Here is an article from The Ann Arbor News about Great Lakes Railway (former TSBY) owner Louis Ferris and his proposal to run passenger trains.
http://www.mlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-20/1162108080182910.xml&coll=2
Anyone know (as a opposed to a wild guess) on what those “52 double-decker, stainless steel” cars refer to?
At least this guy has an existing railroad (no cavities–I mean, washouts!), and, from the sound of things, passenger equipment.
Fifty-two double-decker stainless steel cars. About the only thing that comes to mind is that (and I don’t know this) Metra may be getting rid of some of the earliest Burlington cars. Can’t think of any other source for that many. That many cars would be 'way more than enough for a startup service. But one needs power capable of pulling and climatizing these cars, which has not been addressed.
Ann Arbor to Howell is probably the next frontier to fill in in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. I’m not sure that U.S. 23 sees that much of a daily commuter flow, though (probably lots of people going beyond those two points).
Still, one can hope for success here, with the proper backing. And with the large roster of what should still be pretty decent cars, it might lay the groundwork for service between places like Ann Arbor and Detroit, Detroit and Lansing (via Howell), Ann Arbor and Milan (or south of there), all places that might have more traffic to sustain such a service. Of course, you’d need the cooperation of some major railroads for that to happen.