Last year the weather was overcast and cool but this year it was perfect. Under a cloudless sky we loaded our cars on the connector track from the GR&I to the Ann Arbor, just south of the TSB engine house in Cadillac. We faced the cars northwards, so we could then back down about half a mile to the Ann Arbor line and be facing east, the planned direction of travel. There were car owners from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota and Ontario. Loading was accomplished, the safety meeting held and we were off right on schedule at 10:00am. Our TSB host this year was Tom Ritter.

First up on the Ann Arbor line in Cadillac was a small yard, containing mostly covered hoppers full of fine sand from further west at Yuma. As we wound thought town, we rode through a park where a basketball tournament was underway. Boy, were those people surprised. We stopped at US-131, the main north-south traffic artery in the western part of the state. Our host set off the crossing lights and bells while we employed flaggers to stop the road traffic. On this day, I rode as a passenger in Tom Weaver’s ex-Grand Trunk Fairmont MT19 (thank you, Tom) and I can report that it’s fun to be a passenger once in a while!

Condition of the rail and trackbed were excellent, reflecting significant investment by the State of Michigan during the 90's. The track southeast of Cadillac did not follow any highways, and for the most part, there were only minor roads to slow for. The countryside was a mixture of fields, woods and marshes. At the 10 mile mark, we passed a sawmill, which had a rail spur containing one empty BN pole car, then stopped at McBain, a tiny hamlet, for a bathroom break. The crossing lights went off at our approach, which concerned me but our host explained that some of their crossings used motion detectors (motor cars are insulated so as not to set off crossing lights and bells). We rode on and stopped ten miles further on at Marion, another small town, then took off for Lake George. Here we waited for the tail end to catch up and for a couple of ailing Onan engine powered Fairmonts to receive new spark plugs. Nothing serious though and we were soon on our way. After Farwell, we rode within sight of US10, the main East-West highway, on the other side of which was the trackbed of the ex-Pere Marquette line from Saginaw to Ludington. Much of this line was closed down by CSX in the 80’s. The weather was still beautiful and about 80 degrees by this time.

We reached Clare at 1:30 and took a one-hour lunch break. Our TSB host opened the depot for us to use the bathrooms. This depot is situated at the diamond of the old Pere Marquette and Ann Arbor lines, the diamond still being in place so that a local plastics company can be reached. This company is receiving so many cars of plastic pellets that a new siding had to be installed to hold them all – obviously a good customer for a small railroad. Northbound and southbound TSB trains usually meet in Clare and swop crews, but on a Sunday we were the only traffic moving. Incidentally, the Pere Marquette and Ann Arbor Railroads both have active historical societies.

We promptly moved off at 2:30 now heading northwest. A couple of miles out of Clare, between the railroad and U.S.10, was an old, completely wooden billboard, advertising the Ann Arbor Railroad Car and Passenger Ferries from Frankfort to Wisconsin. Although faded and warped, it is still complete and functional long after the demise of the ferryboat fleet. We stopped to let everyone catch up at Marion, 30 miles out and to get some liquid refreshment. The temperature was mid to high-80’s by now and avoiding dehydration was an issue, an unusual circumstance for mid-September in Michigan. Just before McBain, trouble with an ex-CN Fairmont MT19 from Ontario forced that car to be put under tow, but only a couple of minutes were lost. We arrived back at Cadillac, flagged everyone across U.S.131 and stopped in the AA yard, then reversed to our starting point. Our return to Cadillac before 6 PM allowed many people to get home that evening.

I didn’t think that it could get any better than last year’s excursion on the TSB but it was, due to great weather, beautiful countryside, excellent track and no significant delays. A big thanks to the TSB for allowing us to ride on their rails again.

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