Michigan was and still is no stranger to railroads small yet unique enough to attract a following. The former Ann Arbor Railroad, not to be confused with today’s incarnation under Watco, certainly fit the bill with these 5 traits of the Ann Arbor Railroad that range from quirky to charming.
More car ferry than railroad: Though initially conceived in 1855 to compete with the Michigan Central Railroad for the Toledo, Ohio-Ann Arbor, Mich. corridor, lawyer and businessman James M. Ashley dreamed of a main line reaching the eastern shores of Lake Michigan and offering the first cross-lake car ferry service. After acquiring the unfinished Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Railroad in 1877, Ashley completed the Toledo-Ann Arbor connection and headed northwest with a series of company reformations, leases, acquisitions, and detours along the way. The then Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan Railroad reached Frankfort and ultimately Lake Michigan in 1889, at a total distance of 292 miles.
Ferry service began in 1892 out of Frankfort, eventually heading toward Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Wis., Menominee, and Manistique, Mich. during its 90-year lifespan. While the Pere Marquette Railway (later Chesapeake & Ohio Railway) would make its own splash in car ferries beginning in 1897, the Ann Arbor remained mostly at the business’ forefront. This was thanks in part to the innovation of vessel design and construction, as well as stacking up more shipping miles by fresh water than rail…