PRR & Ann Arbor to the Twin Cities

 PENNSYLVANIA BEHIND IT.

Marinette, Wis., March 21. —The announcement has been made here that the Pennsylvania railroad is behind the Ann Arbor in its project to secure terminals and build a belt line in Marinette and Menominee. This is only preliminary to extending the road from here to St. Paul and Minneapolis and ultimately to the grain fields of the northwest. This will give the shortest line from the grain fields to the Atlantic seaboard.

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Wood County Reporter - March 23, 1899

Ed note: guessing this is related to the Menominee & St. Paul proposal.

TAA&NM to Muskegon

Toledo, Ohio, Jan. 22. - A party of Michigan capitalists has been in consultation with President J.M. Ashley and others, of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railway, having in view the extension of that road through the counties of Montcalm, Kent, and Muskegon, Mich., to the city of Muskegon.  The proposed line is to start from Ashley Station, on the TAA&NM and is intended ultimately to include Saginaw as a prominent objective point.  At the meeting yesterday an organization was effected under the name of the Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway Company, with David Robinson. Jr., as President.  A survey of the route will soon be commenced.

NY Times 1-23-1886

A New Railroad

The Manistique & Northwestern, is the name of a new railroad company which has been organized with a capital stock of $1,600,000 to build a railroad from Manistique to Negaunee. The Weston  Furnace company is largely interested and it is stated that another blast furnace will be erected at Manistique upon the completion of the road.  Manistique people are jubilant.

The L'Anse Sentinel May 30, 1891

WISCONSIN RAILWAY SOLD

The Wisconsin & Michigan Passes Into the Control of the Toledo & Ann Arbor.

MARINETTE, WIS , Dec. 21 The Wisconsin & Michigan railway, 60 miles long, has been sold to the Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad Company. The Wisconsin & Michigan is to be extended six miles to connect with the Holmes & Son logging railroad, which extends forty miles in a northwesterly direction, with Pembine. The Holmes road will be extended to tap a big tract of nine In Forest and Vilas counties, estimated at one billion feet. This vast amount of timber will he brought to Marinette to be sawed in Marinette and Menominee mills and will prolong the life of the mills here many years.  Ultimately the Holmes road will be extended to Duluth. The Wisconsin &. Michigan railroad extends trom Peshtigo harbor to Faithorn Junction. The company will lay its own tracks into this city. Next jear the extension will reach the Menominee iron range and the Ann Arbor & Chicago ferry
systems will become great carriers of ore.

Kansas City Journal 12-25-1898

Menominee & St. Paul RR

One to be Built From Menominee to St. Paul, S. M. Stephenson at the Head.

A new railroad company, to be known as the Menominee & St. Paul Railroad company, was organized at Menominee last week. S.M.Stephenson of Menominee, is president; H.W. Ashley, of Toledo, vice-president and general manager; Joseph Fleshiem, Menominee, secretary; N. L. Smith, Toledo, general counsel. The organization was perfected under the laws of Michigan and the articles
of incorporation includes in its board of directors Hon. S. M. Stephenson, Jos. Flesheim, John Henes, C. I. Cook and Wm. Holmes, of Menominee, and Hon. Wellington R. Burt, of Detroit. The capital stock is $11,500,000.

The new road will be built from Menominee to St. Paul, a distance of 300 miles, to form a connection with the Ann Arbor and its car ferry system there. It is the intention to run the boats all winter. The distance in favor of Menominee from St. Paul as compared with Chicago is 117 miles. The building
of the new road is expected to cause the erection of flouring mills, elevators, factories of different
kinds, etc., in Menominee. The preliminary survey of the road will begin at once. It will run in nearly  a westerly direction, and through a section of Wisconsin yet undeveloped and rich in timber and agricultural lands.

The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.)  June 17, 1899,

Ann Arbor ferries move Ore

Something never before witnessed in Menominee in railroad shipments took place a few days ago, when four Ann Arbor car ferries took out a total of 128 cars of iron ore to be shipped to Detroit and eastern points. The car ferries. Nos. 3, 4. 5, and 6, were loaded to capacity and departed for Frankfort.
The shortage of steam boats compelled the mine owners to take the matter up with the Northwestern and Ann Arbor Railroads, and arranged to have the ore shipped by rail to points in the east.

The Ann Arbor Company has been having an average of two boats a day for the past three weeks. There are several hundred cars of ore yet to be shipped by the mining companies, and the Ann Arbor road will continue to run boats here each day to take care of these shipments. Last year was the biggest year the Ann Arbor ever had in Menominee, but according to present indications the year of 1917 is going to be the banner year for the road at this point - Michigan Investor.

The Owosso Times 1-11-1918

Peninsula News & Menominee tidbits

The Ann Arbor and Menominee & St. Paul roads have commenced the erection of a big warehouse in
Menominee. A union depot, to cost $40,000, will be built in the spring. The general offices of the Menominee & St. Paul road are to be located in that city.

L'Anse Sentinel 2-17-1900
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Deeds for the proposed Ann Arbor railroad terminal in Menominee were signed Monday. Manager W. II. Ashley and other officials will be there in a few days to perfect plans for building. Citizens granted a terminal site free. They will build a belt line around Menominee and Marinette.

L'Anse Sentinel 5-13-1899
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FIRST SHIPMENT ON A NEW WESTERN ROAD
Marinette, Wis. Oct. 17 - The first shipment was made yesterday on the new Wisconsin & Michigan Railway.  This line extends from the Soo road on the north to Peshtigo, and over the Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul to Marinette on the south.  It will make close connections with the Soo road and the Toledo and Ann Arbor car-ferry line in Menominee.  It is designed in this way to open up a new route to the Eastern Seaboard.

NY Tribune 10-18-1894

Ann Arbor's New Route.

Menominee, Dec. 8: When navigation closes In Green Bay, the apron for loading cars onto the Ann Arbor ferries will be taken from Gladstone to Manistique, and the boats run there. This will give the
Ann Arbor road a connection with the east and the Lake Superior country, as the Chicago lumber  company owns a 30-mile stretch of road that runs to Munising, where connections with the Duiuth, South Shore & Atlantic railroad will be made. This will open up a splendid new territory for the Ann Arbor, and the boats will ran all the year.

The Owosso Times 12-10-1897

Cheap excursions in northern Michigan

Cheap excursions to open a new line which is sure to become a favorite route between the north country and lower Michigan and Ohio are to be run next week.  Next Tuesday and Thursday, Sept. 2d and 4th, the D., S. S. & A.railway will sell tickets to Toledo,Oh, and lower Michigan at the extremely
low rate of $10.50 from L'Anse and Baraga for the round trip. These excursion tickets will be valid for return until Sept. 20th, inclusive.

The trip will bo made over the D.S. S. '& A. railway to Shingleton; Manistique, Marquette & Northern railway to Manistique; Ann Arbor ferry to Frankfort; Ann Arbor railway to Toledo, Oh. Tickets will be valid for passage on regular trains which leave L'Anse at 9:55 a. m. and Baraga 9:45 a. m., Tuesday and Thursday. The tickets will read to Toledo, but excursionists can stop at any of
the stations on the Ann Arbor road between Frankfort and Toledo, returning home direct from that
point; they will not be obliged to go to Toledo to have their tickets stamped and made available for the return journey.

L'Anse Sentinal (L'Anse, MI) 8-30-1902

AA/M&LS - Northport Ferry

Taps Rich Ore Regions Of Upper Peninsula And Stops Competition.
ABANDONS NORTHPORT FERRY

Fight Between Roads For The Northern Business Stopped By This Purchase.

A deal is consummated, whereby the Ann Arbor Railroad company takes over the Manistique, Marquette & Northern railroad, which taps the rich ore regions of the Upper Peninsula. By this move the Ann Arbor practically closes the car ferry from Northport- to Manistique.  For a number of years the entire business of the Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique railroad from the Upper Peninsula came by way of the M., M. & N. by way of these huge car ferries.  By this move the Ann Arbor taps the rich country not heretofore reached by any of the big lines.

For many years past the Ann Arbor has conducted a line from Frankfort to Manistique by means of a system of car ferries, which have received considerable patronage, but the leakage into the T. C, L. &M. line was very antagonistic to their business as offering a more direct line to the lower peninsula points and a consequent lowering of the tariffs. The purchase of the road throws the entire traffic in the Ann Arbor's hands.  There is no doubt but that this will deal a severe blow to Northport, depending as it does, largely on the northern system for work for its men.  This is a year round occupation, the big boats never stopping for ice or the elements. It will be some few days before the tariffs can be adjusted to suit the requirements of the new system, and it will also be necessary to allow an interim for the handling of the business which is now under contract to the T.C, L. & M. Just what will become of the road from Traverse City to Northport cannot be determined.

Alma Record (Alma MI) 8-12-1909

Absorbs Copper Railroad

Ann Arbor Company to develop upper peninsula business.

Manistique, Mich., Aug. 7. - By a deal which has been practically closed in the past few days, the Ann Arbor Railway Company has gained control of the Manistique, Marquette, and Northern Railroad, which extends from this place to Shingleton, forty-five miles, and connects there with the Duluth, South Shore, and Atlantic.

This line, which will be made an extension of the Ann Arbor from here, will give that road a large percentage of the vast timber and copper business of the upper peninsula.  The timber and ore will be carried from Manistique to Frankfort by the railroad's car ferry and shipped from there to Toledo by rail, making the latter city the distributing point for shipments to the East and South.

The railroad was renamed "Manistique & Lake Superior"

NY Times 8-8-1909

The Toledo & Ann Arbor

Friends of the present management of the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railroad have held frequent meetings in this city for the purpose of devising, if possible, some means of extricating the company from its financial difficulties.  Vice President J.M. Ashley, Jr. has returned to New York from Toledo.  Reports were in circulation in Wall Street yesterday afternoon that a favorable deal with the Green bay, Winona, & St. Paul Railroad was underway, and that the negotiations may be concluded today.

President Samuel Sloan of the Lackawanna Road says that there is no truth in the statement that the Lackawanna has secured or is trying to secure control of the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Road.

NY Times 5-2-1893

No Deal by Ann Arbor Road.
Manager Ashley Denies that it has bought the Wisconsin & Michigan

Toledo, Ohio, Dec. 28. - General Manager Ashley of the Ann Arbor Road today unqualifiedly denied that his company had purchased the Wisconsin & Michigan.  He said: "No negotiations of this character have been made.  It is not probable that the Ann Arbor would purchase this road, as the Green Bay is frozen up about three months of the year, and this would cut the road in fwo for that length of time.  No, you can say that there is no truth in the story."

NY Times Dec 29, 1898

Illinois Central Extension - Fond du Lac

Decided to build from Madison to Fond du Lac.

Oconto, Wis., Sept.11. - From a well known railway official it was learned today that the Illinois Central Railway Company has practically decided to extend its line from Madison to Fond du Lac, thus extending the plan to make Fond Du Lac a big railway center.

It is part of the scheme to make both the Wisconsin Central and Illinois Central Railroad feeders from Fond Du Lac to Manitowoc with the car ferry route to Ann Arbor, Mich.

New York Times - Sept 12, 1899

A few Ann Arbor tidbits

Sold to the Toledo & Ann Arbor.

Marinette, Wis., Dec.24 - The Wisconsin & Michigan Railway, sixty miles long, has been sold to the Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad Company.  The Wisconsin and Michigan is to be extended six miles to connect with the Holmes & Son logging railroad which extends forty miles in a northwesterly direction from Pembine.  The Holmes road will be extended to tap a big tract of pine in Forest and Vilas Counties, estimated to contain 1,000,000,000 feet.  This vast amount of timber will be sawed in Marinette & Menominee sawmills.

NY Times December 26, 1898

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New $2,000,000 Michigan Railroad

Menominee, Mich., June 9 - The Menominee & St. Paul Railroad Company was organized today with a capital stock of $2,000,000.  It will build a road from this city to St. Paul, a distance of 300 miles.  The incorporators are ex Congressman Samuel M. Stephenson and ofthers of this city, Wellington R. Burt of Saginaw, President of the Ann Arbor Railroad, and Henry W. Ashdown of Toledo.  The officers are: Preseident S.M.Stephenson; Secretary & Treasurer Joseph Flesheim; General Manger - H.W.Ashley, General Counsel - A.L.Smith of Toledo.  THe Pennsylvania and Ann Arbor Railroads are both indirectly interested.  Elevators and flour mills will be established in this city.

NY Times June 10, 1899

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Big Railway War Possible

The Wabash threatens to tap the CHicago & Northwestern's Michigan ore business

Menominee, Mich., July 22 - Beginning in a war over switching charges between this city and Marinette, Wis., just across the Menominee River, a contest has developed between the C&NW and Ann Arbor, a part of the Wabash system, which threatens to involve the two big railroads in a war for the entire ore business of the upper penninsula of Michigan.  The conflict may also involve the St. Paul system.

The Ann Arbor refused to keep up the high charges made by other roads, and was then forced to pay commissions to the belt lines to get ore from its own connections to its docks in this city.  As a result a corps of surveyors is here tonight, and in the morning will begin to lay out a line across the river, to connect with the Wisconsin & Michigan Road.  It is stated authoritatively that the surveyors are the scouts who will prepare the way for the buying up and connection of small railraods in the iron ore district, resulting in expenditure of millions in the iron mine region by the Wabash.

What has hitherto been the Northwestern's exclusive territory will be tapped.  A cross lake cary ferry service is part of the plan.

NY Times July 23, 1902