{"id":1018,"date":"2014-10-31T20:37:05","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T00:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/?p=1018"},"modified":"2017-07-03T12:52:41","modified_gmt":"2017-07-03T16:52:41","slug":"small-layout-ideas-the-palmyra-and-jacksonburgh-railroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/small-layout-ideas-the-palmyra-and-jacksonburgh-railroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Layout Ideas – The Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

The area of Michigan that I live in has a colorful history when it comes to railroads. Every major eastern carrier at one time crossed lower South East Michigan through Monroe and Lenawee Counties. This article will take a look at one of the first and a little branch line that has survived since the beginning.<\/p>\n

\"The
The railroad\u00a0in its early days (about 1855) in\u00a0downtown Tecumseh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The railroad still runs through downtown Tecumseh to this day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

HISTORY<\/h1>\n

Even before Michigan became a state, the territory\u00a0funded a railroad to assist with the growth and development of the area. In April of 1833, a charter was granted to the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Company by the Michigan Territorial Council to construct a railroad from Port Lawrence (some these days refer to that area as Toledo) on Lake Erie to Adrian in Lenawee County, and then on across Michigan to the Kalamazoo River, which would give access to Lake Michigan. Construction reached the city of Adrian in 1836 becoming the first railroad in\u00a0the Michigan Territory.\u00a0Horse teams were used along\u00a0the line. Even so it was the first railroad trip undertaken west of the state of New York. The first steam locomotives (Baldwins) arrived and operated in early 1837, with an average speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km\/h).<\/p>\n

\"Artist's
Artist’s depiction of an early Erie & Kalamazoo train.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It should be noted that although the railroad was started in Port Lawrence, MI a dispute over\u00a0the area (see\u00a0Toledo War<\/a>) and a compromise backed by President Andrew Jackson resulted in Port Lawrence being handed over to\u00a0Ohio\u00a0and\u00a0Michigan receiving the upper peninsula in exchange for the loss.<\/p>\n

\"Palmyra
Taken from a 1876 Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Route Map, the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh is highlighted in yellow. the LS&MS had control of the line by this time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Railroad construction was becoming so popular that even before the Erie and Kalamazoo tracks reached Adrian in 1836, the new Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad Company\u00a0(under the control of the Erie and Kalamazoo) received a charter to construct a branch railroad 46 miles long. The line would run north from a junction with the\u00a0Erie and Kalamazoo near Palmyra (Lenawee Junction) and proceed through Tecumseh, Clinton and Manchester into Jacksonburgh (later called Jackson) in Jackson County.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lenawee junction as it looks today. The south line goes to Toledo, while the west line goes to Adrian. The line going north is the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad The east-west line used to cross the north south line in the middle of the wye. The line to the east was removed in the 1980’s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lenawee
Lenawee Junction today<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Construction began in 1837, the year that\u00a0Michigan became a state. From Lenawee Junction on the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad, the new Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad reached Tecumseh in 1838. The line did not proceed any further for 20 years as the railroad struggled survive. In 1844 the state took control of the line and in 1846, the state sold its Southern Railroad (including the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Branch) to a new company, the Michigan Southern. Under its direction, construction began again, and the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad reached Clinton in 1853, Manchester in 1855 and Jacksonburgh in 1857. The Jacksonburgh Branch (as it was called then) was completed, forming the first rail connection between Lake Erie and Jacksonburgh, Michigan.<\/p>\n

\"The
The line crossing the River Raisin south of Tecumseh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The line was known as the\u00a0Palmyra & Jacksonburgh Railroad for some time after completion even though it was operated by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern until 1915\u00a0when it was rolled into\u00a0New York Central Railroad. As with the rest of the railroad industry the line began to see much less traffic after 1930 and again after WWII.\u00a0In 1965 the tracks between Clinton and Jackson were abandoned and removed, cutting the branch off from Jackson Michigan. The New York Central folded into the Penn Central Railroad in 1968 and in 1970 the Penn Central filed for bankruptcy. In 1981 its successor, Conrail, filed to abandon what was left of the lines that crossed southern Michigan including the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh\u00a0line from Lenawee Junction to Clinton.<\/p>\n

\"SMRS
SMRS Route Map Today<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1985 the Southern Michigan Railroad Society, led by three high school students, purchased the Clinton Branch and transformed it into an operating railroad museum. The society continues to preserve, restore, and to educate the public about the first railroad in Michigan. They offer various trips on the remaining tracks of what used to be an operating railroad, and work on a volunteer basis. They offer various tours of the line and support local community events.<\/p>\n