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Station:  Albion, Michigan

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MCRR Albion depot, taken in February, 1989.  This depot was built in 1882.  (Above).  [Charlie Whipp].  Below, the same depot in 1894.  The MC was still a single track main line at this time.  [Frank Passic collection]

Below, Albion in the 1940's.  A passenger train is arriving at the depot on the eastbound main track.  [T. J. Gaffney Collection]
Albion was settled in 1830 and the village was platted in 1836.  It became incorporated in 1836 and became a city in 1885.  The Michigan Central Railroad came through Albion on its route west from Detroit to Chicago.  It reached Albion on June 25, 1844.  The Northern Michigan Railroad (later Lake Shore & Michigan Southern) established the first north-south route reaching Albion in 1873.  The line crossed the Michigan Central in 1874 and continued on to Lansing.

According to interlocking track diagrams at the Michigan State Archives, the Michigan Central east-west main line was still single track in 1898 (west of Albion).  The first interlocker was apparently installed at that time and the tower at Albion was known as Tower "A".  Letters were often used to describe towers and stations as a time saving step when using the telegraph.  The Michigan Central operated on a manual block system at this time.  [MPN/FP]