Ann Arbor Railroad
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroad that operated between Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
and Elberta
Elberta, Michigan
Elberta is a village in Benzie County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 457 at the 2000 census. The village located in the east of Gilmore Township, on the south side of Lake Betsie, which is formed by the Betsie River before flowing into Lake Michigan. The village is on M-22 just...
and Frankfort, Michigan
Frankfort, Michigan
Frankfort is a city in Benzie County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,513 at the 2000 census. The elevation of Frankfort is above sea level. The city is situated with Lake Michigan to the west, Lake Betsie, formed by the Betsie River before flowing into Lake Michigan, on the...
(approximately 294 route miles) with train ferry
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
operations across Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
.
History
The railroad company was chartered September 21, 1895, as successor to the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway. In 1905, it was acquired by the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton RailwayDetroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad
The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was a railroad that operated between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan and Ironton, Ohio via Toledo between 1905 and 1983.-Early history:...
(DT&I), which went bankrupt three years later and had to sell off the Ann Arbor.
For many years the Ann Arbor was owned by the Wabash, but Wabash gave up control in 1963 as part of its absorption into the Norfolk and Western. The DT&I, by then itself owned by the giant Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, once again gained control in 1963. The combined DT&I and AA were operated as independent subsidiaries of the PRR, but suffered from the parent company's ill-fated 1968 merger with the New York Central
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. Upon the resulting Penn Central's 1970 bankrupcy, the GT&I and its Ann Arbor subsidiary were sold off to private investors.
The Ann Arbor Railroad also owned a subsidiary, the Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad (M&LS), from somewhere shortly after that line's origin in 1909 until it was abandoned in 1968.
After itself going bankrupt in 1973, the Ann Arbor ceased operations as a railroad on April 1, 1976, when the Consolidated Rail Corporation
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
(Conrail) temporarily took over. Since Conrail only wished to operate the south end of the AA, the state of Michigan acquired the entire line, and operations were transferred to the Michigan Interstate Railway, a division of the Michigan Department of Transportation
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation is a constitutional government agency in the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate, US and state highways in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinac...
(MDOT), on October 1, 1977. The state eventually privatized this entity, selling it off in pieces to several different short line railroad companies.
On October 7, 1988, a new Ann Arbor Railroad began operating the portion south of Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
; the Great Lakes Central Railroad now serves the remaining portions of the line. Some sections have been abandoned: from Yuma to Elberta and Frankfort (approximately 45 miles), about 10 miles in Shiawassee County, Michigan
Shiawassee County, Michigan
-Transportation:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 71,687 people, 26,896 households, and 19,849 families residing in the county. The population density was 133 people per square mile . There were 29,087 housing units at an average density of 54 per square mile...
(in 3 discontinuous sections), and the trackage around the now-demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo.
Train ferries
The Ann Arbor's Lake Michigan train ferry fleet started in November 1892 when the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan Railway acquired its first two boats, Ann Arbor 1 and Ann Arbor 2. At its height, the AA served four ports on the west of Lake Michigan:- Kewaunee, WisconsinKewaunee, WisconsinKewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,806 at the 2000 census. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city is the county seat of Kewaunee County....
from 1892 connecting with Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western RailroadKewaunee, Green Bay and Western RailroadThe Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western Railroad, constructed with Lackawanna Trust and W. W. Cargill backing, was incorporated on May 19, 1890 for the purpose of moving cargo between the port cities of Green Bay and Kewaunee in Wisconsin...
, - Menominee, MichiganMenominee, MichiganMenominee is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,131. It is the county seat of Menominee County. Menominee is the fourth-largest city in the Upper Peninsula, behind Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Escanaba...
from 1894 connecting with Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
, and Wisconsin and Michigan Railroad - Gladstone, MichiganGladstone, MichiganGladstone is a city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. First settled in 1877, Gladstone's original name was Saunders Point. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census....
from 1895 connecting with the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie RailroadMinneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie RailroadThe Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwest U.S. Commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961 to form the...
. Later moved to Manistique, MichiganManistique, MichiganManistique is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,583. It is the county seat of Schoolcraft County and the only incorporated community in the county. The city lies on the north shore of Lake Michigan, at the southwest corner...
connecting with Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic RailwayDuluth, South Shore and Atlantic RailwayThe Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, westward through Marquette, Michigan to Superior, Wisconsin,...
via AA subsidiary Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad - Manitowoc, WisconsinManitowoc, WisconsinManitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...
from 1896 connecting with Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
, and Wisconsin Central Railway
Fleet
Altogether, eight boats were built for service with the AA and one was leased from the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry CompanyGrand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
The Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company was the Grand Trunk Western Railroad's subsidiary company operating its Lake Michigan railroad car ferry operations between Muskegon, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1905 to 1978...
. – designed by Frank E. Kirby
Frank E. Kirby
Frank E. Kirby was a naval architect in the Detroit area in the early 20th century. Kirby was best known for his five huge Lake Erie night boats....
and built by Craig Ship Building, Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
in 1892. Capacity 24 cars on four tracks. – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building, Toledo, Ohio in 1892. Capacity 24 cars on four tracks. – built by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
in 1898. – built by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
in 1906. – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1910. – built by Great Lakes Engineering Works
Great Lakes Engineering Works
The Great Lakes Engineering Works was a shipbuilding company with a shipyard in River Rouge, Michigan that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships in the Great Lakes. During World War II, GLEW was...
, Ecorse, Michigan
Ecorse, Michigan
Ecorse is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan, named for the Ecorse River. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census.-History:...
in 1917 and rebuilt in 1959 as the . – built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was a major shipbuilder for the Great Lakes. It was founded in 1902, and made mainly steel ferries and ore haulers. During World War II, it built submarines, tank landing craft , and self-propelled fuel barges called "YOs". Employment...
in 1925 and rebuilt in 1965 as the . – built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1927, and rebuilt in 1962 as the ., a Grand Trunk boat, was leased from 1978.