Railroads
Transportation has always played a fundamental role in Michigan's history. Beginning in the 19th century and well into the 20th railroads were the key form of transportation.
While the Clarke holds documentation regarding many of Michigan's railroads, the Ann Arbor is perhaps one of the most fascinating. The line is well documented in the Clarke, both through the library's own efforts and through the library’s ongoing relationship with the Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association.
The Ann Arbor was conceived as a freight line, designed to bypass the "Chicago bottleneck." As the rail center of the Midwest, trains poured into Chicago, and freight cars could often sit days, or even weeks, in the city's many freight yards. The Ann Arbor solved this dilemma by routing cars north through Michigan and then across Lake Michigan by ferry to Wisconsin, thus avoiding Chicago. This unique idea led to an equally unique railroad. The Ann Arbor's principal assets were ships rather than engines. The line featured about 320 miles of ferry routes, but only 292 miles of railroad track. True to this formula, the line's eventual bankruptcy was caused by its failure to pay debt incurred to refurbish the ferries.