Annie
This site is dedicated to Jim Erickson, currently the President of the Annie, and the rest of the great Annie crew. When I was at the Ann Arbor Jim was in charge of the "boat" operations. Because I was based in Owosso and Jim in Frankfort/Elberta we didn't get to know each other real well. Since I left Annie and have had a chance to reflect on the time I was there, I have come to recognize the fine job Jim did. He has also become a good friend and we communicate every-now-and then. Also, the rest of the crew who were there when I was and may still be working away at keeping Annie running and profitable.
Upon accepting an offer to be Chief Mechanical Officer of the Ann Arbor Railroad - henceforth called Annie - I moved to Owosso, MI in the Fall, 1981. The move from the Class I to the shortline side of the house was an eye opener for me. I remember when I first arrived in Owosso and went to the yard, my thoughts were "what did I get myself into?" However, it didn't take long for me to acquaint myself with shortline ways and shortline people. In fact, work really became fun again.
Even though we operated Annie as a single railroad, to me it was actually split into 3 sections: 1 - the south end, from Toledo to Ann Arbor which was owned by Michigan Interstate Railway Company, 2 - the north end which went from Ann Arbor to Elberta/Frankfort and was owned by the State and operated by Michigan Interstate and 3 - the boats. As CMO I was mainly responsible for the railroad's mechanical operations. Those covered the locomotive and car shops in Owosso, plus a small roundhouse/servicing facility and car repair in Toledo.
Annie's main traffic was foundry sand from the quarry in Yuma, automobile parts from a Ford plant in Ann Arbor, some cement from the plant in Dundee, the Jeep plant in Toledo, a Ford plant just outside Ann Arbor and the "boat traffic," much of which was paper from the plants in Wisconsin. The boat traffic was brought to us by the Green Bay & Western at Mantiwoc, WI.
Annie operated 3 boats at the time. MS Viking was the newest and most used. It was propeller driven by 4 EMD 16 cylinder engines (basically the same engine found in an EMD locomotive at the time). The Arthur K. Atkinson was powered by 2 V20 Nordberg diesel engines. It was the 2nd of the 3 units to be operated. The last boat was the steam powered City of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee was laid up most of the 2 years I was with Annie, operating only a few days during that spell.
In addition to the boats, Annie has some interesting main line motive power - EMD GP35s with Alco trucks equipped with GE traction motors.
For me tying the 2 years together was the opportunity to work and get to know some really great railroad folks. In spite of all of the difficulties and distractions, the Annie "crew" got the job done.
In 1983 after the State had ceased paying the subsidies to keep Michigan Interstate operating the north end of the Railroad, I found an opportunity that I just could not turn down. That was to go to Saudi Arabia under a contract with U. S. DOT as an advisor to SRO - the Saudi Railway Organization. That was to be the next chapter in my railroad life.
Read MoreUpon accepting an offer to be Chief Mechanical Officer of the Ann Arbor Railroad - henceforth called Annie - I moved to Owosso, MI in the Fall, 1981. The move from the Class I to the shortline side of the house was an eye opener for me. I remember when I first arrived in Owosso and went to the yard, my thoughts were "what did I get myself into?" However, it didn't take long for me to acquaint myself with shortline ways and shortline people. In fact, work really became fun again.
Even though we operated Annie as a single railroad, to me it was actually split into 3 sections: 1 - the south end, from Toledo to Ann Arbor which was owned by Michigan Interstate Railway Company, 2 - the north end which went from Ann Arbor to Elberta/Frankfort and was owned by the State and operated by Michigan Interstate and 3 - the boats. As CMO I was mainly responsible for the railroad's mechanical operations. Those covered the locomotive and car shops in Owosso, plus a small roundhouse/servicing facility and car repair in Toledo.
Annie's main traffic was foundry sand from the quarry in Yuma, automobile parts from a Ford plant in Ann Arbor, some cement from the plant in Dundee, the Jeep plant in Toledo, a Ford plant just outside Ann Arbor and the "boat traffic," much of which was paper from the plants in Wisconsin. The boat traffic was brought to us by the Green Bay & Western at Mantiwoc, WI.
Annie operated 3 boats at the time. MS Viking was the newest and most used. It was propeller driven by 4 EMD 16 cylinder engines (basically the same engine found in an EMD locomotive at the time). The Arthur K. Atkinson was powered by 2 V20 Nordberg diesel engines. It was the 2nd of the 3 units to be operated. The last boat was the steam powered City of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee was laid up most of the 2 years I was with Annie, operating only a few days during that spell.
In addition to the boats, Annie has some interesting main line motive power - EMD GP35s with Alco trucks equipped with GE traction motors.
For me tying the 2 years together was the opportunity to work and get to know some really great railroad folks. In spite of all of the difficulties and distractions, the Annie "crew" got the job done.
In 1983 after the State had ceased paying the subsidies to keep Michigan Interstate operating the north end of the Railroad, I found an opportunity that I just could not turn down. That was to go to Saudi Arabia under a contract with U. S. DOT as an advisor to SRO - the Saudi Railway Organization. That was to be the next chapter in my railroad life.
