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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Toledo, OH (early years),St. Louis, MI (1925-1963),Dearborn, MI (1963-1976) |
| Reporting mark | AA |
| Locale | Michigan andOhio |
| Dates of operation | September 21, 1895–April 1, 1976 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheAnn Arbor Railroad (reporting markAA) was an Americanrailroad that operated betweenToledo, Ohio, andElberta andFrankfort, Michigan (about 294 route miles) withtrain ferry operations acrossLake Michigan. In 1967, it reported 572 million net ton-miles of revenue freight, including 107 million in "lake transfer service". It also operated theManistique and Lake Superior Railroad, a 39-mile subsidiary.
Thecompany's main line is partially abandoned with ownership split between the state of Michigan, theHuron and Eastern Railway, and the shortlineAnn Arbor Railroad (founded in 1988).
The railroad company was chartered September 21, 1895, as successor to theToledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway.[1] In 1905, it was acquired by theDetroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway (DTI) andEugene Zimmerman assumed presidency of both lines. DTI wentbankrupt three years later. Zimmerman remained president until 1909 when he lost control of the line to Joseph Ramsey Jr. and Newman Erb. Ramsey assumed the presidency, serving until 1913 when Erb became president and ran the line for the next eleven years. Erb also served as president of theMinneapolis and St. Louis Railway 1912 to 1916.[2]Wabash Railroad gained control of Ann Arbor Railroad in 1925.
The company operated one passenger train a day in each direction between its Toledo station and its Elberta boat landing. Major stops on the route included Ann Arbor, Durand, Owosso, Mt. Pleasant and Cadillac. Its passenger operations were hampered by the limited number of noteworthy cities en route; moreover, onlyDurand Union Station served trains other than AA's; in other cities, passengers had to travel across town to reach connecting trains. The AA's last passenger train ran on July 19, 1950.[3][4][5]
For many years the Ann Arbor was owned by theWabash Railroad, but Wabash gave up control in 1963 as part of its absorption into theNorfolk and Western. The DT&I, by then itself owned by the giantPennsylvania Railroad, again gained control in 1963.[6] The combined DT&I and AA were operated as independentsubsidiaries of the PRR but suffered from the parent company's ill-fated 1968 merger with theNew York Central. Upon the resultingPenn Central's 1970 bankruptcy, the DT&I and its Ann Arbor subsidiary were sold off to private investors.
The Ann Arbor Railroad owned a subsidiary, theManistique 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.[7] The State of Michigan bought most of the line, subsidizingConrail as a designated operator.[8] The contract was transferred to theMichigan Interstate Railway on October 1, 1977.[8] Michigan Interstate operated the line as the "Ann Arbor Railroad System." In 1982, the state split the operating contract among Michigan Interstate from Toledo to Ann Arbor, Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway from Ann Arbor to Alma, andMichigan Northern Railway from Alma to Elberta.[8] In 1984 the state ended Michigan Northern's contract and designated Tuscola & Saginaw Bay as the operator on that portion.[8]
On October 7, 1988, a newAnn Arbor Railroad began operating the portion south ofAnn Arbor; theGreat Lakes Central Railroad now serves the remaining portions of the line. Some sections have been abandoned: fromYuma to Elberta and Frankfort (approximately 45 miles), about 10 miles inShiawassee County, Michigan (in three discontinuous sections), and the trackage around the now-demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo.
The Ann Arbor's Lake Michigan train ferry fleet at Elberta started in November 1892 when the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan Railway acquired its first two boats,Ann Arbor 1 andAnn Arbor 2. At its height, the AA served four ports on the west of Lake Michigan:[9]
Altogether, eight boats were built for service with the AA and one was leased from theGrand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company.[9]
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