Detroit & Mackinac is a railroad which operated between Bay City and Cheboygan, ultimately reaching its namesake Mackinac City via takeover of former Penn Central lines. D&M was famous for being the first railroad to completely dieselize, and its Alco fleet included the first true road-switcher ever built, RS-2 #466. These Alcos have been scrapped in recent years, despite last minute attempts.
D&M #10, a GE 44-ton unit very similar to SMRS's own Western Maryland #75, was for sale by the Steam Railroading Institute / Project 1225, who was near to scrapping it for lack of a buyer. A donor arranged for it to be donated to SMRS, in a three-way trade which generated significant income to help repair the Mighty Chooch.
I took a trip to Owosso to take a look at the historic machine. The locomotive spent most of the last 20 years unused, but indoors, either at the Tawas City roundhouse or the Project 1225 shop. It had been primed in preparation for a return to the burgundy and gray D&M scheme. The white primer held up OK, but the red deteriorated (as can happen with primers). Internally, the machine is dusty and rusty, and will need a lot of mechanical love, but it should be a champ once restored.
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