Ann Arbor Railroad (1895–1976)

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Ann Arbor Railroad
Reporting mark	AA
Locale	Michigan Ohio
Dates of operation	1869–1976
Successor	Conrail then Ann Arbor Railroad (1988)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Length	300 miles (480 kilometres)
Headquarters	Toledo, Ohio

The Ann Arbor Railroad (reporting mark AA) was a former Class I Railroad that operated

from Toledo to Elberta, a distance of about 300 miles. From Elberta, the AA operated
several car ferry routes until 1982. The AA was absorbed by Conrail on April 1, 1976
and then by the Michigan Interstate Railway Company on October 1, 1977.
On September 30, 1982, Michigan Interstate Railway Company operations ceased north of
Ann Arbor. The remaining portions of the AA from Ann Arbor to Elberta were split between
the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway, running from Ann Arbor to Alma, and the
Michigan Northern Railway, running from Alma to Elberta. Today, the only portion of
railroad operated under the AA name is the portion from Toledo to Ann Arbor.

History

The history of the Ann Arbor Railroad (AA) began with two companies organized in 1869
and 1872 tobuild a railroad between Toledo, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan,
approximately 45 miles (72 kilometres). The Panic of 1873 killed one of those two companies;
it took another 20 years and 12 companies, most of them named Toledo, Ann Arbor &
something, for the railroad to reach the eastern shore of Lake Michigan atElberta, Michigan.
(The Toledo-Elberta line was the railroad's sole route until the 1960s, when it acquired its
only branch, a 4 mi (6.4 km) New York Central Railroad remnant from Pittsfield to
Saline, Michigan.) From Elberta, across a small inlet from Elberta, the

Ann Arbor operated train ferry lines to Kewaunee and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Menominee
and Manistique, Michigan. The AA was incorporated in 1895 as a reorganization of the Toledo,
Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway.[1][2]

The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway (DT&I) obtained control of the AA in 1905 but sold its

interests in 1910. In 1911 the AA purchased all the capital stock of the

Manistique & Lake Superior Railroad (M&LS), which extended north from the
Manistique, Michigan, to connections with the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway and the

Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad.[1]

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:In 1925 the Wabash Railroad, which was controlled by

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) interests, acquired control of the AA. By 1930 it held more than 97%

of AA's stock. AA was in receivership from December 4, 1931, to January 1, 1943 but did not 

reorganize.[1] Never a major passenger carrier, AA discontinued its last passenger train in 1950

and gave its to full attention to freight service, which was largely made up of through freight using

the Lake Michigan ferries to bypass Chicago and take advantage of lower rates. The railroad was

completely dieselized by 1951.[1] In 1963, the Wabash sold the AA to the DT&I (which was owned

by the Wabash and the PRR). The M&LS and the connecting 100 mi (160 km) train ferry route were

abandoned in 1968. In 1970 the Interstate Commerce Commissionauthorized abandonment of the

ferry route between Frankfort and Menominee (80 miles (130 kilometres)) and the facilities at

Menominee.[1]

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.

Train ferries

AA's Lake Michigan train ferry fleet started in November 1892 when the Toledo, Ann Arbor & 

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:[3]

Kewaunee (1892) - Kewaunee, Green Bay & Western Railroad
Menominee (1894) - Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, Chicago and North Western Railway, 

and Wisconsin & Michigan Railroad
Gladstone, Michigan (1895) - Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad
Manitowoc (1896) - Chicago & North Western Railway, Wisconsin Central Railway.
Fleet
Eight boats were built for service with the AA and one was leased from the 

Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company.[3]
SS Ann Arbor No. 1 – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building, Toledo, 1892. 

Capacity: 24 cars on four tracks
SS Ann Arbor No. 2 – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building, Toledo, 1892.

Capacity: 24 cars on four tracks.
SS Ann Arbor No. 3 – built by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio, 1898.
SS Ann Arbor No. 4 – built by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio, 1906.
SS Ann Arbor No. 5 – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company,

1910
SS Ann Arbor No. 6 – built by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Michigan, 1917;

rebuilt in 1959 as the MV Arthur K. Atkinson.
SS Ann Arbor No. 7 – built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, 1925; rebuilt in 1965 as the 

MV Viking.
SS Wabash – built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company, 1927; rebuilt in 1962 as the 

SS City of Green Bay.
SS City of Milwaukee, a Grand Trunk Western vessel was leased in 1978.
See also
History of railroads in Michigan
References

^ a b c d e Drury, George H. (1994). The Historical Guide to North American Railroads: Histories,

Figures, and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930.

  Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0-89024-072-8.
^ Powers, Perry F. (1912). A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. Chicago, Illinois:

 The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 179.
^ a b Zimmerman, Karl (1993). Lake Michigan’s Railroad Car Ferries. Andover, New Jersey:

 Andover Junction Publications. pp. 32–51.ISBN 0-944119-11-5.