Elberta, MI - Ann Arbor Frankfort Car Ferries

The Ann Arbor Railroad ran car ferry service across Lake Michigan to a number of locations, including Manistique, Menominee and Manitowoc, WI. Though these ferries were often referred to as being based in Frankfort, and dock was actually in Elberta on the south side of Betsie Lake.

Notes

Time Line

1964. During a MPSC hearing about the abandonment of the Chief Wawatam, a MPSC consultant noted that the Manistique-Frankfort rail ferry operated by the Ann Arbor railroad across Lake Michigan has an excess capacity of about 1,500 cars per year. With about 6,000 cars leaving the U.P. through the straits yearly, the Manistique-Frankfort run could be doubled from 3 to 6 days a week and still take care of only half of the Mackinac traffic. Though a second ferry from Frankfort to Menominee exists, it would cost shippers about three times as much to ship via the Ann Arbor ferry as the Mackinac ferry because of the increased distance. Records indicate that a trip across the straits costs $25.82 per car, as opposed to $86.71 across Lake Michigan. The per-car cost on the Mackinac run could be reduced to $9.28 if the ferry owners increased the traffic to three trips daily and ran the ferry at capacity. [SEN-1964-1111]