Ann Arbor Steam Car Ferry City of Milwaukee Departing Kewaunee, WI: The GreatRails North American Railroad Photo Archive

The GreatRails North American Railroad Photo Archive

Ann Arbor Steam Car Ferry City of Milwaukee Departing Kewaunee, WI

Ann Arbor steam car ferry City of Milwaukee steams out of Kewaunee, WI as it departs to cross Lake Michigan to Frankfort, MI to deliver freight cars just loaded by the Green Bay & Western to the Ann Arbor on the Michigan side of the lake. This ferry was built for the Grand Trunk Western's former service between Muskegon and Milwaukee, but came to the Ann Arbor under lease when the GTW exited the car ferry business in 1978. Ann Arbor's ferries had only another year to operate when this photo was taken in 1981.
Interestingly the home port shown on the rear lift gate of the City of Milwaukee was 'Lansing': the ferry would have been hard aground long before reaching Lansing, had it ever tried to sail 'home'

Photographed by Warren Beckwith, May, 1981.
Added to the photo archive by Warren Beckwith, April 11, 2021.
Railroad: Ann Arbor.

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Visitor Comments about this Photo:

Excellent capture! And the good news is this ship still exists preserved as "a museum ship, bed and breakfast, and event venue on the waterfront of Manistee Lake in Manistee, Michigan", according to her entry in Wikipedia, Further, "She is the last unmodified traditional railroad car ferry afloat upon the lakes, still with her triple expansion steam engine, original woodwork and brass fixtures." If you're ever in the neighborhood, a cross lake voyage on the Badger (a former rail car ferry that sailed for the C&O) out of Ludington to Manitowoc is an enjoyable experience.

Posted by John Barlow on 2021-04-12 06:55:27

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