Clare Union Railroad Depot

06/01/2026

One of the overlooked collections we possess at the Clare Union Depot is our collectible “cigarette cards” display.

Most of the original cards we have on display are from Great Britain and date back to the 1920s. Take a look at several of our sets and it’s easy to see how one would strive to complete a set of 50 cards much like we American kids were doing in the 1950s and 1960s when spending our allowance for a nickel pack of Topps Baseball Cards…

The Historic Clare Union Depot, open Monday thru Thursday from 11-4 and currently by chance on Fridays and Saturdays.

05/31/2026

WE ALREADY KNOW THE WHAT AND WHERE. COULD SOMEONE FILL US IN WITH THE WHO AND WHEN?

UPDATE, SUNDAY AFTERNOON: According to Peter Hayes, this is an Emery Gulash photo from August 1975! Thanks, Peter.

A friend of the Depot came across this great photo of our Clare Depot starring a southbound Ann Arbor caboose. We would like to give credit to the photographer and perhaps pin down an approximate date. Any help is appreciated.

05/30/2026

Saturday and Sunday train rides are available along a half mile loop on the “City of Findlay”, a vintage quarter scale attraction at the the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation site in Findlay Ohio. The $3 ($1 for children) ticket also gets you inside their building to see a fantastic model train layout and a few showcases of railroading memorabilia, as well as the chance to talk with some very knowledgeable volunteers.

Photograph by author

05/28/2026

BEAVERTON, MICHIGAN: END OF THE PERE MARQUETTE LINE FROM MT. PLEASANT. 1890-1946

“The map below shows the location of the Railroad Tracks at the end of the line in Beaverton before the present dam was built, raising the water and permanently flooding the areas marked “Ross Brothers”.

From the book, “Beaverton in the Making” by Robert Frei and the Centennial Committee. Note the end of the trackage to the east and north of the depot located in the center of the map.

A photo of the original Beaverton PMRR Depot which burned in 1909 can be found in the comment section.

05/27/2026

A PICTURE IS SOMETIMES WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS…AS WELL AS SOMETIMES A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS
Warrick Wednesday article for May 27, 2026

This vivid photo taken by Neil Plagens on January 26, 1984, documents a Michigan Northern derailment in Petoskey, MI.
The photo also raises a series of questions for me.

During this period of time, the Michigan Northern (MIGN) was operating under a subsidy contract with the State of Michigan for use of the track from Comstock Park in the southwest section of the state north to Petoskey. MIGN also had another subsidy contract to use the former Ann Arbor Railroad (AARR) line from Alma northwest to Frankfort. Tuscola and Saginaw Bay held a separate contract from the state to operate the former Ann Arbor trackage south from Alma to Ann Arbor.

In this photo, it seems that MIGN had “borrowed” from the State the former AARR GP-390 to help relieve MIGN’s persistent and ongoing power shortage. The fading lettering on the side of the AA390 was the result of a haphazard repaint by Conrail after the locomotive suffered a bent frame due to a head on collision with a Grand Trunk Western train. That incident occurred during Conrail’s early time when they controlled the entire AARR for the State of Michigan.

In January of 1984, Michigan was experiencing another of a series of hard, snowy winters, which may have help lead to the derailment. Reports at the time stated that the locomotive rode up on frozen flangeways at the crossing and both ends of the engine were derailed. A P&H mobile crane, hired at a sum expense, was called in to remedy the situation and rerail the locomotive. A slow and expensive process in any weather made more difficult by a breezy day with temperatures in the teens.

First Question: Maintenance of Way crews are assigned the ongoing task of salting and clearing out the flangeways on all the crossings. When a train is scheduled to run, special attention to this task is a must. Apparently, the required work may have been overlooked in this instance.

Second question: The derailing of the locomotive. The photo shows a second locomotive hooked to propane tank cars in the background. A competent and and experienced derailing crew would have cut the second locomotive, moved forward, and with the use of rerailers, been able to simply pull the derailed locomotive back on the track. Easily done if done right, without the need for an expensive crane.

Third question: The propane tank cars. The car in the photo is cleared placarded as HAZMAT, and the Federal Railroad Administration is very clear on the placement of Hazmat cars, loaded or not, next to a locomotive.

Neil unquestionably photographed a very intriguing shot on that cold snowy Thursday in Petoskey.

Several months after the incident occurred, the State of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) asked for financial statements from MIGN to support the effort to extend the existing subsidy contracts. No such complete financials were forthcoming, but what was apparent in the reports furnished, the MIGN was deeply in debt with no hope of recovering any time soon. Alarm bells went off in Lansing.

On May 6, 1984, MIGN was removed from the former Ann Arbor trackage and a non-subsidy contract was awarded to the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay company. Finally, on October 1 of the same year, MDOT transferred all of the trackage from Reed City north to Petoskey to TSBY.

05/26/2026

“Semaphore Signal on C&O/Ann Arbor Tower, Clare, MI,
JUL 1952. B.F. Cutler Photo”

From the Archives of the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society.

05/25/2026

Just something you don’t see everyday…

05/20/2026

05/20/2026

WISHING YOU WERE HERE
Reminiscing on a Warrick Wednesday…article and photo courtesy of Robert I. Warrick

CHICAGO’s massive hit song from 1972 came across my vehicle’s radio just the other day and for some reason hearing the song really shook me up.

“Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs”

Then I remembered…

I lived about 20 miles away from Cuyahoga Valley National Park for nearly twenty years. It’s very much a National Park featuring close to 33,000 acres of preserved forests, rolling hills, and wetlands unfettered with gates and fences. Located between Cleveland and Akron, the linear park is centered along the Cuyahoga River, the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail, and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Hundred of miles of trails invite bikers and hikers of all ages.

Then there is the centerpiece of the entire valley, the quaint Village of Peninsula. Everything comes together there; the river, the trail, and of course the railroad. The village includes restored buildings, a massive general store, and my favorite restaurant, “Fishers Cafe & Pub”.

My best friend Karen and I spent countless hours in the Valley. The four seasons offered so much to enjoy, but summer was the best. Many times, Karen commented on how magical things felt in Peninsula on those hot summer days.

Just like the Fourth of July.

One of those magical days we started out early and had ridden a good thirty miles on the bike trail before the temps really heated up. We stopped at Fishers for lunch.

Their outside grill was going and the smell of steak filled the air. As always, we chose to sit on the patio shaded by a big umbrella, surrounded by fragrant flowers, and ordered our steaks along with freshly picked corn on the cob from Szalay’s Farm just a few miles distant.

Walking back to the trail, I heard the sound of the southbound train. We both always kept our cameras nearby, always hoping to find something new to photograph. The train that afternoon was typical, with nothing to get excited about.

But then it happened. As fate would have it, I spotted two young girls running and waving as they reached the quarry blocks situated by the tracks. I took off running myself, slid on my knees through the grass, framing and focusing on what has become one of my own personal favorite photos…

We had a wonderful escape that day, even as Karen laughed at my torn and grass-stained jeans. It was the perfect Saturday in the Park…

I do miss that Valley, but, even more, I miss that girl.

05/19/2026

AND IN WITH THE NEW…