Trackdog's Michigan Railroad Car Ferry Page
Welcome to my car ferry page. Although there is no real detailed history on Michigan carferries here, you may find a few things that you have not seen before. As always, if you have stuff you'd like to submit, please email me.
Pere Marquette Railway Lake Michigan Car Ferries
While in receivership, the
Pere Marquette operated the Manistique Marquette & Northern
No.1, shown here while in excursion service at the Old Mission dock. 
My thanks to Bob S. and Bob V. for the quick identification.
Photograph of the Pere Marquette 17.
Library of Congress photograph of the ill-fated Pere Marquette 18 while leased for excursion service out of Chicago. This photo was probably taken not many months before she went down in Lake Michigan.
This postcard is an
artist's rendering of the PM 18 sinking and the PM 17 coming to
the rescue.
A view of the Pere Marquette 19, at the slip in Muskegon.
Postcard scan of the Pere Marquette 20 being loaded in Ludington.
Some old cars on the stern
of the PM 21 as she enters Ludington Harbor.
Mighty cold outside as the Pere Marquette 22 battles the ice in this scan, but a much nicer
one of her passing the lighthouse at Ludington.
Here is some of the Pere
Marquette Carferry fleet in this view. Any help in identifying the boats?
Lots of passengers can be
seen on the bow of the City of Flint
32.
A very clean City of Midland 41.
Link to the Carferries of Ludington homepage.
Pere Marquette Line Steamers
Although the Pere Marquette Line Steamers were not car ferries, their heritage was as break bulk carriers for the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. They also carried automobiles across Lake Michigan.
Front cover of the 1929 Steamship schedule.
A 1916 Annual pass for the Pere Marquette Line Steamers.
Here is a view
of a Pere Marquette Line steamer
and a Pere Marquette Railway carferry at Ludington.
Anyone want to make a stab at identifying them?
View of Pere Marquette Line Steamers in the river in Manistee.
The Steamer Pere Marquette 3 at Ludington from yet another postcard.
A picture of the Steamer Pere Marquette 4. Identification thanks again to Shawn!
The Pere Marquette 6 is approaching Arcadia in this scan.
The Pere Marquette 7, seen on this
1913 schedule card was the steamer Pabst
before being acquired by the PM Line Steamers.
And a view of
the Steamer Nevada at Ludington
in 1927.
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway/Chessie System Car Ferries
The October 1952 edition of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway employee magazine, Tracks, did a feature on the new Spartan and Badger. Here is a scan of the cover.
Postcard scan of the Spartan in a Chessie System paint job.
The City of Midland 41 and the Badger, thanks to Max Hanley.
The
City of Saginaw covered with ice heading out on to Lake Michigan.
Nice
view of the Pere Marquette 22 and one of the Pere Marquette 21 loading at Ludington.
Here is a photo of the fleet at Ludington it appears before the arrival of the Spartan and Badger.
Link to the Carferries of Ludington, Max Hanley's fantastic page.
Non-Michigan C&O nautical stuff can be found on my RR Nautical Page.
Pere Marquette/C & O Rwy. Detroit and St. Clair River Ferries
This is a postcard scan of what I think is the Pere Marquette 14. Bob V., you were correct many months ago when you wrote about the older view I was showing. See below for a new view.
Very
small, but you can see a couple of C&O Detroit River ferries, one is possibly the Pere Marquette 12.
A view of the International II taken in 1880 off of Point Edward, while in service for the Grand Trunk. This ferry was built by the Grand Trunk in 1872 and was sold to the Lake Erie and Detroit River Railroad. The LE & DR RR merged with the Pere Marquette in 1903, which brought the International II into Pere Marquette service.
Pere Marquette 14 is shown trapped in the ice at Liberty Beach in 1904.
Mackinac Transportation Company
From 1888 to 1984, Mackinaw City to St. Ignace railroad car ferry service was provided by the fleet's four steamers.
Here is a photo of the Sainte Marie from the Library of Congress collection.
Once again folks, another postcard scan. This one shows the Sainte Marie II and the Chief Wawatam in the ice.
Another postcard showing Chief Wawatam and the Ann Arbor 6 battling the ice in the straits. This photo may be from 1917, when the new AA 6 got caught in the ice while making her way to Frankfort. The Sainte Marie II eventually towed her to St. Ignace for repairs. Thanks to Bob and Shawn for the ID.
The Chief Wawatam at St. Ignace.
Chief Wawatam loading at Mackinaw City.
In a picture taken in the summer of 1998 at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, here is how the Chief looks now as a barge. Photo courtesy of Harold Belcher.
Railroad car ferry dock at St. Ignace.
This scan shows the State Ferry dock and the Railroad Ferry dock at Mackinaw City. Now that I have changed the scan, I could use some help identifying the boat!
Link to a page with some history and photos of the Sainte Marie II
Michigan Central/Wabash/NW Detroit River Ferries
Some of the pictures in this section come from the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company collection. These boats originally belonged to the Michigan Central, but were sold to the Wabash when the Detroit River railway tunnel was completed. These photos are all I have right now, so help me out!
The Detroit while under construction and during the launch.
A postcard showing the comparison between the new way (tunnel) and the old way (ferry).
A view of the Manitowoc in the river.
The Norfolk & Western ferries after they have been converted to a tug-barge operation, pass near the Renissance Center in downtown Detroit.
Canadian Pacific Railway Detroit River Ferries
Another Detroit Publishing Company photo showing the Ontario in the ice.
Once again, the Ontario
A scan of the Michigan and another CP ferry at the slip in Windsor.
Great Western/Grand Trunk/Canadian National Railway Detroit River Ferries
The Great Western started it's career with the Great Western Railway, which became part of the Grand Trunk, a predecessor of the Canadian National Railway.
In another Detroit Publishing Company photo, the Landsdowne crosses the the Detroit River in the winter.
Ann Arbor Railroad Car Ferries
A postcard scan of the Ann Arbor 6 & 7, later renamed the Arthur K. Atkinson and the Viking, respectively.
Toledo Ann Arbor North Michigan Railway boat Ann Arbor at Marinette, Wisconsin.
The Wabash, which was later renamed Green Bay, is just off Manistique in this scan.
Link to official Ann Arbor Railroad car ferry photographs.
Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
Even though she's in her Ann Arbor paint job, her is a picture of the City of Milwaukee. Thanks again Max.
Here is a view of the Manistique Marquette & Northern 1 before her purchase and renaming as the S.S. Milwaukee in 1908. The MMN operated between Manistique and Northport.
The Grand Trunk Railroad Carferry Grand Haven at Grand Haven, Michigan.
This link is to the Society for the Preservation of the S.S. City of Milwaukee.
Here is a link to the dive site for the wreck of the S.S. Milwaukee, which went down in Lake Michigan 1929, with the loss of her entire crew.
Other Car Ferry or Related Links
Lake Michigan Carferry, the home page of the SS Badger
Car float page at Penny Bridge.
Not a link, but if you would like a great book with tons of information, try to get a copy of "The Great Lakes Car Ferries" by George W. Hilton.
Please email me at mleon@aol.com with your comments or contributions.
As with my other pages, this one is still
under construction 
Thanks to Ken Houghton, Max Hanley, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Society for the Preservation of the SS City of Milwaukee, Matt Anderson and others for some of the art on this page. I apologize to anyone I am not giving credit to, as friends have just sent me stuff and I don't know the source.
This is how many people
have squandered a portion of their existence since 11/15/97 Last update on 12/29/99
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