The Pere Marquette used to provide ferry service to Keewaynee, WI from Ludington, MI. The SS Badger now operates without freight cars to Manitowoc, WI.
Dec 27, 2020: SS Badger was sold to the company that owns Interlake Steamship Co. "Interlake assumes all employees and is in the process of bringing them on board." This has to be a strong shipping company because they are currently building a new laker.)
"At one time, nine carferries sat in port....The 410' S.S. Badger is the largest carferry to sail the Great Lakes, and can carry 620 passengers and 180 autos. It travels at roughly 18 mph to make the four-hour trip, with nearly 490 crossings per year." [History of the S.S. Badger]
"At one time, nine carferries sat in port....The 410' S.S. Badger is the largest carferry to sail the Great Lakes, and can carry 620 passengers and 180 autos. It travels at roughly 18 mph to make the four-hour trip, with nearly 490 crossings per year." [History of the S.S. Badger]
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| safe_image for On Sept. 6, 1952, the SS Badger carferry was launched [It was launched at Christy Corp. of Sturgeon Bay. When Manitowoc Shipbuilding moved to Sturgeon Bay, did they buy and existing shipbuilding facility?] |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted The BADGER was built for year-round service and has a specially designed hull to break ice on the lake. She hasn't sailed year-round since the late 1980s and today her season runs every year from mid-May to mid-October. Her 2022 sailing season ends on October 16th. 📸: Spencer Hanson |
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| Gordon Davis commented on the above post Winter crossing 1964. |
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| Clare Union Railroad Depot posted TREASURES OF THE CLARE UNION DEPOT: PART 52 80 PLUS CAR FERRY & EXCURSION BOAT POST CARDS As part of our car ferry display, we feature post cards from the glory days of Great Lakes shipping and travel. We include cards from the Ann Arbor and Pere Marquette fleets, as well as the State of Michigan car ferries that connected the two peninsulas before the bridge was built. In this particular card, an unidentified Pere Marquette ferry is being loaded in Ludington, and one can make out the locomotive and “idler cars” used to push loaded boxcars onto one of the four tracks installed in the ship. |
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| S.S. Badger Fan's posted The first Ludington car ferry, the steel-hulled Pere Marquette, was added to the Flint & Pere Marquette fleet in 1897. Along with limited passenger accommodations, she boasted four sets of railroad tracks on her deck, allowing loaded rail cars to be shipped across the lake. This eliminated hand loading and unloading of the earlier wooden-hulled freighters and helped coin the term “car ferry.” In 1900, the F & PM merged with other rail lines to form what would become the Pere Marquette Railway Company. The new company operated cross-lake car ferry routes successfully for the first half of the century, which led to the construction of ten new vessels. |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted The BADGER was built to carry railroad cars across Lake Michigan year-round. Described here as the "World's Champion"here are a few other fun facts about her history! |
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| Comments on the above post |
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| Port of Ludington Maritime Museum posted In Ludington, nothing marks the coming of summer quite like the first sailing of the S.S. Badger. The 70-year old coal-fired ferry helps make Ludington Michigan and Manitowoc Wisconsin known across the Great Lakes region, since travelers moving east and west regularly look to it for time savings, and an enjoyable cross-lake cruise. One of the last commercial coal-burning ships ever built, the Badger is a true survivor, enduring changes in ownership, changes in purpose, bankruptcy, and abandonment. This Ferry Friday, we look back on the S.S. Badger’s story, the last Great Lakes car ferry. When the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad fully took over the Michigan-based Pere Marquette Railroad in 1947, there were some concerns that they were not interested in continuing the Pere Marquette’s cross-lake car ferry service. The ferries after all had been in service since 1897 and were an integral part of the coastal communities they served. Those worries were put at ease when the C&O announced that it was expanding the ferry fleet. In 1952, Christy Corporation of Sturgeon Bay WI delivered the first of two ferries. The ship was named S.S. Spartan in honor of Michigan State College, its sistership would follow the next year. S.S. Badger, named in honor of the University of Wisconsin, was launched and christened in a double ceremony with S.S. Spartan. While the C&O had officially ended the long-running naming scheme of numbering the ferries, the Spartan and Badger were both unofficially referred to as the “42” and “43.” The Badger was built almost identical to the Spartan. The ferries’ hulls measured 394ft long (410ft overall) and were 60ft wide. Like the Spartan, the Badger is driven by two Skinner Compound Unaflow Engines. These engines are both efficient and responsive (responsiveness refers to how quickly they can change direction) and are widely considered to be the pinnacle of reciprocating marine steam technology. To this day they are still more responsive than many diesels of similar size and are significantly more responsive than reduction-geared turbines. Feeding these engines are 4 water tube boilers made by Foster-Wheeler. When the Badger entered service in 1953, it was the 7th active ship in a fleet that was enjoying a decade long “golden age.” In addition to a favorable post-WWII economy, the C&O Railroad was heavily promoting the ferries to shippers and potential passengers. This golden age lasted all through the 1950s, but in the early 1960s, the C&O Railroad’s attitudes were shifting. While they were no longer as enthusiastic about the ferries, they did not see any need to end their operation. By the middle of the decade though, attitudes and fortunes would shift dramatically. The Ludington car ferries had long existed as a means to send valuable cargoes quickly around the terminal bottlenecks of Chicago, but that usefulness was wearing out. Several long-term factors were eroding the profitability of the ferries. Since the development of interstates in the 1950s, shippers had largely adopted commercial trucking to ship time sensitive cargoes that used to travel by rail, the same cargoes that had benefited most from the ferries. To make matters worse, freight trains had nearly tripled in size over the last decades, from 25 cars to more than 75 cars in a single train, which would have to be broken up on several ferry trips since the ships had a fixed size. The ferries were also becoming increasingly more expensive to operate. While the Badger might have been less than 20 years old, the oldest members of the fleet were built in the 1920s and were becoming more expensive to maintain. The coal burning ships also required massive crews compared to their diesel and oil-burning counterparts, requiring crews of around 50 people. With increasing costs and reduced demand, the railroad’s opinion of the ferries quickly soured. In 1967, the S.S. City of Flint 32 needed major engine work. Rather than have the ship repaired, the railroad had the ferry decommissioned without plan for replacement. Just four years later in 1971, only 3 ships out of the fleet of 7 remained. The C&O railroad announced that it could see no prospect for the ferries after 1975, alarming the many people who depended on them for work. In addition to the income the ferries provided, they also had an enormous economic impact on the tourism industry in the communities they served. While the rail car shipments had declined, the tourist and automobile numbers had remained high. It was predicted that a complete shutdown of the ferries would have disastrous consequences on local economies, prompting the beginning of numerous campaigns to save them. For over a decade, an alliance of businesses, unions, local governments, and other activist groups fought for the ferry’s continuation in a series of ICC abandonment proceedings. Several alternative plans were proposed during this time, ranging from subsidies for the C&O to a complete state-owned system of ferries on Lake Michigan. By 1983, the C&O (now formally called the Chessie System) was given approval to abandon their Ludington car ferries. For the Badger and its two remaining fleet mates, it looked like their end had come. It could have been too, if it were not for a last-minute agreement to sell the ferries to a new operator. Glen Bowden and George Towns spearheaded a new company called MWT, Michigan/Wisconsin Transportation Co. This company continued to operate the City of Midland 41 and later the Badger during the 1980s, running year-round and continuing to haul rail cars. While the new company kept the ferries alive, it did not solve the fundamental problem that had triggered their abandonment. Rail traffic on the new service was still chronically low, the majority of it belonging to regular firms near the ports. The new company was in dire financial straits, and by 1990 it had gone bankrupt. Once again, it looked like the Badger’s time was up. Car ferry service, which had endured in Ludington since 1897, had come to an end. When the Badger and its remaining fleet mates seemed unlikely to ever sail again, they were thrown a critical lifeline. Charels Conrad, a retired Michigan businessperson, had grown up in Ludington and understood what the ferries meant to the community. He bought the three remaining ferries and invested money into the Badger to have it refit for passenger, automobile, and commercial truck service, believing that this part of the ferries could still be successful. The Badger went back into service in 1992, and for almost 3 decades following, the Badger continued to run as a seasonal passenger ferry. In the 2010s though, its future would yet again come into question. The Badger, like every other coal burning ship that came before it, jettisoned its waste coal ash into the water. While this was thought an acceptable practice at the time of its construction, more widespread awareness of human impacts on the environment led to a push to end this practice. In yet another adaptation, the Badger was installed with a one-of-a-kind marine ash collection system. The ash is stored in 5 hoppers onboard, which are unloaded by forklift while in port for disposal. While a very costly solution, it allowed the Badger to continue. In early 2021, the Badger’s owner Lake Michigan Carferry was purchased by Interlake Maritime Services of Ohio, the owner of a large fleet of Great Lakes freighters. In the winter of 2021-2022, the Badger was sent to Sturgeon Bay WI for sandblasting and repainting along with other maintenance. In 2023 the Badger celebrated the 70th year of its career. The season was unfortunately cut short when the 1930s-built apron (dock) partially collapsed while the ship was in port. Work has been done since August of last year to remove the wreckage and install a new system. The work on the new apron is nearing completion, and the Badger is gearing up for its 71st season, and the proud continuation of car ferry service on Lake Michigan. For more information on the Badger and the rest of Ludington’s car ferry fleet, the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum opens tomorrow for the 2024 Season! The S.S. Badger is currently taking reservations for its 2024 Season as early as May 24th! Chris Koshute: The "S.S. Badger" is one of only two mobile National Historic Landmarks; the other is the San Francisco cable-car system (the cable cars themselves, the tracks the cars travel on, and the maintenance and storage facilities needed to support the cars are all included). |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted FROM THE ARCHIVES: The BADGER was built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin at the Christy Corporation and launched in 1953. Here is a shipyard photo of her under construction at the ship yard. Jayne Snyder Bennett: I do believe this is a photo of Spartan and Badger under construction. Andy Laurent: Spartan on the left, Badger on the right. |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted Tomorrow evening, November 3rd, [2021,] approximately around 8pm Eastern time, the SS BADGER will be departing Ludington headed for her 5-year routine dry dock in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She will be undergoing her regular inspections and a new paint job. Stay tuned for updates! Jeff Bittner: They were researching using natural gas in the boilers until an Illinois senator insisted they spend the millions on containing fly ash immediately. James Sarna: Jeff Bittner Look up an article I wrote in Lakeland Boating, April 2004 issue, I accused them of dumping in Lake Michigan which was true, Bob Managuaz who owned LMC the Badger denied it, it didn't happen like you said, they got 5 years to come up with a system to contain the ash which was a liquid slew, they came up with a system loading it into a boxcar and off loaded it when in port, he also was offered having scrubbers installed by one of the seasonal people at Harbor View who did that type of work at cost and he turned it down, he has since sold the business, it still makes a mess, by the way he was part owner of Harbor View marina where I ported my boat, he tried to throw me out for writing the article, I told him to go to hell and stayed another 4 years until I got tired of it. Ken Harris: On a clear night for just a few seconds you can see lights from Michigan and Wisconsin in the middle of Lake Michigan! Tove Alecksen: From Sarter Marine Towing: "Hello, we’ll be using two tugs to bring the SS Badger across the lake the William C Gaynor and the Donald J Sarter" David Rice: Tove Alecksen why tugs? Why not just drive it? Stephanie Parkinson: David Rice too much labor Dave Nobbe: Once the work is done she gets towed back. So maybe a month in Sturgeon Bay. [I read just 50 of the 133 comments.] |
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| Gloria J. Small commented on the above post This picture was just posted by the Door county maritime museum in Sturgeon Bay. The Badger coming in the canal. |
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| Paul Pettys posted My Badger original water color painting by artist Lewis King. 1974. I updated the photo... to color correct the values for all you to see, and give Lewis King all due respect. My Mom (Ann Pettys) commissioned the painting to commemorate my (and a special group of high school friends) last voyage across the Great Lake together. |
There used to be other ferries that also served Ludington.
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| Greg bunce posted City of Midland 41 at Ludington, Michigan in January 1974. |
An 8:16 video of it being towed to Sturgeon Bay approaching and going through the Maple-Oregon Bridge and the Michigan Bridge.
The narration explains that it is being towed because it went cold iron after the ferry season and it takes a couple weeks to get her fired up again.
Barb Lawrence: My father, Bernard Lienau was the personnel director at Christy's when the Badger and its sister ship the Spartan were built. At the time they were the largest car ferries in the world at a length of 410 feet-long enough to haul railroad cars, automobiles and people between Wisconsin and Michigan.
Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.: Apologies - we lost wifi connection or the video would have gone on longer!
7 photos of it setting in the dry dock (source, the comments have several photos of the 1942 SS Alpena that is sharing the dry dock. Another comment indicates these are the two oldest ships still sailing the Great Lakes.)
Andy Laurent: Riveted below the water line (car deck), welded above it. Welding was new to boat building in 1951!
Mark Ebels: Can it get painted outdoors with winter temps?
David Ouradnik: Mark Ebels they make epoxy paint that adheres to the ship below 30 degrees F. As long as it’s dry and clean, the chemical reaction of the two parts is what cures it.
Tanner Austin: She was built in that city….
Kevin Toombs: Tanner Austin yes she was, the Christy Corporation was merged into Bay Ship in 1970.
[The props are 15' tall.]
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| safe_image for SS Badger nearing return to home port [paycount 5] (1 of 19 photos) |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted This past winter, the BADGER had her 5-year periodic Dry Dock inspection. For the first time since her railroad days, she was given a completely new layer of paint. She was sandblasted down to bare steel and the new paint consisted of 800 gallons. Read more about it on the BADGER Blog: https://www.ssbadger.com/.../blog/badger-dry-dock-2021.html 📸: Brian Caswell SpeedShot Ship Photography Lynn Elliott: Saw lots of rust on the trip yesterday. Less than a year later? Get your money back. |
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| Carl Venzke posted Ludington, MI C&O car ferry dock sometime in the late 60's or early 70's, I suppose. Jan Germanotta That's B&O power. When did they start inter-operating? Carl Venzke "C&O continued to be one of the more profitable and financially sound railways in the United States, and in 1963, under the guidance of Cyrus S. Eaton, helped start the modern merger era by "affiliating" with the Baltimore & Ohio. The two lines' services, personnel, motive power and rolling stock, and facilities were gradually integrated." source: wikipedia Troy Nolen The C&O assumed formal control of the B&O in February of 1963 [Note the Chessie Cat logo on the smokestack.] |
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| Daniel Bissell posted Ludington , 1955 ,C&O has 8 ferrys and is operating 7 of them .(The 18 is laid up). The C&O ferrys crossed Lake Michigan 6986 times that year, average of 19 crosings every day!!!!!! . In 1966 they still had 6652 sailings. In 1967 the C&O employed 745 people in Ludington |
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| Joe Fishbein posted C&O GP35 3523 is doing the honors today at Ludington, MI, loading cars onto the "City of Midland 41" carferry. 5/9/1982, my photo. |
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| Jason Warren posted, cropped Looks like the SS Badger had some work done Roy Chase: Does this mean it will keep burning coal? Dan Cramer: Roy Chase the rumors are of a diesel conversation in 5 years or so. Mark Barker has mentioned in several public forums that there are more and more challenges getting coal with so many mines closing, also finding a large staff qualified to run a reciprocating steam plant is difficult and expensive. Unfortunately there will be a day when the ship needs to be converted if the goal is to continue in daily revenue service. Randy Yeo: Dan Cramer it's also getting real hard to find a Captain who can run a bell boat. Most everything nowadays is pilothouse control with a bow thruster. |
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| Steven Wessels commented on Jason's post Miss the US-10 badge on the back. |
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| Jim Mosier commented on Jason's post I took that same shot yesterday [May 5, 2023] |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted The SS BADGER is 410'6" long, 59'6" wide, 7 stories tall, and weighs over 6,000 tons (displaced). Walking 6 laps around the upper deck equals 1 mile. She also can carry cargo such as tour busses, RV’s, commercial trucks, cars, motorcycles and more! #FactFriday https://www.ssbadger.com/ |
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| Eric Wiedmayer commented on S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry's post I backed this on The Badger back in 2015 for a trip to Wisconsin to load in the morning, and then rode back that night after loading. |
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| Antoni Buchalski commented on S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry's post Saw her go out on a beautiful night. |
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| Jim Bob commented on S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry's post Arrival & Departure, always on My Must See List in Ludington. |
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| Jim Bob commented on S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry's post |
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| Barry Sell posted Les Bagley: The City of Midland 41 was the last Pere Marquette ferry built, and the last of that line’s fleet to be given a name ending with a fleet number. Originally, to be part of a pair (the PM normally ordered boats in twos) the second ferry was never ordered, due to America’s entry into WWII. After the war, the Spartan and Badger were built by the PM’s successor, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. They were never officially named with a number, but were always unofficially called Nos. 42 and 43. |
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| Tom Carter posted C&O NW2 5212 loading or unloading the Badger carferry at Ludington, Michigan, on September 10, 1980. Photographer unknown. Al Koole Badger seems to be listing to starboard a bit Matthew Alan The ferries on Lake Michigan had 4 rows of tracks inside and were loaded from the stern (The bow was closed off). Cars were usually loaded on the center tracks first, then the outer ones. Depending on the weight of the cars, the ferry could develop a slight to moderate list during the loading / unloading operations. Great care was exercised in balancing out the load to ensure too much weight wasn't on one side or another and by the time ferry was ready to depart, it was usually fairly level. Sometimes mistakes happened though... the Ann Arbor No. 4 rolled over on it's side in the dock in the early 1900s due to improper loading. David Burhenn Matthew Alan Good analysis. In this shot, the Badger is listing slightly to starboard. I remember as a young kid being aboard one of the two Pere Marquettes while train cars were being loaded and felt her list. BTW, the locomotive never went onto the ship. There were flat cars which served as buffers (idlers?) which were coupled onto the cars to be loaded on the ferry. These ferries operated 24/7, 365 days a year at their peak, in ice storms and gales. Matthew Alan David Burhenn that is correct. The engine never left the shore.... the idler cars (flat cars or in some cases empty box cars) were used to push the loaded cars onto the boat. There are some great images out there of these ships operating in some rough conditions... even days that most other ships would stay in port.[I read that these steam powered ferries ran long after they stopped carrying rail cars and were given a pollution exception for their smoke because they were such effective icebreakers.] |
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| safe_image for The Spartan, sister of the SS Badger, launched on Jan 4, 1952 "On Jan. 4, 1952, the Christy Corp. of Sturgeon Bay launched the car ferry SPARTAN. No big ceremony was held as her sister ship the BADGER was being built at the same time. The big ceremony was reserved for Sept. 6 when both were christened while over 1,000 watched. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway decided to name their car ferries after the athletic teams of the Michigan State University, the Spartans, and the University of Wisconsin, the Badgers....The streamlined ferries were 410 feet in length with a 60-foot beam and cost $5,000,000 each. They were designed for year-round operation [they were good ice breakers] and could carry 32 railroad freight cars or 150 automobile....By the 1970s C&O Railway decided car ferries were no longer profitable to operate. The SPARTAN laid up on Sept. 10, 1979, at Ludington and basically over the years has supplied parts for her sister ship the BADGER. Late in December 2020, the SPARTAN, the BADGER and the tug/barge UNDAUNTED/PERE MARQUETTE 41 were sold to Interlake Steamship Company." |
Wisconsin Marine Historical Society posted thirteen photos of the Badger's sister ship, Spartan, which is now permanently docked in Ludington as a parts supply, with the comment:
Although she no longer carries railcars, S.S. BADGER still sails between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Always waiting for her at Ludington is her older twin, SPARTAN. And while BADGER is a National Historic Landmark, it seems few remember SPARTAN. Carferries.com is a wonderful source for information about Great Lakes carferries. Included are histories for many of the boats – but not SPARTAN. She is the forgotten twin.
On this day (01/04) in 1952, with little fanfare, the railroad carferry SPARTAN slid into the frigid waters of Sturgeon Bay. Built by Christy Corporation for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, SPARTAN and her sister ship, BADGER, would be the last and largest of the Lake Michigan carferries. SPARTAN laid up at Ludington September 10, 1979. She has never sailed again. Today SPARTAN remains tied up alongside the ferry dock in Ludington and does little more than provide spare parts for the BADGER.
John Ashley of the Ann Arbor Railroad had an idea. Instead of transferring cargo from railcar to lake boat to railcar, he would ship loaded freight cars across Lake Michigan. On November 27, 1892, twenty-two cars were loaded at Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and ferried across the Lake to Frankfort, Michigan. This was the start of cross-lake railroad carferry service.
The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad began its own ferry service in 1897. F&PM was one of three railroads that were combined to form the Pere Marquette Railway in 1900. This new company would operate the largest fleet of Lake Michigan carferries. Pere Marquette was absorbed into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1947.
At mid-century, cross-lake rail traffic was strong. Having inherited the Pere Marquette fleet, C&O quickly moved to increase capacity. In May 1950, Christy Corporation of Sturgeon Bay was awarded a $4.5 million contract to build the world’s largest carferry. That October, C&O exercised its option for a second boat.
A relative newcomer, Christy Corporation had a long pedigree. Thomas Smith and John Leathem began repairing schooners and barges at Sturgeon Bay in 1881. Smith’s son took over the business in 1921 and formed what would become the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company. After Smith died suddenly in 1946, assistant general manager C.R. Christianson formed Christy Corporation and purchased the shipbuilding assets.
Christy Corp. would build two carferries for C&O. Because hauling coal was a substantial part of C&O’s business, these were coal-fired steamships. Departing from past practice, the new boats were named for mascots of state schools in Michigan (Spartan) and Wisconsin (Badger) instead of cities.
The first steel plates for SPARTAN were lowered onto keel blocks in December 1950. Originally scheduled for delivery the following October, problems getting critical materials because of the Korean War made that impossible. By the end of 1951, SPARTAN was almost 70 percent complete and ready to be launched.
Ignoring maritime superstition that launching on a Friday was unlucky, Christy decided to launch SPARTAN on Friday, January 4, 1952. There would be none of the festivities normally associated with such an event. The celebrations and christening could wait until her sister ship was ready later that year.
SPARTAN’s launch was scheduled for 11:00 AM. In preparation, the tug JOHN ROEN III broke up ice in the launching slip the previous day. That Friday, after an overnight low of 7, the temperature would not make it past 25 degrees. Undeterred, thousands gathered outside the shipyard to watch.
Launching was delayed until late afternoon. It took more than 200 men armed with sledgehammers and wedges to transfer SPARTAN from her keel blocks to the ways. At 4:06, the three-inch rope hawsers holding her back were cut and SPARTAN slid gracefully into the water, rocked a bit and then righted herself. For shivering onlookers who had waited for hours, things had gone so smoothly it was rather anticlimactic.
During the next seven months, work continued on SPARTAN. At the same time, her twin began taking shape. BADGER was launched and both ferries christened on September 6, 1952. Nearly 1,000 people attended the event as guests of the C&O. First on the agenda was the christening and launch of BADGER, which was scheduled for 11:00 AM. Other than a slight delay, things proceeded as planned.
Just before noon, as water flooding the docks following BADGER’s big splash poured back into the bay, all eyes shifted to the bow of SPARTAN. Nearly ready for service and gaily decked out for the occasion, she was christened by Mrs. John A. Hannah, wife of Michigan State College’s president (Michigan State became a university in 1964).
As her christening ended, Spartan’s whistle blew a roaring salute and scores of balloons were released. Many had complimentary tickets attached entitling the finder to a round trip for two on the “palatial ship.” Tickets were provided courtesy of the shipyard. Invited guests then enjoyed a luncheon and reception on SPARTAN’s car deck.
Speaking to the crowd, C&O’s president noted that tonnage between Wisconsin ports and Ludington had doubled in the past 20 years. Construction of two new ferries was part of a $15 million program to give C&O 35 percent more capacity on the Great Lakes. This included upgrading two boats at Manitowoc. PERE MARQUETTE nos. 21 and 22 were each lengthened to nearly 400 feet and new engines increased service speed from 14 to 18 miles per hour.
Designed to operate year-round, both SPARTAN and BADGER were 410 feet long with a 60-foot beam. On the car deck they carried 32 railcars or 150 automobiles. Passenger accommodations included 16 parlors, 44 staterooms, a spacious lounge, a dining room able to seat 52, and a promenade on the cabin deck. Two Skinner Compound Unaflow steam engines gave each vessel a service speed of 18 miles per hour.
After minor adjustments following sea trials, SPARTAN departed Sturgeon Bay on the morning of October 20, 1952. After visiting Kewaunee, Manitowoc and Milwaukee, she arrived at her homeport of Ludington three days later. Bringing her in was Captain Harold A. Altschwager along with his father Captain C.J. Altschwager (retired).
SPARTAN was the first carferry to enter Ludington’s harbor since a strike idled C&O boats on July 4. The strike ended at noon on October 25. Six hours later, SPARTAN entered service when she departed Ludington for Kewaunee.
The good times would not last. C&O acquired the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1963 giving it direct access to Chicago. This made an all-rail route more appealing. Freight cars were getting longer reducing capacity on the ferries. And ferry operations were very labor intensive. It took 50 men to move 32 freight cars 90 miles by boat while three men could move 100 or more freight cars 300 miles by train.
In March 1975, C&O asked the Interstate Commerce Commission for permission to abandon its carferry service completely. Proceedings would drag on for 18 years.
On August 12, 1976, while entering Ludington’s harbor in dense fog, SPARTAN hit large stones protecting the entrance. There was damage to hull plates and frames. Many wondered whether the company would have her repaired. It cost about $300,000 but SPARTAN was back sailing in January 1977. Meanwhile, as a result of this incident, the Coast Guard charged her captain with two counts of negligence. An Administrative Law Judge found him guilty and suspended his license for a month. On appeal, this was essentially reduced to probation.
SPARTAN was laid up at Ludington in September 1979. Later that year, plans to have her operate out of Frankfort were dropped because the facilities were inadequate.
C&O sold its three remaining ferries in 1983. The railroad was finally out of the ferry business. Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation now owned CITY OF MIDLAND 41, SPARTAN, and BADGER. It operated CITY OF MIDLAND 41 until 1988 when bad boiler mounts forced her into retirement. BADGER was then put back in service for two years until M-WT ceased operations.
Ludington resident Charles Conrad formed Lake Michigan Carferry and acquired all three boats in 1992. Once again BADGER sailed between Ludington and Manitowoc, but she no longer carried railcars. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. CITY OF MIDLAND 41 was cut down to a barge in 1997 and sails today as PERE MARQUETTE 41. And SPARTAN? She remains tied up at Ludington only to provide replacement parts for her more famous twin.
NOTES:
The National Production Authority was created in September 1950 to oversee the distribution of materials necessary for defense mobilization. In November 1950, it allocated 10,000 tons of steel monthly to the building of twelve new Great Lakes vessels, including two carferries.
When SPARTAN entered service in 1952, it could take a week or more for a freight car to navigate its way through Chicago.
PHOTO CREDIT: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society.
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| Greg Crites commented on the above post Waiting in line last June to ride the badger. [The Spartan is on the left and the Badger is smoking in the background.] |
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| Dan Barber posted (source) 1970s - Ludington Harbor. Claude Greiner Is that the spartan or badger? |
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| Lee Starks commented on Dan's post Last night [Sept 2019] |
S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted two photos with the comment:
Alexander Blessing Considering she’s got 16 cylinders to feed, 55 tons of coal per day is very economical for a ship of size.
Scott Rogers Alexander Blessing 8 cylinders..4 per engine
Alexander Blessing Scott Rogers Externally it appears that way, but there are actually two cylinders in each “steeple.” The Skinner Unaflow is a tandem compound engine, so there is a high pressure cylinder stacked on top a low pressure cylinder. Two cylinders per steeple, four steeples per engine, two engines installed. 16 cylinders total.
The ASME wrote a pamphlet on the Badger’s engines which includes cross-sections of the cylinders.
https://www.asme.org/.../191-ss-badger-carferry-1952.pdf
Dan Cramer Alexander Blessing the Skinner steeple compounds are slightly less efficient than a turbine running the same temperature and pressure of steam. The advantage of the Skinners is much greater maneuverability because of the amount of torque they produce. They can also provide 100% power both forward and reverse which made them better for ice breaking.
Jon Jakoblich Didn’t the ship have to undergo some sort of conversion to a different fuel source a few years ago?
S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry Hi John, we did a series of upgrades that increased the efficiency of the coal fired boilers and eliminated the old method of ash disposal.
Patrick Conley Actually SS stands for "Steam Screw" on merchant Ships.
Marcia LaFreniere Ship carries passengers, Boat carries freight !!
The rail deck of the SS Badger is now used for oversize loads.
In the following video, it appears the truck came down the western Maritime Drive close to the lamppost on the right and then did a sharp U-turn so that he can back the rig onto the ferry. In addition to the truck driver, there is a steer man that controls the rear trailer. I have yet to see a cab on the rear trailer, so it appears that person is exposed to the elements. In this day and age of air conditioned cabs, I was surprised. But maybe a cab would limit their visibility.
Did you know that S.S. stands for “Steam Ship”? The BADGER was the last and largest Carferry to be built in the United States. Being that she is the last coal-fired passenger steamship in the United States, she burns approximately 55 tons of coal that is sourced from Wisconsin. Here you will see our crew testing the boilers and performing main engine work.[I didn't know Wisconsin had coal.]
Alexander Blessing Considering she’s got 16 cylinders to feed, 55 tons of coal per day is very economical for a ship of size.
Scott Rogers Alexander Blessing 8 cylinders..4 per engine
Alexander Blessing Scott Rogers Externally it appears that way, but there are actually two cylinders in each “steeple.” The Skinner Unaflow is a tandem compound engine, so there is a high pressure cylinder stacked on top a low pressure cylinder. Two cylinders per steeple, four steeples per engine, two engines installed. 16 cylinders total.
The ASME wrote a pamphlet on the Badger’s engines which includes cross-sections of the cylinders.
https://www.asme.org/.../191-ss-badger-carferry-1952.pdf
Dan Cramer Alexander Blessing the Skinner steeple compounds are slightly less efficient than a turbine running the same temperature and pressure of steam. The advantage of the Skinners is much greater maneuverability because of the amount of torque they produce. They can also provide 100% power both forward and reverse which made them better for ice breaking.
Jon Jakoblich Didn’t the ship have to undergo some sort of conversion to a different fuel source a few years ago?
S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry Hi John, we did a series of upgrades that increased the efficiency of the coal fired boilers and eliminated the old method of ash disposal.
Patrick Conley Actually SS stands for "Steam Screw" on merchant Ships.
Marcia LaFreniere Ship carries passengers, Boat carries freight !!
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| Steven J. Brown posted Chesapeake and Ohio ferry S.S. Spartan (built 1952, out of service since 1980) is viewed from the departing S.S. Badger at Ludington, Michigan - September 6, 2014. |
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| Pininsula Pulse Newspaper posted We just shared a post that the SS Badger is on its way to the Sturgeon Bay ship yard. Here's a cool shot of that ship being built (second from left). The photo shows the Badger being built in the shipyard of the Christy Corporation in Sturgeon Bay as seen on Jan. 3, 1952. The photo taken by Herb Reynolds points west and shows the turntable once used to turn locomotives around at the end of the Ahnapee and Western Railroad line. The car ferry Spartan, at the left, was launched the next day. The car ferry Badger is shown being built to the right of the Spartan. In 1970, Christy Corporation became part of Bay Shipbuilding, which still operates on the site today as a subsidiary of Fincantieri Marine Group. Photo submitted by Gary Soule. Scott Mulliner shared Bob Kalal here is a 1963 aerial of the railroad trackage & turntable, https://www.greenbayroute.com/1963sbyard.htm |
The rail deck of the SS Badger is now used for oversize loads.
In the following video, it appears the truck came down the western Maritime Drive close to the lamppost on the right and then did a sharp U-turn so that he can back the rig onto the ferry. In addition to the truck driver, there is a steer man that controls the rear trailer. I have yet to see a cab on the rear trailer, so it appears that person is exposed to the elements. In this day and age of air conditioned cabs, I was surprised. But maybe a cab would limit their visibility.
(new window) At 2:03 you can see the steer man on the left standing on the rear trailer trying to get it as close as possible to the lamp post to give them the most room for the U-turn.
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This load seemed to come in on the eastern Maritime Drive and go around the buildings so that it did not have to turn as sharply. The ferry must not be in the dock yet because it went further away from the dock than I would have expected.
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(new window) Denna McDaniel's comment confirms that the steer man for the third unit was a woman.
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The Badger used to run 365 days a year. That means it was essentially an ice breaker. Now it runs just May to Oct. It is good to see that they take advantage of the maintenance window and are putting money back into the infrastructure.
S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted three photos with the comment: "Demolition of the Ludington wall is nearly complete, pile driving for the new wall begins next week! Steaming across Lake Michigan on May 10!"
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This load seemed to come in on the eastern Maritime Drive and go around the buildings so that it did not have to turn as sharply. The ferry must not be in the dock yet because it went further away from the dock than I would have expected.
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(new window) Denna McDaniel's comment confirms that the steer man for the third unit was a woman.
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The Badger used to run 365 days a year. That means it was essentially an ice breaker. Now it runs just May to Oct. It is good to see that they take advantage of the maintenance window and are putting money back into the infrastructure.
S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted three photos with the comment: "Demolition of the Ludington wall is nearly complete, pile driving for the new wall begins next week! Steaming across Lake Michigan on May 10!"
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| safe_image Les Bagley: It’s one of the Pere Marquette railroad car ferries out of Ludington. They operated year round, including in icy conditions that made harbors difficult. The sea gate is up on the stern, meaning they’ve either just left the dock, or they are about to arrive and are preparing to unload. Mike Modderman: Looks like the Pere Marquette 22 in its original configuration coming into Ludington. I would guess it’s pre 1930. Robert Love: Looks like the Ann arbor number 5. |
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| safe_image Car ferry City of Saginaw 31 backing through pack ice on Lake Michigan outside of Ludington. [Several comments noted the black smoke and the pouring on of the coal for maximum power.] Daniel Bissell: Trying to get all 7000hp out of her steam turbines. The City of Saginaw 31 and her sister the City of Flint 32 were probably the best of all the carferries at ice breaking. |
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| Mike Delaney posted Badger at Ludington, Michigan under colder conditions. Like as in zub-zero. |
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| Mike Delaney posted Spartan leaving Ludington headed for Milwaukee with another load of railcars. 1975. |
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| safe_image [Evidently the photo was snarfed from this page. It is not clear why they used a Pere Marquette photo on a SS Badger page.] The Pere Marquette railroad had boats numbered 15 through 22, all of which had twin stacks. This is one of the early boats, 15-20, but not the 16 which was wooden and had a very different look because it was purchased from a Lake Erie fleet. Of the remaining boats, only two - the 17 and 18 - had cabins that weren't split around the two stacks, so this is one of those two. The 17 had cabins that didn't extend all the way to the stern, the 18 had longer cabins. My eye says this is the 17. Before everyone says "but it only says Pere Marquette", the railroad was known for retouching photos of their boats for reasons lost to time. There is one image in particular, obviously the same image, that shows up in many places clearly marked as the 19, in many other places just as clearly as the 20. Given that they were identical I've never heard anyone give ironclad proof as to which one it really is. We may never know. Yes, there was a second #18 (the first one sank in 1910) with shorter cabins like the 17, but it never had an open upper pilot house. My money says this is the 1901-built 17, early in her career as she seems to be carrying the flagship banner, which she would have surrendered in 1902 to the first 18. She also looks very fresh, supporting that possibility. Perhaps even her first entry to port when she was delivered. Photo captions can easily be incorrect. We see it in spaceflight circles a lot, and sometimes in maritime history. The fact is BADGER was launched as BADGER, her name was never altered. Additionally, the configuration of the vessel in the photo matches the name painted on her bows. Eric Pieper you're not the first one to be misled by a photo caption- trust me. BTW... it's a dang nice photo of the 17.Actually, the Pere Marquette Railroad (PM) and its successor, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (C&O) operated ferries both across Lake Michigan, and across the Detroit River to Canada. To standardize their fleet, the PM originally named all their vessels for the railroad, followed by a number. They numbered their river ferries starting at 14, and then went down. They numbered their lake ferries starting at 15 and up, basically adding 1 each time a new boat was required. (The exception being TWO Pere Marquette 18s, the second being a quickly ordered replacement for the first which accidentally sank for unknown reasons). Their Lake Ferry numbers didn’t actually stop at 22 as was suggested earlier. With their next purchase, the railroad began the practice of naming boats for communities they served, still adding a number as had been past practice. They also, in typical railroad practice, started a new numbering sequence when boats were built with a different mechanical system. So after the PM 22, the next fleet additions were the City of Saginaw 31 and City of Flint 32, both of which had steam turbines with electric drive. These were not repeated, and the next boats were to be ordered with Skinner Uniflow steam engines. But instead of ordering a pair of ferries, as had been past practice, WWII limited the railroad to only one addition, the City of Midland 41. Lastly, under Chessie ownership, two more boats were added in the 1950s after the war. These were the Spartan and Badger. In this case, Chessie discontinued making a fleet number a part of their registered names. But unofficially the boats were still carried on records as 42 and 43, since they were also Skinner powered, and the number was a convenient abbreviation when filling out paperwork. In later years, with only the three newest boats still running, the captains used their “fleet numbers” to signal their arrivals in port on their horns, so families would know which ship was coming in. The Midland blew a long and a short arrival signal. The Spartan blew a long and two short blasts. And the Badger announced her impending arrival with a long and three shorts, denoting 41, 42, and 43. Les to clarify, what I stated above was that the fleet had boats named Pere Marquette 15 through 22. The later boats did not carry the Pere Marquette name, though you are correct that a numbering system did remain.By the way, in November, 1940 the Pere Marquette 17 (shown) was sold and somewhat rebuilt to become the Michigan State Ferry City of Petoskey. Replaced by the Mackinac Bridge in 1957, the state found it hard to sell a 1901 era coal-fired steamboat in the emerging diesel era. So after nearly 4 years of trying without success, the state sold her for salvage and she was scrapped in Ashtabula, OH in 1961. The ferry business across Lake Michigan was such a cool thing. I have rode them all since 1960. Frankfort Michigan and Manitowoc are such different cities today without the constant ferry traffic that made them seafaring towns. |
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| American Coot Photography posted The SS Badger starts its first season under ownership of Interlake Steamship Company, this morning (May 20, 2021) leaving Ludington Harbor for Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Interlake's flag is flying above the pilot house. As is a Ludington tradition, it had an escort out of harbor with a water salute while in the channel. Here, the sportfishing boat Free Style, enters harbor as the Badger nears passes by. Steve Begnoche shared |
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| Rusty Mills posted SS Badger coal fired ship originally built to haul railroad cars across Lk Michigan from Ludington to Manitowoc WI. Still in service hauling tourists and vehicles now. Blake Biermann: It's an official connection for US10 |
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| Destination Door county posted In the icy days of winter, work at the shipyard heats up heats up with the arrival of the winter fleet. Each January the giants of the Great Lakes arrive for maintenance, with ships of 500 to more than 1,000 feet making their way through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and through the city's three bridges to dock at the shipyard for winter layup. Exact arrival dates and times are up to the whims of Mother Nature, as ice cover, storms and waves all factor into shipping schedules. However, DoorCounty Maritime Museum posts best estimates on their website. Most ships arrive in January and head back out to the lakes in April. [It was dry docked in Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in late 2021.] |
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| S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry posted SHE IS HOME! We are grateful to have the SS BADGER back home in Ludington after her time in dry dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. She is looking beautiful as ever with her new paint. We would like to thank the communities of Sturgeon Bay and the greater Door County Area for all of the love while the BADGER was in Wisconsin. We would also like to thank Sarter Marine Towing for getting the BADGER to and from dry dock safely. We are looking forward to beginning our season on May 12th! .  : Chris VanWyck |
Peggy Captain posted six photos with the comment:
One last series of boat butts.Mr. Captain Raymond Sheldon and I were on the Donald Sarter Tug for the tow of the SS Badger Car Ferry from Ludington, MI to Sturgeon Bay, WI for Dry Docking in November 2021. Then we took it out of Dry Dock on January 6, 2022. On January 12th we were back on the "Donny" taking it across Lake Michigan to it's home port in Ludington. Unique Boat Butt pics to be sure. LOLSarter Marine Towing
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| 5 [Note that the tracks are still in the deck.] |
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| Comments on Peggy's post |
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| Paul Rabenhorst posted The S.S. BADGER, about to dock at Ludington, Michigan. Today March 21st, 2022, is the 69th anniversary of her maiden voyage. Amber Reinhold commented on Paul's post A few summers ago my husband took the Badger to haul a walking bridge. An amazing photographer snapped this picture on the Michigan side. Jake Reinhold commented on Paul's post I took an oversize load on it. Very cool experience. Robert Dilley shared What would be the benefit of taking railcars across Lake Michigan on a boat? |
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| Kevin Risso commented on Paul's post, cropped Love riding the SS Badger |
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| Karen Kudla Tanner posted A couple of oversize loads on the S.S. BADGER carferry, about to dock at Ludington, Michigan Brenda Riggs: On duty not driving still counts on the logs. Patricia Heckaman: The ship’s crew takes command of big rigs like the ones seen here. We watched as they turned them around & backed them in. All cars were backed in by them. then, one by one, the big rigs. Judy Barnes-DePeal shared Kathlynn Jeske: In one of their promo videos they show two gleaming 18 wheeler horse trailers being loaded--the Budweiser Clydesdales!! The horses had their heads out taking it all in. |
The president of Interlake road the first trip across Lake Michigan after Interlake bought the ferry coempany. [paycount 5]
Kathleen Swinehart mentioned that she thought the Spartan was bigger than the Badger. Marsha answered that they are both 410' 6" and posted these two photos as comments:
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| Forgotten Wiconsin posted March 21st, 1953. Our own S.S.BADGER makes its maiden voyage. The word "carferry" originally meant railcars, which are loading in this photograph. |
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| Pam Eller Reed posted So…the quick-thinking Badger captain/crew had to glide on past the Badger dock into Pere Marquette Lake this evening, then turn around, as there was a large sailboat anchored in her path where she swings around after dropping anchor usually. Beautiful save, SS Badger. Nancy Edgerle: I wondered why they kept blowing their horn! Chris VanWyck: Surprised the Coast Guard wasn’t all over that. Christine Kepich: Sounds like the sailboat anchored where they drop the anchor for the swing the badger makes. Now why would you anchor with a large vessel like that coming in. The Captain probably saved their lives. Jason Adam: It’s on every nautical chart as ‘no anchorage’ as well as a ferry traffic route. Thomas Higinbotham: I thought county marine patrol was supposed to clear the way? Maxwell Crosby: Not often does the Badger go past her slip… [I wonder what the military-looking ship docked next to the SS Spartan is. The Spartan was laid up on Sep 10, 1979, and it is used for parts for the Badger.] Jacky Pierce-Breech shared |
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| Karen Coker-Shaffier commented on Pam's post From starport Barb Henion: Karen Coker-Shaffier Was she right in front of the boat club?! |
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| 1:05 video @ 0:28 Routine maintenance happens every year on our Skinner Unaflow engines during the off-season to make sure they are ready to go when our season starts. With precision and teamwork, our crew carefully lifts the cover off the top of our 20 feet high engines to inspect the seals. These engines are one of the reasons the BADGER became a National Historic Landmark on this day in 2016. |
8:29 video: "SS Badger- How It Works"
0:21 video (shared) of it dropping anchor to help it make the turn needed to get into the dock. (Anchor starts down around 0:05.) This is how they did sharp turns before bow thrusters were developed.
0:08 video of the "all secure" whistle
14:07 video about her dry docking
0:31 video of the fire being lit for the Summer of 2023
May 18, 2023: Ludington Daily News also had an article.
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| safe_image for Video: Watch S.S. Badger set sail across Lake Michigan for first voyage of 2023 |
On July 21, 2023 they posted a suspension of service because the dock in Ludington had a booboo. A comment on a share indicated that they had cancelled service through the 27th.
John Ahlskog commented on the post: "one of the counterweights gave way and fell over. Boat was already docked and some of the vehicles were already driven off at that point. We were watching from above/stern as it happened/gave way. Our vehicle still wasn’t off at that point but the crew/staff did a good job ensuring the safety of everyone. Because one of the counterweights was off, the boat wasn’t quite level with the dock/apron so they had to carefully drive off remaining vehicles on the right side, one at a time."
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| John Ahlskog commented on the post |
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| Ray LeMieux commented on the post |
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| safe_image for SS Badger, ferry that carries traffic across Lake Michigan, out for season after ramp system damaged |
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| safe_image for Why the S.S. Badger ended its season early |
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| safe_image for VIDEO: Badger executive discusses ramp repairs |
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| Mike Braybrook commented on a post |
Here is a "before" image:
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| Street View, Aug 2022 |
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| safe_image (source) for SS Badger ferry will sail again this summer |
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| Alex Raz posted A couple of oversize loads on the S.S. BADGER carferry, about to dock at Ludington, Michigan. Wayne Unwin: She worked well for we Seniors, pickup truck, and 23’ camper! 12’ rollers kept us away from the lunch room but what a wonderful safe trip! Cost effective too! Chuck Rosene: Wayne Unwin We once sailed out of Ludington in 17' rollers. The semis' were about to flip and they had to head into the wind - we ended up outside of Wind Point (Racine) with Chicago on the skyline. 6 1/2 hour trip! Kathlynn Jeske: Loved the video on their web page of the Budweiser Clydesdales rolling on board. Horses had their heads out of the trucks taking in the sites. [I took a quick look at their website, but I could not find the video.] Zachariah Dood: The ssbadger was launched semptember 1952 and in service march 1953 was a train ferry up until 1990 when it was layed up and then in 1991 it got a major overhaul and was created I to a car ferry. It is the last coal fired steam ship that is still sailing in the world it have 2 3500hp unaflow engines and 4 boilers. Ruth Maas Brotzman: When we went they had had those big wind turbine blades on it. Massive boat! |
16 photos and a long description
Bryan Much: Harry Brook I'm curious as to why you took my post from elsewhere word for word and my photos and posted it all here as your own. My original post from September 25th: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1497865573757127/permalink/2555572941319713/
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