. The former railroad’s name has been removed and our logo has been applied with some robust vinyl. Eventually #3 will receive a full repaint as time and money allows, but this will do for now! There truly are projects for folks of any background here at the railroad. Even small jobs like this wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated volunteers and supporters. If you are interested in helping out with any project – BIG or small – consider joining our membership
New Acquisition: SMRS #3
SPECIAL DELIVERY – We are pleased to announce our acquisition of former Charlotte Southern Railroad #3, a 44 ton diesel locomotive! #3 enters our locomotive fleet as the third 44 ton locomotive in our lineup, joining Western Maryland #75 and Detroit & Mackinac #10. This locomotive was built in 1956 as #1 for the Dansville and Mount Morris Railroad, located in New York, and is significant in that it was the last 44 ton locomotive manufactured by General Electric. In 1986, the locomotive was sold to the Bay Colony Railroad, located in Massachusetts, where it served as #411. In 1998,
Project Update: ‘Little Red’ Gets Her Time to Shine!
SMRS #2022, or ‘Little Red’, entered service this weekend on our Fall Color Tours! After some extensive work to replace some missing windows, install a new horn, replace the cab floor, install new engineer and fireman seats, and give the locomotive a general tune up, our volunteers are excited to see the hard work pay off. For the first time in decades, our train was pulled by a locomotive in each direction, improving safety at our road crossings and providing a smoother ride for our passengers. With some shake down runs completed, we expect ‘Little Red’ to be a staple