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FOOTBALL SPECIALS
From "The Busy Rail", Dec. 1945

The University of Michigan - Ohio State annual football game is one of the outstanding rivalry contests in this section and was held this year at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Saturday, November 24, 1945.

For this game the N. Y. C. Railroad sent three special trains from Columbus and one from Cleveland.  Each was a 13 car train with one diner, one baggage car and 11 coaches.  The diner and baggage cars were placed in the center of the trains.  Yhe N. Y. C. brough them over their own tracks to Alexis, Ohio, where they were turned over to the Ann Arbor Railroad.

As each Ann Arbor engine took a train which arrived approximately at 20 minute intervals, the Central's locomotives turned back and headed for Airline junction.  The four Ann Arbor engines arrived from their roundhouse coupled together.  Time between arrival, changing engines, and leaving of the train took about twenty minutes.  While these changes were being made a 100 car C. & O. coal train pulled by a heavy mikado pounded by.

The New York Central engines were all Hudsons.  Other statistics are as follows:
 

In addition the Ann Arbor regular train carried 140 passengers packed into the single coach and baggage car.  The A. A. is handicapped due to lack of passenger equipment.  This compares with times past when the A. A. ran 16 car trains including Pullman cars and also handled specials from the Pennsylvania.  It has been six years since the Ann Arbor has run special trains.
F. D. Cairns