This locomotive and caboose were placed on the Shelby Township Municipal Grounds in 1977.
The Locomotive on display is a Singer 1920 ALCO (Cooke) 0-4-0T Switcher, built in Paterson, New Jersey.
The Caboose is the Pere Marquette Railroad Caboose #A557, the exact construction date of the caboose is not known, but the caboose was in service until 1965. The caboose was used as part of the Pere Marquette Railroad’s weighmaster train and served as the weighmaster’s office. This caboose traveled extensively across the Pere Marquette system, where a scale test car on the train was responsible for testing and calibrating scales in the railroad freight yards.
After the locomotive and tender were moved, they were re-painted and the black paint covered many of the details and lettering that had previously been in place. Likewise, the caboose was covered with new wood siding and red paint. During this process, a few items were removed from the caboose such as the ladders and brake wheel. Also, the side handrails were placed upside down when they were put back onto the caboose.
The 1869 signs on the train were placed there by a local business owner who owned the train prior to Shelby Township acquiring it. This year is significant for two reasons. 1869 was the year that the Michigan Air Line Railroad first came to Shelby and Washington Townships. This was also the same year that the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in the U.S. when the final golden spike was put in place at Promontory Summit, Utah. Information Courtesy of: Shelby Township Historical Society