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Car Ferry Roster

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A listing of the Ann Arbor and Pere Marquette car ferries which called on the Green Bay Route at Kewaunee, and their dates of service.

Ferries at Kewaunee


Ann Arbor No. 7 and Pere Marquette No. 21 at Kewaunee (1947)

Loading WRX reefers into Ann Arbor No. 7
.

Cross-lake connections at Kewaunee began in January 1892 when the Lackawanna Railroad steam ship Osceola started break-bulk service to the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan RR in Frankforrt, Mich.  TAA&NM (later Ann Arbor) car ferries first called on Kewaunee on November 27 of that year.  The Pere Marquette began serving Kewaunee from Ludington, Mich. in August 1903.

By the 1950s, 40% of AA's ferry traffic went through Kewaunee.  They typically had two sailings to Kewaunee Monday through Saturday and one on Sunday.  A cross-lake trip typically took 4� hours.  The AA served four routes with five ferries which sometimes led to irregular service.  The C&O, with a larger fleet of boats and heavier reliance on passenger traffic, maintained a more regular schedule of crossings with additional boats dispatched as traffic demanded it.

This is only a listing of the AA and PM car ferries which would have serviced Kewaunee.  Other ferries operated by other railroads served other cities on both the Wisconsin and Michigan side of Lake Michigan.  More information and photos of the car ferries can be found at the Detroit Area Library Network web site.

 

 
ID Boat Owner Built / Rebuilt Retired Length Cars Power Design
 Speed

Notes

01 Ann Arbor No. 1 TAA&NM 1892   1910 260 ft 24 1830 HP 14 kts First car ferry on Lake Michigan, first to Kewaunee on November 24, 1892. Wood hull.
02 Ann Arbor No. 2 TAA&NM 1892   1913 264 ft 24 1830 HP 14 kts Wood hull. Used as a spare boat after AA No. 5 was added in 1910.
03 Ann Arbor No. 3 AA 1898     258 ft 20      
  1923   306 ft 24 1400 HP 13 mph Rebuilt with new engines.
  1950s 1960 306 ft 20     Capacity reduced when the hull was reinforced.
04 Ann Arbor No. 4 AA 1906     259 ft 22 1200 HP    
  1923 1937         Superstructure rebuilt extensively after sinking in Frankfort harbor.  Only occasionally used in the 1930s because of decreased traffic.
05 Ann Arbor No. 5 AA 1910     360 ft 30 3000 HP 14 mph First car ferry to have a sea gate.  Typically assigned to the Frankfort - Manistique route because of its ice-breaking ability.
  1964 1966         Converted to oil power. No change in size or capacity.
06 a. Ann Arbor No. 6 AA 1918   1959 338 ft 26 2500 HP 14 mph Built as Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Maitland No. 2 but purchased by the AA prior to the boat being completed (Maitland No. 1 had been chartered for several months in 1916).
b. Arthur K. Atkinson   1959 1982 384 ft 30 5500 HP  18 mph AA No. 6 lengthened, modernized, and two 12 cylinder Nordberg non-reversing diesel engines installed. Out of service with a broken a crankshaft 1973 - 1980.  Court testimony in 1980 indicated there had been adequate insurance to cover the repairs.
07 a. Ann Arbor No. 7 AA 1925   1965 348 ft 30 2700 HP 14 mph Built to standard plan of Manitowoc Shipbuilding (first used by Pere Marquette 21 & 22).
b. Viking   1965 1982     5500 HP 19 mph AA No. 7 rebuilt with EMD 567D1 diesel engines and a raised upper deck to handle bi- and tri- level autorack freight cars.
08 a. Wabash AA 1927     366 ft 32 2700 HP 14 mph  
b. City of Green Bay   1963 1972         Wabash renamed when the Ann Arbor  RR was acquired by the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton RR.
09 City of Milwaukee GT 1931   1981 348 ft 30 2700 HP  14 mph Built to standard plan of Manitowoc Shipbuilding.  Chartered to Ann Arbor in 1978 as replacement ferry while Arthur K. Atkinson was out of service.
10 a. Pere Marquette F&PM 1896     337 ft 30  3000 HP   First steel hulled car ferry on Lake Michigan.  Early 1900s service to Kewaunee was Wednesdays and Saturdays, with PM 15, 17 and 19 alternating rotation.  Transferred to Lake Erie in December 1909 to replace the recently-sunk Marquette & Bessemer No. 2. Although it appeared that the transfer was permanent, it returned to Lake Michigan service in September 1910 to replace the Pere Marquette No. 18, which sunk that month.
b. Pere Marquette 15 PM   1924 1935         Although always referred to by railroad personnel as the 15, the name change was not formally made until 1924.
11 a. Shenango No.2  PS&E 1895     282 ft 26  2000 HP   Owned by Pittsburg, Shenango & Erie Railroad, leased by Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western. Typically assigned to the Milwaukee - Muskegon route.  Wood hull.
b. Muskegon DGR&W   1897           Shenango No.2  renamed after purchase by DGR&W.  Typically assigned to the Milwaukee - Ludington route.
c. Pere Marquette 16 PM   1901 1907         Muskegon renamed after Pere Marquette merger.  PM service to Kewaunee did not begin until 1903.  Used in Lake Erie service from 1904 onward.
12 Pere Marquette 17 PM 1901   1940 338 ft 30 2300 HP   Early 1900s service to Kewaunee was Wednesdays and Saturdays, with PM 15, 17 and 19 alternating rotation.  Sold to the State of Michigan in 1940 and rechristened City of Petoskey; used as a ferry on the Straits of Mackinac
13 Pere Marquette 18 (1) PM 1902   1910 338 ft 30 3000 HP  14 mph Shipwrecked on 1910.09.10 with the loss of 29 of 62 persons on board; PM 17 lost two crew members during the rescue.
14 Pere Marquette 19 PM 1903   1940 338 ft 30 2280 HP   Early 1900s service to Kewaunee was Wednesdays and Saturdays, with PM 15, 17 and 19 alternating rotation. Only occasionally used in the 1930s because of decreased traffic.
15 Pere Marquette 20 PM 1903   1938 338 ft 30 2280 HP   Only occasionally used in the 1930s because of decreased traffic.
16 Pere Marquette 18 (2) PM 1911   1954 338 ft 30 2500 HP   Laid up during railroad strike on 1952.07.04 and never again operated. Sold to Luria Bros. of Chicago 1957.08 and scrapped later that year.
17 Pere Marquette 21 PM 1924   1953 348 ft 30 2700 HP  14 mph Built to standard plan of Manitowoc Shipbuilding.  Additional passenger accommodations added in 1937.
  1953 1972 388 ft 32 4500 HP  18 mph Lengthened and repowered with a Skinner Unaflow engine.
18 Pere Marquette 22 PM 1924   1952 348 ft 30 2700 HP  14 mph Built to standard plan of Manitowoc Shipbuilding.  Additional passenger accommodations added in 1937.
  1952 1971 388 ft 32 4500 HP  18 mph Lengthened and repowered with a Skinner Unaflow engine.
19 City of Saginaw 31 PM 1929   1967 369 ft 32 7200 HP  18 mph  
20 City of Flint 32 PM 1930   1968 369 ft 32 7200 HP  18 mph  
21 City of Midland 41 PM 1941   1988 389 ft 34 6362 HP  18 mph Rarely assigned to the Soo Line at Manitowoc because of tight clearance in the turning basin.
22 Spartan 42 C&O 1952   1982 410 ft 34 7560 HP  18 mph Launched 1952.01.04, maiden voyage 1952.10.23 after a July - October carferry strike that year. Rarely assigned to the Soo Line at Manitowoc because of tight clearance in the turning basin.
23 Badger 43 C&O 1953   1990 410 ft 34 7560 HP  18 mph Launched 1952.09.06, maiden voyage 1953.03.21. Last carferry to Kewaunee on 1990.11.16. Spar (cabin) raised 18" for bi- and tri- level autorack freight cars in 1964. Rarely assigned to the Soo Line at Manitowoc because of tight clearance in the turning basin.

 
Loading WRX reefers into Ann Arbor No. 7.

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 The Green Bay Route is maintained by Mark Mathu.
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Updated June 17, 2012

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 The Green Bay Route is maintained by Mark Mathu.
Visit the Guest Book or send comments to mark@mathu.com.
Updated July 11, 2015