RAILROAD WATER TOWER ONCE FUELED TRAINS

If your Albion High School class is having a reunion this summer, how about having copies of my three latest Albion history book titles at your event? They are full of memorable photographs and the books would make great door prizes. Contact me at Albionfp@hotmail.com, or call at (517) 629-5402 for details.

The railroad has always been a part of Albion since the 1840s. Albion was once a stopping point for trains needing to refuel. Steam locomotives needed water, and a water tower was placed here in Albion for "fill ups." The tower was located on the west side of N. Eaton St. just south of the spur track that ran across the street south of the depot. It can be seen in the background on some of the historical postcard photographs of our railroad depot. For example, look at the top photo on page 78 of my latest book, "Albion (Postcards)," and you’ll see the water tower on your left.

In 1954, the last steam locomotive passed through town, and the railroad switched over to diesel engines on trains running through Albion. Use of the water tower was thereby discontinued. It was demolished two years later on August 29, 1956.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present an August, 1956 photograph of this tower shortly before it was demolished. In the foreground is the spur track that once ran across N. Eaton St. south of the depot. How many of our readers remember steam locomotives and this water tank?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
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