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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, February 11, 2024, pg. 6 The Interurban was an early 20th century phenomenon across southern Michigan. It was a railroad system that was powered by electricity. It began operations through Albion in 1903, and was originally called the Jackson-Battle Creek Traction Company. The main route ran down the middle of Michigan main streets where passengers could be easily let off or embark, rather than at a regular railroad station several blocks away. There were frequent stops available at road crossings or farms for rural residents along the way on the "local" runs. The local passenger station was at 215 S. Superior St. until 1916, and thereafter at 121 E. Erie St. in a shared location with Consumers Power Company. In Albion, the tracks entered Albion from the east in the middle of E. Erie St., then turned south down the middle of Superior St., where they then turned west on W. Cass St. From there the tracks went to Ann St., where they turned north and went over a trestle over the Michigan Central, and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroads, as well as the Kalamazoo River. From there the tracks continued northwards along Williams St. until they reached Bilicke's Service Station at 525 Austin Avenue, and then turned west onto the street. The tracks on Austin Avenue were placed in the middle of the street, which was also the busy M-17 highway. Headed west, after the Harry Handricks home at 924 Austin Ave, the tracks shifted to the right shoulder of the road where they went out to the "car barns" repair facility at 27 Mile Road. From there the Interurban traveled west towards Marshall. You can easily see portions of the old right-of-way there today. By the late 1920s, automobiles had surpassed the Interurban as the preferred method of transportation. There were also accidents with competing automobiles on busy streets. The Interurban began losing customers, and the Michigan United Railways was placed into receivership in 1928. Passenger service ended November 30, 1928, with freight service ending on June 1, 1929. Thus ended the Interurban era in our area. The tracks were removed through town in 1930, except for on Austin Avenue, where they were left intact for several blocks. There were too many problems that would have resulted by trying to remove them on the busy M-17 highway (later U.S.-12) through Albion. Instead, the tracks were covered over with layer-by-layer of asphalt during paving projects beginning in the 1940s. Many years ago, the City of Albion had a utility repair project just east of the Austin/Albion intersection and had to dig into the street. When the hole was dug, they hit the interurban track and had to dig around it to make their repairs. Yours truly was able to look down the hole and saw the track myself. It's still there today. From our Historical Notebook this week we present an August 16, 1939 photo of the Tyzsko's Red and White market at 619 Austin Ave, with the interurban tracks in the foreground. On the left is the auto mechanic's garage of Fred Smith. On the far right is a portion of the Shell gas station operated by Warren C. Hooper, later our State Senator of "Three Bullets Sealed His Lips" fame (But that is another story). Our second photograph features an early 1920s Interurban ticket showing the various named stops along the route. On the top right is Jackson; follow the named stops down to the middle of the list where you'll find Albion. Why, there even was a stop at Mingo St. by the Albion College athletic field. After that keep going down and you'll get to Marshall and beyond. How many of our readers have heard about the Interurban?  August 16, 1939 photograph of the Tyzsko's Red and White market at 619 Austin Ave.
 An early 1920s Interurban ticket
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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