Ann Arbor Railroad (1988)

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Ann Arbor Railroad

Tracks of the Ann Arbor Railroad in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan
Overview
Headquarters	Howell, Michigan
Reporting mark	AA
Locale	Michigan and Ohio
Dates of operation	1988–Present
Predecessor	Michigan Interstate Railway
Technical
Length	50 miles (80 km)

The Ann Arbor Railroad (reporting mark AA) is a Class III Railroad that operates fifty miles of track from Toledo, Ohio, to Osmer, Michigan. The railroad is operated by Watco and is based in Howell, Michigan. Prior to Watco's purchase of the railroad in 2013,^[1] the railroad was operated by the Ann Arbor Acquisition Corporation from 1988 to 2013.

Conrail served as the designated operator of the Ann Arbor Railroad main line from 1976–1977 following the bankruptcy of the original Ann Arbor Railroad.^[2][3] The Michigan Interstate Railway succeeded Conrail in 1977 and purchased the Toledo–Ann Arbor portion of the line from the state of Michigan in 1985.^[4] The Ann Arbor Acquisition Corporation, doing business as the Ann Arbor Railroad, purchased the bankrupt Michigan Interstate Railway on October 7, 1988.^[5]

The Ann Arbor Railroad operates 83 miles (134 km) of track between its main terminal, Ottawa Yard, in Toledo, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, the interchange point with the Great Lakes Central Railroad and Norfolk Southern. A branch line known as the Saline Branch stretches four miles from Pittsfield, Michigan, to Saline, Michigan. The Saline Branch has been used in the past to serve the Faurecia Automotive Components Plant located in Saline, Michigan, but is not currently being used in revenue service. The Ann Arbor Railroad also leases and operates an industrial lead in Toledo owned by the Norfolk Southern. Much of what the railroad transports is "bridge traffic" and is received at either end of the railroad and transported for interchange with another railroad at the opposite terminal. A variety of different cargoes are transported ranging from grain to liquefied petroleum gas to wooden poles. In Toledo, the railroad serves Chrysler transporting finished vehicles from the Toledo Complex.

Hallett Tower, the only remaining operational interlocking tower in Ohio, ceased operation in September 2019 with all dispatching duties being shifted to the dispatch center in Pittsburg, Kansas. While the tower itself is still standing, it is now being utilized by the signal dept.

The Ann Arbor Railroad is headquartered in Howell, Michigan.^[1] Its main business is serving manufacturers, especially the automobile industry.^[1]

• Toledo, Ohio:
  • Norfolk Southern
  • CSX
  • Canadian National
  • Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway
• Osmer, Michigan:
  • Great Lakes Central Railroad
• Milan, Michigan:
  • Norfolk Southern
• Diann, Michigan:
  • Canadian National
  • Indiana & Ohio Railway

• Cady, Ron (October 1987). "Michigan Metamorphosis". Trains. Vol. 47, no. 12. pp. 26–38. ISSN 0041-0934.
• Keefe, Kevin P. (October 1976). "How Michigan got into the railroad business". Trains. Vol. 36, no. 12. pp. 46–49. ISSN 0041-0934.
• Lewis, Edward A. (1991). American Shortline Railway Guide (4th ed.). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-109-0. OCLC 25150373.
• Meints, Graydon M. (2005). Michigan Railroad Lines. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-693-1.