Full Throttle FT-2042-1  Ann Arbor & Wabash  30567, 35035  Rib-side two-bay hopper set   Ztrack Center authorized dealer item.. Two car set. In this offering you will find two "sister" hoppers which traversed our Great Lakes. This was no mean feat, but in earlier days was a necessary function for commerce. Not until well after WWII when there were many improvements to our highway system and the "Big Rigs" became omnipresent, did "Ferry Hoppers" cease to exist. 

Ann Arbor Railroad (AA) operated between Toledo, Ohio, and Elberta and Frankfort, Michigan with ferry operations across Lake Michigan. AA's Lake Michigan train ferry fleet at Elberta started in November 1892 when acquiring its first two boats, Ann Arbor I and Ann Arbor 2 serving four ports west of Lake Michigan. 

Wabash Railroad (WAB) operated in mid-central USA with track in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and the province of Ontario. Arriving in Detroit in 1897 and contracting with Grand Trunk Railway to use their ferries for crossing the Lake, WAB eventually acquired three of Michigan Central's ferries, the Transport, Transport II and the Detroit, operating until 1994 when it became part of Norfolk Southern. 

For many years the Ann Arbor was owned by the Wabash, but operated as an independent subsidiary. Grand Trunk Western, Canadian Pacific, Pere Marquette, Wabash, and Michigan Central were all major railroads transferring rail cars across Lake Michigan from the USA to Canada, but sadly all that remains of their glorious fleets are barges, scrap metal and abandoned ferry slips.    NIB