The Rutland Transit Company was the subsidiary of the Rutland Railroad which encompassed the railroad’s fleet of Great Lakes ships. Up until the Panama Canal Act, the Rutland worked competitively to ship cargo from Chicago to Ogdensburg via the Great Lakes, then by rail from Ogdensburg to points east.
The Panama Canal Act killed this business, as the Rutland was forced to sell off it’s Great Lakes fleet. But what happened to the Rutland Transit Company after the Panama Canal Act. In Volume 17, Number 2 of the RRHS magazine The Newsliner, Bruce Curry authored a 12-page article answering that question.
Would you believe that the Rutland Transit Company lasted almost as long as operations on the railroad itself? Check out the issue if you want to know more. Back issues are available here.