To those who knew her and were more than casual observers, the Ann Arbor railroad, had it all -- Alcos, a "navy," and roller coaster profile in the northern part of Michigan. Although the popular rail line declared bankruptcy in 1976, its character lived on for a dozen years in the form of the Michigan Interstate Railroad. It should be noted that Conrail during a brief interim managed the railroad prior to MIRC's 1977 start-up. The above image depicts Alco-built RS1 #20 spotting cars at the Elberta, Michigan boat yard - Forrest L. Becht photo in April 1982.

To briefly recap, the "Annie's" main line stretched northwesterly 293 miles from Toledo, Ohio to the boat yards at Elberta, Michigan. For some shippers, the railway as a short-cut between Lake Erie and Wisconsin and a valured by-pass of prolonged Chicago metroplex delays. Prior to the arrival of EMD-built GP35s in 1964, the AA relied heavily on an Alco-intensive fleet of FA2s, RS1s, S1 and S3 switchers, along with a lone 44-ton Whitcomb. The only Alcos to survive the bankruptcy were the RS1s and S3s; however, AA/MCIR did later acquire two surplus RS2s from the Green Bay and Western.

Forrest Becht (MCIR engineer, chief mechanical officer 1981-198x), provides an insider's view of the Michigan Interstate Railroad in both photos and captions.

The Ann Arbor roster initially consisted of nine switchers that had been delivered direct from the Alco plant in Schenectady, New York, during 1944, 1950 and 1952. They were S1s #2 & 3 plus seven S3s #4-10 ; both models were rated at 660-horsepower. The primary difference was the S3s rode on AAR Type-B trucks, rather than the blunt-type trucks found beneath the S1s. Only #6 and 7 survived long enough to be part of the AA/MCIR roster. ( Right photo -- Alco #7 was out of the Owosso, MI shops with an engine rebuild and a fresh paint job in November 1981. The Alco S3 was generally used for yard work at the railroad's central Michigan location.)

Ann Arbor's first road diesels were two RS1s #20 and 21 delivered by Alco in the latter part of 1950. Although equipped with steam generators, the pair arrived too late to pull the railroad's regularly scheduled varnish which had been discontinued a few months earlier. Subsequently the 1000-hp road-switchers spent the next three decades in local freight and yard duties, including working the boat docks in Elberta, MI. Interestingly, both of the seventy-year-old Alcos still exist. The #20, adorned in its original Wabash Railway colors, is a static display in Shepard, MI; sister #21 is slowly undergoing restoration at Lenawee Jct., MI by the Southern Michigan Railroad Society when time and money permits. (The photo at right is another view of RS1 #20 working the boat dock area in April 1982.)

The annals of the Ann Arbor RR "navy" are storied; its rail car ferries had plied the waters of Lake Michigan for nine decades; the end came in 1982 when AA/MCIR's subsidy was discontinued by the State of Michigan. During that 90 years, the railroad had owned eight car ferries and operated three separate routes from its terminus in Elberta, MI to Milwaukee, Manitowoc and Kewaune, Wisconsin. Annual freight tonage was reported at 102-million tons a year (average). By 1976, the company's ownership of car ferries was down to two: The M/V Arthur K. Atkinson and the M/V Viking. Both vessels had been built in the early 1920s, and were rebuilt during the mid-1960s. MIRC had also temporarily leased the S.S. City of Milwuakee from the Grand Trunk Western.

(Left photo -- Car ferry Viking turns in the Betsie Bay basin while the laid-up Atkinson watches. The Viking was powered by four EMD 16-567 diesel engines. The Atkinson had 2-12 cylinder Nordberg diesels. Right photo -- All three car ferries were laid-up at Elberta in 1982. From left-to-right, they are the City of Milwaukee [(]steam powered], Atkinson, and Viking.)

In 1964, a wave of orangish-red paint washed over the Ann Arbor railroad; it coincided with the transfer of Annie ownership from prior parent Wabash Railroad to the Detroit Toledo & Ironton. Ten new EMD GP35s that arrived during April through June of that year were the first outward appearance of the change in ownership. The EMD's which had supplanted railfan-favorite Alco FAs remained the backbone of the Ann Arbor fleet well beyond the shutdown of the Michigan Interstate.

Forrest Becht, Michigan Intertstate chief mechanical officer shares his perspective on the challenges the rail line faced entering the 1980s. "During the time I was there - 1981-1983. Almost all of remaining cross-lake traffic was moving between the Ann Arbor and Green Bay & Western. To avoid losing that business, the two Lake Michigan carriers chose not to sign a national rate increase that other railroads had sought and won. Car ferry operations were already expensive and trip-time through Chicago and around Lake Michigan was becoming less an issue. These two factors could have led to significant drops in revenue which the two boat wanted to avoid."

"As I recall, the State of Michigan had beeen subsidizing the Annie's boat operation which helped; however that financial assistance disappeared in a few short months. Michigan automakers had been experiencing a downturn in new car sales; when translated it meant substantially less tax revenue for the Michigan government. Those factors along with politics contributed to the end of the MIRC rail operations north of Ann Arbor."

By 1979, the road worthiness was in question of a few of the rail line's 25-year-old GP35s, so the railroad looked first to GB&W and purchased a pair of even older surplis Alco-buit RS2s. The same two Alco had been previously leased to the Michigan Northern. Once on AA/MCIR property, the Schenectady oldtimers were repainted and given a fresh of orangish-red dip with a large logo on the long hood. The Alco road-switchers found retirement in 1985. In the waning months prior to complete shutdown of the railroad, AA/MCIR 's only business was the Chrysler Corporation/Jeep auto parts plant in Toledo. Traffic between the two locations was handled by train TA-9 (Toledo-Ann Arbor). (Left photo -- Alco RS2s 301 & 303 enter the yard lead at Owosso, MI with train TO-1 (Toledo-Owosso) in early spring 1982. (Right photo) RS2 #301, is about to depart for the plant in Ann Arbor with high cube cars behind the engine. The railroad's final days were rapidly approaching.

It should be noted that both of the Ann Arbor/Michigan Interstate RS1s still exist. The #20 is an exhibit in Shepard, Michigan and was repainted just ten months ago. (See Robby Gragg photo at right). Meanwhile, the #21 stands idle near Lenawee Jct. waiting for a future restoration