Station: Britton, MI

Britton is a small village in northeast Lenawee County which was settled about 1881 as a station stop on the Detroit, State Line and Wabash railroad which came through the area. Around 1891 the Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee railroad also came through west to east crossing the Wabash. An interlocking tower was built to control the crossing.

Photo Info: Top, a 1940's photo of the post office in Britton which shows the Wabash depot at the rear to the left. [Alan Loftis collection]. 2nd photo, a map of the track diagram and interlocking at Britton, [Drawn from blueprints in the State of Michigan Archives by Dale Berry]

Notes

The DT&M was not well utilized and the Detroit & Lima Northern (later DT&I) was given trackage rights on the section from Tecumseh to Dundee (via Britton) to connect their line from Ohio to Detroit. After the DT&I built their own route (the Malinta cutoff) from east of Dundee south through Petersburg and Riga, the DT&M line was no longer used and was pulled up in the late 1920's.

The interlocking tower in Britton was reportedly moved to Milan to control the Wabash-Ann Arbor railroad crossing after the former Milan tower was destroyed in a derailment. It continued to be used until the early 1990's when it was torn down.

Time Line

1897. October 26. A Lima Northern freight train collided with the rear end of a Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee freight at this point this afternoon, demolishing the caboose and several cars of the DT&M train and derailing the big Lima Northern engine. Fortunately no one was injured. The DT&M crew had left part of their train on the main track and were doing some switching. The Lima Northern engineer could not hold his train, consisting of forty-two loaded cars, coming down grade from Ridgeway. [DFP-18987-1027]

1926. The Wabash has ordered a 36-lever improved Saxby & Farmer interlocking machine for installation at its Britton, MI crossing with the NYC. This machine which will have 33 working levers and three spare spaces, together with all ground material, signals, switch layouts and fittings will be supplied by the Union Switch & Signal Co. Field work to be installed by the railroad company's regular signal forces. [RSG-1926-12]