The Train Depot Museum is a rather impressive collection dedicated to the age of automotives. While the exterior exhibit is without a doubt its show stopper, it is within the museum that visitors will find an assortment of fascinating technology, countless tools, and several manuals. There is, in fact, too much to even attempt at covering. However, if there is at least one thing worth your attention, it would be a poster hanging on the wall displaying a technical blueprint.

This is the Mikado. It is a locomotive with a 2-8-2 wheel configuration, inspired by a previous 2-8-0 model, and first built by Baldwin Locomotive Work in 1897 for Japan’s Nippon Railway; the first US Mikado was built in 1903 for Bismark, Washburn, and Great Falls Railway. The Mikado’s success came from its versatility, as it was built to be a large engine capable of a wild variety of tasks, leading to its widespread use on North American lines. This includes the Ann Arbor Railroad that our very own Caboose #2845 belonged to. 

In World War One, the Mikado was a standard of efficiency used by the USRA: able to handle wartime traffic and adapt to lines throughout the country. During the thirties its design was improved upon, as William F. Woodard, of Lima Locomotive Works, designed the larger 2-8-4s and 4-8-4s. While the Mikado was moved to less glamorous rails, and temporarily renamed the MacArthurs by some railroads following the attack on Pearl Harbor, it continued to receive more use then its more powerful variants, as by this time many rails were switching to diesel.

The last of the North American Mikado’s was built in 1949 for the Newfoundland Railway. However, preservation movements have returned many Mikado’s to service, capitalizing on their versatility once again. 

The Mikado poster, and the legacy of the Mikado, are just one piece of history immortalized in the Train Depot Museum. If a visitor would like to see the full depth of the museum, they are encouraged to stop by during Shepherd’s maple syrup festival. Also, should a visitor want to assist in the preservation of history, then they’re recommended to direct their attention to the Village of Shepherd. Checks can be made out to “Village of Shepherd”, with “Train Depot” added to the memo and sent to 251 W Wright Avenue, Shepherd Michigan, 48883.