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Ann Arbor Railroad
Reporting mark	AA
Locale	Michigan and Ohio
Dates of operation	1895–1976
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Toledo, Ohio

The cover from the Ann Arbor Railroad and Steamship Lines 1911 passenger timetable

The Ann Arbor Railroad (reporting mark AA) was an American railroad that operated between Toledo, Ohio and Elberta and Frankfort, Michigan (approximately 294 route miles) with train ferry operations across Lake Michigan.

History

The railroad company was chartered September 21, 1895, as successor to the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway.^[1] After going bankrupt in 1973, the Ann Arbor ceased operations as a railroad on April 1, 1976, when the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) temporarily took over. Since Conrail only wished to operate the south end, the state of Michigan acquired the line, and operations were transferred to the Michigan Interstate Railway on October 1, 1977.

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 remainder 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 3 discontinuous sections), and the trackage around the now-demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo.

The Ann Arbor also owned a subsidiary, the Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad (M&LS), for many years until the M&LS was abandoned in 1968.

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:^[2]

• 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 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 Railway

Fleet

Altogether, eight boats were built for service with the AA and one was leased from the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company.^[2]

• 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 boat, was leased from 1978.

See also

• History of railroads in Michigan

References

External links

• Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association