Lenawee County Railroad

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  • ARR Reporting Marks - LCRC.

Lenawee County Railroad Overview

The Lenawee County Railroad began operations on October 1, 1977. Operations began with switching local industries Monday through Friday, interchanging with the N&W in Adrian and Conrail at Lenawee Junction. On April 1, 1980, the Lenawee County took over operation of the ex-NYC "Morenci Branch" between Grosvenor and Morenci. The Adrian and Morenci lines were not connected, so LCRC was given locomotive only operating rights between Lenawee Junction. and Grosvenor.

Unfortunately, a torrential storm in late 1981 caused several severe washouts along the Morenci Branch, primarily between Grosvenor and Jasper. Due to this LCRC was forced to abandon the trackage between Grosvenor and Weston. LCRC would later purchase 2.5 miles of the ex-DT&I "Tecumseh Branch" between Leaf and Bimo, and also obtained locomotive-only trackage rights between Leaf and Adrian over the N&W main line. The Leaf to Bimo trackage would be the only trackage actually owned by the LCRC.

During the blizzard of 1982, locomotive #1 became stranded at Weston and suffered a cracked block. It was replaced later in 1983 by RS-1 #3.

The railroad was negatively impacted by the recession of the 1980s, with several customers closing on the LCRC. The closure of Hoover Universal/Stubnitz Spring in Adrian was a major blow to revenue. At this time the railroad began storing tank cars, plugging virtually every empty siding and spur with railcars.

Conrail filed to abandon its Clinton line in 1982. LCRC was able to convince the state to purchase the line from Riga to Lenawee Junction and a new interchange was built with the GTW at Riga. The Blissfield Co-Op constructed a unit-train load facility at Blissfield, and the LCRC began handling 100-car unit grain trains between Blissfield and Riga.

Revenues continued to decline through the 1980s, and state subsidies were cut and altogether eliminated. Only 300 loads of freight were handled in 1989. With General Manager Charles B. Lockwood's retirement, the company announced that it would be going out of business. The LCRC ran its last train on Sept. 30, 1990.

The two operating locomotives went to the Blissfield Co-Op, and were used to continue to switch the facility. The Morenci-Weston line was railbanked, and eventually scrapped when it became isolated after the LCRC scrapped their Leaf-Bimo trackage.

The line from Adrian to Riga was railbanked until early 1991, and is now operated by the Adrian & Blissfield Railroad. ADBF uses the former LCRC engine house in Adrian.

- Overview Sourced from "A brief history of the Lenawee County Railroad" by Jeffrey Dobek.

Lenawee County Railroad Locomotives

Number Model Year(s) Built History Notes
LCRC 1 S2 1948 Ex-BO 9058/BO 514. Acquired in 1977.

Suffered cracked block during blizzard of 1982. Scrapped 1992.

LCRC 2 S2 1941 Ex-LCRC 508/UNION 508. Acquired in 1978.

Used briefly at Blissfield Co-Op. Scrapped 1992.

LCRC 3 RS1 1944 Ex-LCRC 43/WATC 43. Acquired in 1982.

Used briefly at Blissfield Co-Op. Scrapped 1992.

Lenawee County Railroad Customers

Customer Location Company Description Type of Railcar Notes
Merrilat Industries Adrian Kitchen Cabinetry Boxcars Plant in later years would switch to trucks.

Merrilat closed the Adrian plant in 2009.

Hoover Universal/Stubnitz Spring Adrian Car & Truck Seat Springs Boxcars Closed in 1982. Negatively impacted LCRC.
Stevensons Lumber Adrian Lumber & Building Materials Boxcars/Bulkhead Flatcars/Centerbeam Flatcars Sold in 2015 and is now Big C Lumber. No longer rail served.
Jackson Iron & Metal Adrian Scrap Metal Recycling Gondolas Now OmniSource. Still served by ADBF.
Blissfield Co-Op Blissfield Grain Elevator Covered Hoppers LCRC began serving in 1982. Now MAC. Still served by ADBF.
Crop Production Services Grosvenor Fertilizer Supplier Covered Hoppers Continued to use rail after ADBF takeover. Later shuttered and tracks removed.
Jasper Elevator Jasper Grain Elevator Covered Hoppers Now MAC. Stopped using rail after 1981 washouts and abandonment.
Stauffer Chemical Weston Agricultural Chemicals Tank Cars Became Silbond, and is now Evonik. Stopped using rail after 1990 abandonment.
Crop Production Services Morenci Fertilizer Supplier Covered Hoppers Now Nutrien Ag Solutions. Stopped using rail after 1990 abandonment.
Porter Lumber Morenci Lumber Products Boxcars/Bulkhead Flatcars/Centerbeam Flatcars Later shuttered. Stopped using rail after 1990 abandonment.
Parker Rust-Proof Morenci Rust Proof Coatings Boxcars/Covered Hoppers Later shuttered in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Stopped using rail after 1990 abandonment.

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