The railroad company was chartered September 21, 1895, as successor to the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway.[1] In 1905, it was acquired by the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway (DTI) and Eugene Zimmerman assumed presidency of both lines. DTI went bankrupt 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 the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway 1912 to 1916.[2]Wabash Railroad gained control of Ann Arbor Railroad in 1925.
The company ended its last passenger train, a once a day train in each direction train from the AA's Toledo station to its Elberta boat landing, on July 19, 1950. Major stops on the route besides the end points included Ann Arbor, Durand, Owosso, Mt. Pleasant and Cadillac. The passenger side was hampered by the limited number of noteworthy cities en route and the fact that all but the Durand Union Station were in cities in which trains for connecting points were at different stations from the AA station, thus necessitating use of surface transportation for transfer between train stations.[3][4][5]
For many years the Ann Arbor was owned by the Wabash Railroad, 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, again gained control in 1963.[6] 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. Upon the resulting Penn 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, 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.[7] The State of Michigan bought most of the line, subsidizing Conrail as a designated operator.[8] The contract was transferred to the Michigan 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, and Michigan 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 new Ann Arbor Railroad began operating the portion south of Ann Arbor; 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 (in three discontinuous sections), and the trackage around the now-demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo.
Train ferriesedit
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 and Ann Arbor 2. At its height, the AA served four ports on the west of Lake Michigan:[9]
^. Central Michigan University—Clarke Historical Library. February 5, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
Middleton, William D.; Smerk, George M.; Diehl, Roberta L., eds. (2007). Encyclopedia of North American Railroads. Indiana University Press. pp. 125–26.
External linksedit
Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association
April 10, 2024
arbor, railroad, 1895, 1976, modern, arbor, railroad, arbor, railroad, 1988, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, . For the modern Ann Arbor Railroad see Ann Arbor Railroad 1988 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ann Arbor Railroad 1895 1976 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Ann Arbor Railroad reporting mark AA was an American railroad that operated between Toledo Ohio and Elberta and Frankfort Michigan about 294 route miles with train ferry operations across Lake Michigan In 1967 it reported 572 million net ton miles of revenue freight including 107 million in lake transfer service that total does not include the 39 mile subsidiary Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad Ann Arbor RailroadOverviewHeadquartersToledo OH early years St Louis MI 1925 1963 Dearborn MI 1963 1976 Reporting markAALocaleMichigan and OhioDates of operation1895 1976SuccessorConrail 1976 1977 Michigan Interstate Railway 1977 1988 Ann Arbor Railroad 1988 present TechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeThe cover from the Ann Arbor Railroad and Steamship Lines 1911 passenger timetable Contents 1 History 2 Train ferries 2 1 Fleet 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory edit nbsp Map of the Ann Arbor and ferry connectionsThe railroad company was chartered September 21 1895 as successor to the Toledo Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway 1 In 1905 it was acquired by the Detroit Toledo amp Ironton Railway DTI and Eugene Zimmerman assumed presidency of both lines DTI went bankrupt 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 the Minneapolis and St Louis Railway 1912 to 1916 2 Wabash Railroad gained control of Ann Arbor Railroad in 1925 The company ended its last passenger train a once a day train in each direction train from the AA s Toledo station to its Elberta boat landing on July 19 1950 Major stops on the route besides the end points included Ann Arbor Durand Owosso Mt Pleasant and Cadillac The passenger side was hampered by the limited number of noteworthy cities en route and the fact that all but the Durand Union Station were in cities in which trains for connecting points were at different stations from the AA station thus necessitating use of surface transportation for transfer between train stations 3 4 5 For many years the Ann Arbor was owned by the Wabash Railroad but Wabash gave up control in 1963 as part of its absorption into the Norfolk and Western The DT amp I by then itself owned by the giant Pennsylvania Railroad again gained control in 1963 6 The combined DT amp 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 Upon the resulting Penn Central s 1970 bankruptcy the DT amp I and its Ann Arbor subsidiary were sold off to private investors The Ann Arbor Railroad owned a subsidiary the Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad M amp 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 subsidizing Conrail as a designated operator 8 The contract was transferred to the Michigan 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 amp Saginaw Bay Railway from Ann Arbor to Alma and Michigan Northern Railway from Alma to Elberta 8 In 1984 the state ended Michigan Northern s contract and designated Tuscola amp Saginaw Bay as the operator on that portion 8 On October 7 1988 a new Ann Arbor Railroad began operating the portion south of Ann Arbor 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 in three discontinuous sections and the trackage around the now demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo Train ferries editThe 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 and Ann Arbor 2 At its height the AA served four ports on the west of Lake Michigan 9 Kewaunee Wisconsin from 1892 connecting with Kewaunee Green Bay and Western Railroad Menominee Michigan from 1894 connecting with Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul Railway Chicago and North Western Railway and Wisconsin and Michigan Railroad Gladstone Michigan in Michigan Upper Peninsula from 1895 connecting with the Minneapolis St Paul and Sault Ste Marie Railroad Later moved to Manistique Michigan connecting with Duluth South Shore and Atlantic Railway via AA subsidiary Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad Manitowoc Wisconsin from 1896 connecting with Chicago and North Western Railway and Wisconsin Central RailwayFleet edit Altogether eight boats were built for service with the AA and one was leased from the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company 9 SS Ann Arbor No 1 designed by Frank E Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building Toledo Ohio in 1892 Capacity 24 cars on four tracks SS Ann Arbor No 2 designed by Frank E Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building Toledo Ohio in 1892 Capacity 24 cars on four tracks SS Ann Arbor No 3 built by Globe Iron Works Cleveland Ohio in 1898 SS Ann Arbor No 4 built by Globe Iron Works Cleveland Ohio in 1906 SS Ann Arbor No 5 designed by Frank E Kirby and built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1910 SS Ann Arbor No 6 built by Great Lakes Engineering Works Ecorse Michigan in 1917 and rebuilt in 1959 as the MV Arthur K Atkinson SS Ann Arbor No 7 built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in 1925 and rebuilt in 1965 as the MV Viking SS Wabash built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1927 and 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 edit nbsp Railways portalHistory of railroads in MichiganReferences edit Powers Perry F 1912 A History of Northern Michigan and Its People Chicago The Lewis Publishing Company p 179 Brown Grant 2008 Ninety Years Crossing Lake Michigan The History of the Ann Arbor Car Ferries University of Michigan Press p 96 ISBN 978 0 472 05049 9 Retrieved October 8 2020 Official Guide of the Railways January 1950 Ann Arbor section Ann Arbor Railroad American Rails A Brief History Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library February 5 2010 Archived from the original on February 3 2013 Retrieved October 19 2010 Lennon J Establishing Trails on Rights of Way Washington D C United States Department of the Interior p 50 EMPLOYER STATUS DETERMINATION ANN ARBOR RAILROAD COMPANY PDF Archived from the original PDF on August 3 2018 a b c d Michigan s Railroad History 1825 2014 PDF Michigan Department of Transportation January 2005 a b Zimmermann Karl 1993 Lake Michigan s Railroad Car Ferries Andover New Jersey Andover Junction Publications pp 32 51 ISBN 0 944119 11 5 Further reading editMeints Graydon M 1993 Michigan Railroads amp Railroad Companies MSU Press Middleton William D Smerk George M Diehl Roberta L eds 2007 Encyclopedia of North American Railroads Indiana University Press pp 125 26 External links editAnn Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ann Arbor Railroad 1895 1976 amp oldid 1166926635, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
