I spoke with John Zerbel, President of the Marquette & Huron Mountain RR, back in 1965 after we started the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville RR, Our Board wanted to acquire an operating steam locomotive for a tourist train, but we had no luck finding something.
The late Nelson Blount of Steamtown wouldn't part with anything from his own collection, but he did suggest that we get in touch with Zerbel, saying, "He's got far more Consolidations than he'll ever use." When I reached John, he was emphatic, Nothing was for sale because he planned to operate all of his locomotives to provide an intensive services at a resort complex he planned to serve.
If I recall correctly, Zerbel worked for the LS&I before buying the iron ore road's 27-mile Big Bay Branch which became the Marquette & Huron Mountain RR, a common-carrier. The rumor was that the LS&I's well-maintained locomotives were more or less thrown in as part of the deal. That's believable. (To give you an idea of what a steam locomotive was going for in the early 1960's, The Arcade & Attica's Dick Cartwright told me he bought his 2-8-0 from Michigan's Boyne City RR for $5,000).
Unfortunately the grand plans for the resort at Big Bay never materialized. Zerbel discovered what a many of us also learned --it's extremely difficult to make it as a tourist railroad in out-of-the-way locations, especially if you don't have freight traffic. He struggled along for a few years, eventually cutting back the M&HM to a 15 mile stub. Upon his death in the mid-80's, the locomotives were sold to pay debts of the estate. The rest of the M&HM was abandoned.
As a previous poster points out, we should be grateful to Zerbel for the role he played in saving the LS&I's big 2-8-0's. They've subsequently seen service on such diverse operations as the Grand Canyon, Rio Grande Scenic, Western Maryland Scenic, Ohio Central and Hocking Valley Scenic. The group that's restoring the Catskill Mountain RR also owns an ex-M&HM 2-8-0. It's stored at Kingston, NY, and it is reportedly to be restored to operation.
