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Clare Union Railroad Depot

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Clare Union Railroad Depot

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Clare Union Railroad Depot, Tourist Information Center, 201 W. 4th Street, Clare, MI.

The depot, which was built by the Ann Arbor and Pere Marquette railroad companies in 1898, is in the historical Queen Anne style unit that includes a rare "witches hat."

01/23/2025

Wow! We have just two hand crafted ball point pens from the artistry of Evart’s Don Elliott in our gift shop just in time for Valentine’s Day. Regularly sold for $65, we are offering them for $55 each through February 14th. Sale of these items will go directly to the Clare Union Depot acquisition fund thanks to Mr. Elliott’s generosity.

01/22/2025

WARRICK WEDNESDAY: THE STORY OF THE ANN ARBOR RAILROAD’S FIRST DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE, 1941-

Photo credit: Jerry Pinkepank, Owosso Yard 1961

In January, 1941, the Ann Arbor Railroad Company placed an order with the Whitcomb Locomotive Works (known for producing hundreds of locomotives for use by American forces in both World Wars) of Rochelle, Illinois. The center cab electric switcher weighed in at about 44 tons, just skirting the labor rule which required a fireman on locomotives of 45 tons or more.

The locomotive began its service as Ann Arbor No. 1 and given the class of D-3. It was powered by two Hercules DFXD 193 horsepower diesel engines which drove the four Westinghouse G-2, 250-volt traction motors. At just over 29 feet in length, it stood small in comparison to the steam powered switch engines it was slated to replace.

The “ONE SPOT” as the locomotive was called by her crews began work in 1941 at the Owosso yard where it spent the bulk of its 20 plus years with the Ann Arbor. Occasionally, it was sent to Ferry Yard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when the assigned locomotive there was laid up for repairs. No.1 even was used as a helper engine on the hill north of Ann Arbor when it was assigned there.

In 1964, with the takeover of the AARR by Detroit Toledo & Ironton, the Whitcomb was deemed an oddball and sold to the Dundee Cement Company. There it worked as the cement plant’s switcher until 1972, when it was then sold to George Evert Jr. the operator of the Toledo, Lake Erie & Western Railway Company.

Today the locomotive needs some repairs, but it is safe and sound at the Toledo Lake Erie & Western Railway and Museum Inc. in Grand Rapids, Ohio. They call it "Little Annie" on the TLE&W and now the locomotive has one Hercules engine and one Continental engine,

(See photo in comments and visit their website at tlew.org for more info)

01/21/2025

Just a short 10 years after the end of the end of the Civil War, the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway had made its mark across Michigan. As shown in a section of the 1876 map taken from the Traveler’s Official Guide, one can appreciate the number of connections you could find at any local depot. Travelers from Clare wouldn’t see their north/south Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad for another ten years after this map was published, but could still start their southern journeys west from Reed City or east from Saginaw, thanks to the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway.

01/20/2025

WHEN IT COMES TO DELIVERING THE MILK, NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF ANOTHER RAILROAD INVENTION

From the box top of a vintage Mars Candy display box comes the following: “Shown is the inside of the specially glass lined tank cars which bring milk everyday to the MARS kitchen.”

“These cars are the last word in efficiency and sanitation and are kept scrupulously clean at all times and are thoroughly sterilized with scalding steam before each trip.”

Date of box and information is unknown, but the cost of a large candy bar is listed as five cents.

01/18/2025

ONE NIGHT 40 YEARS AGO OUTSIDE THE CLARE DEPOT

Robert Warrick photo from the 1986 Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association calendar

01/16/2025

THE ANN ARBOR FAMILY TREE BY GRAYDON MEINTS

From the 1992 Edition of “Michigan Railroads & Railroad Companies “ Michigan State University Press.

01/15/2025

A WARM WARRICK WEDNESDAY MEMORY
(please touch the ticket photo for a better look…)

Early impressions on a small boy who came to love trains proved to be enormously powerful and life altering…

My grandparents moved to their home on Fourth Street in Clare directly across from the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad tracks and within a stone’s throw of the Clare Union Depot. In the summer of 1956 when they moved, each day brought four freight trains in each direction on the C&O along with three more each way on the Ann Arbor. Besides those 14 scheduled trains, many extras and local freights would rattle the house day and night. Trains became a major part of my early years during visits to my grandparents.

My grandparents understood and appreciated this little fellow’s love of trains, and on a trip to their hometown of Burrton, Kansas, in August 1959, they treated their first grandson to his first train rides when he was just two and a half years old. Of course, today I have no clear memories of that trip other than some faded photos and the ticket stub my grandmother saved for me. Little did she know just how much those mementos from 63 summers ago would represent the opening of the door of my nearly 40-year career in the rail industry. The impressions made on me led to a lifelong passion of trains that yet lives on today.

According to the ticket stub, we boarded the train at the Burrton Kansas joint Sana Fe and Frisco Depot. The depot (pictured in the comments section) was built in 1929 in the style of William Shakespeare’s Stratford home in England. The train was Santa Fe’s No.312 Eastbound from Dodge City to Newtown, Kansas. We boarded at 7:59 in the morning and arrived at our destination after an eleven-mile trip at 8:25.

The train itself was powered by two Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs), the only two the Santa Fe owned. The odd ball set of delf propelled rail cars DC 191 and DC 192 were bought by the Santa Fe in 1952 to provide passenger service between Los Angeles and San Diego. The train made 7 round trips per day and proved to be immensely popular with travelers in the days before superhighways. However, tragedy struck on Sunday, January 22, 1956, while approaching the Los Angeles Union Depot at Redondo Junction. The train overturned on a curve doing nearly 70MPH causing the deaths of thirty passengers.

Following an investigation, the cars were sent to Topeka, Kansas for rebuilding. They emerged in 1957 and were then assigned the Dodge City-Newton run on which my grandmother and I rode. Numbers 311 and 312 were discontinued on June 13, 1965, and the cars went on to serve out their final few years in an Albuquerque - El Paso run.

They will, however, will always be remembered as one of the main reasons that I am who I am today.

PHOTO CREDIT: Robert E. Warrick, author’s grandfather.

Reference material: “The Amazing Journey of Santa Fe’s RDC Cars” by Edward Saalig, 2008. Published by the Pacific Railroad Society.

01/10/2025

One of our favorite renditions of the Clare Union Depot is this painting by the talented artist Kim Ott Grey. Originally done in 2010 as part of a fund raiser for the Depot’s restoration, the painting depicts the state of the building between the city’s purchase of the structure in 2005 and its move in 2014.

The artwork can now be viewed in the lower level of the Depot thanks to its donation by owner Jane Sartor.

01/08/2025

S N O W M A G E D D O N 1978 A N N A R B O R R.R.

We were house-sitting for my grandparents’ house in Clare while they were spending the winter in Florida. It was Wednesday evening, January 25, 1978, and the TV 9 &10 weather forecast during the 6PM news was unimpressive.

Yes, snow was predicted, but what else was new? The last few winters were snowy like so many other winters in Michigan throughout the 1970s. Some winters were mild and others were brutal. This was a time before the 24-7 cable news network's broadcast breathless reporters standing out in three inches of snow on some city street somewhere urging everyone to freak out!

Thursday morning came too soon as I went out the door, half-awake on my way to my job at Thayer Dairy. As I walked down the front steps, though, I was suddenly wide awake. Halfway down the steps I was knee deep in snow, and at the bottom of the stairs the snow was nearly up to my waist!

The snowstorm continued for two more days dumping 20 inches of snow across the city of Clare and even greater amounts in various parts of the county. High winds piled up drifts 4 to 6 feet in the city limits, and twice that amount throughout the county. Twenty-foot-deep cuts along the railroads were filling with drifting snow.

Across the northeastern part of the nation everything had shut down. Major rail hubs including Chicago, Toledo, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh found themselves completely buried under snow.

Here in Michigan every railroad was at a standstill. Crews could not get to work, and even if they managed, they could not find any the tracks. Nothing on the railroads moved for nearly five days that January, with one exception.

The Ann Arbor Railroad System, operated by the Michigan Interstate Railway Company ran a “Plow Extra” out of Boat Landing on Saturday that ran all the way to Toledo plowing out the entire length of the railroad.

Photo credit: Richard Lischefski. Story by Robert Warrick

01/07/2025

A PIECE OF RAILROAD HISTORY MAKES ITS WAY TO US
“The Official Railroad Map of the State of Michigan 1906”

Thanks to the generous and thoughtful donation of Mr. and Mrs.Pat Brooks, we now have in our collection a large informative map of Michigan. Not only does it clearly display all the railroads, counties, and townships, it also includes all sorts of statistical data on the side.

The entire map measures over nine square feet in area and is remarkably well preserved for being nearly 120 years old. Touch screen for a more detailed look.

01/05/2025

Looking back on 2024 & Lookimg ahead to 2025

The holiday decorations are all put away and it’s time to reflect on a very busy year at the Clare Union Depot

According to our (unscientific) guest book, over 2100 visitors and art class attendees made their way through our doors in 2024. This is, by far, the most successful year in the seven years we have been opened.

As of today, people from 49 states (no New Jersey) and 14 foreign countries have been our guests (31 states in 2024 alone!) and we are nearing our “official” 10,000th visitor early in 2025.

We hope to increase our growth and continue sharing our history and hospitality throughout the year and beyond.

01/03/2025

ONE CENTURY’S TRASH IS ANOTHER CENTURY’S TREASURE

For several years I have been telling visitors of the freight bills, telegram orders, ticket stubs, and baggage claim slips that were recovered from the upper room in the cupola. Not being involved with the early days of the rescue and restoration of the Clare Union Depot, I never witnessed the filing system used back in the 1910 era.

Until now.

Thanks to coming across a website by Urban Explorers at uer.ca, I can now appreciate the process of getting from there to here, when we can now see the end results of a 115 year journey. Thanks to the anonymous team who boxed up the documents and the people who stored them safely for 15 years after they were brought down, and now Urban Explorers who took this photo in 2006, visitors and researchers now have the opportunity to leaf through thousands of papers from Clare’s earlier days.

And they don’t have to climb a ladder and squeeze through a small opening in the ceiling to explore.

Photo credit: Urban Explorers

01/01/2025

Nothing but “Clear Signals” ahead for 2025.

Robert Warrick photo. Warwick, Ohio, January 2009

12/31/2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE FROM “THE BELL” AT THE CLARE UNION DEPOT

Everyone knows about the famous and fabled 1225 Locomotive (The Polar Express), but most people are unaware that the 1225 was just one of a dozen Berkshires built for the Pere Marquette Railroad in 1941. Long story short, of the 12 magnificent engines, only two of the lot survive, the other ten being scrapped sometime between 1954 and 1957.

The bell we have on display is reportedly from one of those scrapped engines. Identical to the ones on the surviving 1225 and 1223, it was shipped from the Wyoming Yards on January 12, 1954, (we have a copy of the waybill) to the C&O Freight House. Since then it had a long and unknown journey until it ended up with its current owner Jim Peterka.

Jim lent us the bell along with the display cart he constructed several years ago and it continues to be a great attraction for us. He did tell us that he used to ring in the New Year with the bell when it sat at his home.

In his honor and in celebration of a very successful 2024 for the Depot, we are open today December 31 for anyone who wishes to come in and ring out the old year. We will be until 3 this afternoon, so if you are out and about, come in and say hi and help us ring the bell 24 times today!

12/28/2024

TRAVELING ON THE PERE MARQUETTE RAILROAD 120 YEARS AGO was quite different than any public transport you’ll see today. Shown here is the interior of Pere Marquette Parlor Car #41 built in 1904 by the American Car and Foundry company. The Pere Marquette Railroad Company got its start on January 1, 1900, when it took possession of three predecessor companies. The new company immediately went to work on updating, replacing, and renumbering the 274 cars it inherited from those predecessors.

Pere Marquette also ordered elegant cars from Pullman to cater to those who liked to travel in style. A period of declining ticket sales and other factors led to most of these “Varnish Era” cars being retired in the early 1930s.

But for that brief time in Michigan railroading history, the elite really could have it all…

Information and photo taken from the book “Passenger Car Pictorial” by Arthur B Million.

12/26/2024

ONCE UPON A TIME ON THE CHESAPEAKE & OHIO

In this hard to believe scenario from 1964, you could have left Cincinnati Ohio on Sunday, December 27 at 5:50PM for the trip of a lifetime. Your $159.75 ticket included all of this:

Round trip train fare
Four nights at the Astor Hotel at 44th and Broadway
Breakfast on the train (both ways)
Transport to and from train to hotel via motor coach
All baggage handling from station to Hotel room and back
(Including gratuities)
AND your choice of tickets for five top-hit plays

The only catch was you could only choose 3 musicals, and your other two had to be plays. The list of shows included

HELLO DOLLY with Carol Channing
FUNNY GIRL with Barbra Streisand
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF with Zero Mostel
FADE OUT—FADE IN starring Carole Burnett
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK with Robert Redford
DYLAN with Sir Alec Guinness
as well as 10 more with other such stars

By 1964, the C&O had hosted eight consecutive years of successful Theatre Parties to New York, with the December trip being the most popular. Ticket holders were welcome as guests to attend a New Year’s Eve Party overlooking Times Square from the comfort of the escort’s suite in the Astor.

12/25/2024

A ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS TALE OF LONG AGO

In 1970, Paul Dysinger of the Detroit Toledo & Ironton Railroad (owners of the Ann Arbor RR at the time) came up with the idea of SANTA’S CABOOSE. A simple idea, the caboose would paint a more positive image of DT&I for several years and was always created a big splash with local TV, radio, and newspapers everywhere it traveled.

Such was the class, wisdom, and style of the DT&I and AARR management back a half century ago.

Not only was the appearance of Santa’s Caboose a big hit, but the railroad took it one step further and invited children, many from underprivileged situations, to come on board the caboose and visit with Santa himself. Local service groups often hosted the attraction, railway employees worked hand in hand with management, and even customers of the railroad joined in the spirit of the season.

Santa’s Caboose traveled the DTI route across Michigan and Ohio making special visits along the Ann Arbor’s tracks as well. The caboose could be seen at stops in Toledo, Owosso, and Elberta (Boat Landing) bringing tidings of great joy of thousands of kids and adults alike. Stories are told of how the railroad purchased shoes, coats, and other gifts to be delivered to the homes of needy kids along with a note from Santa Claus himself.

The DT&I Santa’s Caboose No.94 rode the rails with its special guest for 9 seasons, 1971-1979. If you had not been naughty, you might have even seen Santa’s Caboose passing through Clare tucked in just ahead of the regular caboose on the afternoon freight train FT-2.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR from Warrick Wednesdays.

12/24/2024

WISHING YOU AND YOURS THE MOST MERRIEST OF CHRISTMASES FROM THE CLARE UNION DEPOT

We’ll be open Thursday from 10-4 (Boxing Day). Bring the guests over and help us reach the all time attendance record for December…

Address

201 W. 4th Street
Clare, MI
48617

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+19894244074

Website

https://cityofclare.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Clare-Union-Railroad-Depot-Information.pdf

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Videos

JUST AN EXTRA ADDED ATTRACTION AT THE CADILLAC ART FAIR LAST FRIDAY as the GLC heads south between the artists and the lake.

TREASURES OF THE CLARE UNION DEPOT:PART 45 thanks to a friend of the depot…Robert “Bob” Coon Just a touch of Whimsey on the last Monday of Winter

TREASURES OF THE CLARE UNION DEPOT: PART 42 A 90 second view from our telegrapher’s window today