Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway And The Ann Arbor Railroad

From Wikipedia
The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway (DT&I) obtained control of the AA in 1905 but sold its interests in 1910. In 1925 the Wabash Railroad, which was controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) interests, acquired control of the AA. In 1963, the Wabash sold the AA to the DT&I (which was owned by the Wabash and the PRR). On October 16, 1973, AA declared bankruptcy. AA ceased operation as a railroad on April 1, 1976; Conrail assumed operations that day. The state of Michigan then purchased the railroad from the DT&I and arranged for its operation by Michigan Interstate Railway. The remaining train ferry lines from Elberta to Manitowoc (79 miles (127 kilometres)) and Kewaunee (60 miles (97 kilometres)) ceased operation in April 1982. In 1983 because of disputes over terms and payments, the operation was split among three railroads:

• Michigan Interstate Railway
• Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway (T&SB)
• Michigan Northern Railway (MN)

In 1984 T&SB took over MN's portion of the AA.

On October 7, 1988 a new Ann Arbor Railroad began operating the portion south of Ann Arbor; the Great Lakes Central Railroad (the former T&SB) currently serves the remaining portions of the line. Some sections have been abandoned: from Yuma to Elberta and Frankfort (approximately 45 miles (72 kilometres)), approximately 10 miles (16 kilometres) in Shiawassee County, Michigan (in three discontinuous sections), and the trackage around the now-demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo.

More on the DT&I

In June 1905, the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway (DT&I) took control of the Ann Arbor Railroad (AA), which they purchased from Rudolph Kleybolte & Co.^[4] The AA connected Toledo with Frankfort, Mich., and the acquisition essentially doubled the DT&I system. DT&I only controlled the AA until 1908 when another bankruptcy forced the DT&I to divest its acquisition.

In 1963, the DT&I, itself by then a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, once again gained control of the AA. The Ann Arbor lines would later become part of the formation of Conrail in April 1976 but were still facing abandonment. They were purchased by the state of Michigan in October 1977 with the intent of preserving rail service over its tracks. Subsequently, the state divested itself of the lines and remnants of the AA are now owned and operated by several short line railroad companies (including one with the same name as the original).