Steam Railroading Institute
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Steam Railroading Institute is a non-profit organization that preserves, restores, and operates historical railroad equipment and items.[1] Located in Owosso, Michigan,[2] it was founded in 1969 as the Michigan State University Railroad Club[3] and later became the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation before adopting its present name.[4][5][6]
Headquartered at the old Ann Arbor Railroad railyard, the organization operates a heritage railroad that offers occasional passenger excursion trains using steam locomotives: Pere Marquette 1225 and Chicago and North Western 175.[7][8][9] It also has passenger cars and other rolling stock.[9]
History
In the late 1950s, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Chairman Cyrus Eaton sought to donate No. 1225, a steam locomotive recently retired by the Pere Marquette Railway, to Michigan State University's College of Engineering so the students could work on a piece of real equipment and keep the locomotive from the scrapyard. He convinced University Trustee Forest Akers, but not the dean of the College of Engineering, so University President John Hannah accepted No. 1225 as a contribution to the MSU Museum. It arrived on campus in 1957.[9] There it sat, getting an occasional coat of paint and visits from the public on football weekends. In 1970, the year-old Michigan State University Railroad Club, at the suggestion of Randy Paquette, decided to restore No. 1225 and use it to pull excursion trains that would bring passengers to football games at the university.
But MSU had no interest in running a steam locomotive. Eventually, University President Edgar Harden proposed to MSURRC President Chuck Julian that a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization be founded to take ownership of No. 1225. In July 1979, the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation was founded.[9]
Later, the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation became the Steam Railroading Institute.
Equipment
Locomotives
| Number | Images | Type | Class | Builder | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1225 | File:PM1225.jpg | Steam | 2-8-4Template:Whyte suffix | Lima Locomotive Works | 1941 | Out of service, awaiting repairs |
| 175 | File:Quincy Smelter tour 3.jpg | Steam | 4-6-0Template:Whyte suffix | American Locomotive Company | 1908 | Under restoration |
| 1313 (Mighty Mouse) | Diesel | 25-ton switcher | General Electric | 1940s | Operational |
Visiting locomotives
| Number | Images | Type | Class | Builder | Built | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | File:Flagg Coal 0-4-0T No75.jpg | Steam | 0-6-0Template:Whyte suffix | Vulcan Iron Works | 1930 | Operational | On lease from John and Barney Gramling. Operates in occasional excursion service. |
| 7471 | File:WM 7471 Frostburg.jpg | Diesel | SD40 | Electro-Motive Diesel | 1966 | Operational | Previously operated at Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and Georges Creek Railway. On lease from Precision Locomotive. |
| 57 | Diesel | GP40WH-2 | Electro-Motive Diesel, Morrison–Knudsen | 1968 | Operational | Ex-MARC. On lease from Precision Locomotive. |
Former units
| Number | Type | Class | Builder | Built | Current owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Diesel | 44-ton switcher | Detroit and Mackinac Railway | Unknown | Southern Michigan Railway Society. |
| 76 | Steam | 2-8-0Template:Whyte suffix | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1920 | B&O Railroad Museum |
Rolling stock
Source:[10]
Passenger cars
- Via Rail coaches 5447, 5485, 5576, 5581, and 5646.
- Via Rail diner/lounge car 762.
- Chesapeake & Ohio coach 1615. Owned by private individual.
- Chesapeake & Ohio Pullman Sleeper "City of Ashland" 2624.
- Chesapeake & Ohio/Chicago Great Western/Chicago & Northwestern Baggage/Combination Car 462, now renumbered to 4062. Occasionally used as a concession car for SRI's excursions.
- PRR 8275 "Norristown Inn"/ SEMTA/ MARC 147 coach. Leased from B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD since 2005. Now owned by SRI.
- US Army 89639/ Amtrak 1363/ MSTX 1363 baggage. Currently in storage.
- MiTrain (Ex-Metra) Gallery Cars
Freight cars
- Ann Arbor PS-1 Boxcar #1314
- Chesapeake & Ohio/Pere Marquette Gondola #31262
- Detroit & Mackinac Tank cars X-127 & X-128. Restored as Pure Oil & Dow Chemical tank car.
- Detroit & Mackinac Gondola #3514
- Pere Marquette Automobile car #72332
- Wabash Boxcars (later Ann Arbor X4633 and X4646)
- A couple flat cars.
Maintenance of way:
- Rock Island #5000-series tender/ Auxiliary Tender #5000. Former Rock Island 4-8-4 5000 series locomotive tender now used for longer excursions behind PM 1225.
- Pere Marquette #361. Former Troop Sleeper. Now 1225's tool car.
- Grand Trunk Western Track Foreman's/ Bunk Car #58332.
- Detroit, Toledo & Ironton/ Grand Truck Burro crane #15027. A self-propelled burro crane used for light duties.
- Ex. US Navy Speeder/Gasoline Motor Car.
- Ann Arbor Caboose's #2838 & 2839.
- Pere Marquette Caboose #A909.
- Detroit & Mackinac power car #7. Former troop sleeper.
Former stock
- 3 ex-Amtrak/ATSF Hi-Level cars—a step-down coach and 2 lounge cars[12]—were sold to the Naugatuck Railroad in January 2025.[13]
Structures
New Buffalo Turntable
The turntable is an original Script error: No such module "convert". turntable built in 1919 to serve the Pere Marquette railyard in New Buffalo, Michigan. It served a 16-stall roundhouse until 1984, when the Chessie System closed the New Buffalo yard. The SRI acquired the turntable, moved it to its site, and lengthened it by Script error: No such module "convert". to accommodate larger rolling stock like the PM 1225.
SRI Visitor Center
The SRI Visitor Center sits inside a renovated freight warehouse used by the Ann Arbor road. The foundation dates back to the 1880s. It is speculated that the original structure burned down in the 1920s. Originally a creamery, the Ann Arbor used for freight storage for things like grain. Bruckman's Moving and Storage then leased the building from the railroad for storage use. The SRI purchased the building in 2004 and renovated it as their Visitor Center containing exhibits, a model train layout, and the museum's artifact and archives collection.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Steam Railroading Institute history
- Pere Marquette Berkshire Type Locomotives
- Home :: Steam Railroading Institute SRI's collection page.
- Steam Locomotives
- The Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search
Script error: No such module "Coordinates".