Station: Pittsfield Junction, MI

Pittsfield Junction was an interlocked crossing of the Ann Arbor railroad main line (Toledo to Frankfort) and the Michigan Central's Ypsilanti Branch (Ypsilanti to Hillsdale) in Pittsfield Township. It was originally referred to as "Ypsilanti Junction".

Photo info: Top, an old photo of the crossing with a small interlocking tower and depot. 2nd photo, the interlocking/crossing at Pittsfield Jct. looking northbound on the Ann Arbor Railroad in 2006. 3rd photo, the interlocking control box at the crossing. [Dale Berry]

Notes

This location had a station at one time, but it is now an automatic interlocking with standard 2-head signals on the AA and dwarf signals on the former Ypsilanti Branch (which was been truncated from just east of the crossing to Saline). The junction had one wye track in the southeast quadrant which is now used by the Ann Arbor railroad to reach the Ypsilanti branch to service Saline industry.

Location: 42^o12.672'N / 83^o43.573'W. 

Time Line

1883. February 3. The train that leaves Ann Arbor at 7:30 a.m. on the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Grand Trunk railroad encountered a broken rail Friday morning near Pittsfield Junction, about four miles from Ann Arbor, and one of the passenger coaches was thrown down an embankment. An Ann Arbor man had a hand injured and a brakeman and a daughter of Station Agent Phillips received some severe cuts about the head and face. Surgeons were telegraphed for from Ann Arbor. [DFP-1883-0203[

1900. This is a telegraph station on the Ann Arbor railroad. [OG-1900]

1902. Arthur Brooks, son of Dr. Brooks of Ann Arbor, was learning telegraphy at the depot and had a key to the depot and offices. The agent at Pittsfield Junction discovered two $30 mileage books and $20 in stamps had been taken from the office. Young Brooks is missing and officers are after him. [NREP-1902-0828]

1903. The interlocker here was a Saxby-Farmer lever machine by US&S. [MCR-1904]

1914. The station at Pittsfield Junction burns. [MCR-1916]

1918. The AARR had a day station agent here, shared with the NYC. Each road paid the agent 50/50. [TRT]

1930. June 21. The Michigan Public Utilities Commission approves changes in the interlocking here as a result of installation of automatic block signals on the Ann Arbor Railroad between Milan and Ann Arbor. Mechanical semaphores will be replaced with searchlight signals, and detector bars will be replaced with electric track circuits. [MPUC-1930]

2016. The automatic interlocker here was removed, along with approach signals. They were replaced with double gates.