Coordinates: 42°59′40″N 84°10′13″W / 42.99438°N 84.17028°W / 42.99438; -84.17028

Steam Railroading Institute

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Steam Railroading Institute
LocaleMichigan
TerminusOwosso
Commercial operations
Original gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Reporting markMSTX
Length1 mile (1.6 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Preservation history
1969MSU Railroad Club Founded
1979MSU Railroad Club reorganized as the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, Inc. (MSTRP)
1983MSTRP moved from Lansing, MI to Owosso, MI
HeadquartersOwosso
Website
https://michigansteamtrain.com/

The Steam Railroading Institute (reporting mark MSTX) 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

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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

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Locomotives

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Locomotive details[10][7][8]
Number Images Type Model Built Builder Built Status
1225 File:PM1225.jpg Steam 2-8-4 1941 Lima Locomotive Works Operational
175 File:Quincy Smelter tour 3.jpg Steam 4-6-0 1908 American Locomotive Company Under restoration
1313 (Mighty Mouse) Diesel 25-ton switcher 1940s General Electric 1940s Operational

Visiting locomotives

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Number Images Type Model Built Builder Status Owner Notes
75 File:Flagg Coal 0-4-0T No75.jpg Steam 0-4-0 1930 Vulcan Iron Works Operational John and Barney Gramling On lease from John and Barney Gramling. Operates in occasional excursion service.
7471 File:WM 7471 Frostburg.jpg Diesel SD40 1966 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational Precision Locomotive Leasing Previously operated at Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and Georges Creek Railway. On lease from Precision Locomotive Leasing.
57 Diesel GP40WH-2 1968 Electro-Motive Diesel, Morrison–Knudsen Operational Precision Locomotive Ex-MARC. On lease from Precision Locomotive.

Former units

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Locomotive details[11]
Number Type Model Built Builder Current owner
10 Diesel 44-ton switcher Unknown Detroit and Mackinac Railway Southern Michigan Railway Society.
76 Steam 2-8-0 1920 Baldwin Locomotive Works B&O Railroad Museum

Rolling stock

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References:[10]

Passenger cars

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Freight cars

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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

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Structures

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New Buffalo Turntable

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The turntable is a 90 ft (27 m) 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 10 ft (3.0 m) to accommodate larger rolling stock like the PM 1225.

SRI Visitor Center

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The SRI Visitor Center sits inside a renovated freight warehouse used by the Ann Arbor road. The foundation dates to the 1880s. It is speculated that the original structure, a creamery, burned down in the 1920s. The Ann Arbor used it to store grain and other freight, then leased it to Bruckman's Moving and Storage. The SRI purchased the building in 2004 and renovated it to serve as their Visitor Center, with exhibit space, a model train layout, and the museum's artifact and archives collection.

References

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