When MFI was nine years old, her parents had to attend a family funeral in New York State, so they decided to make the trip a family vacation. Living in Oshkosh, WI at the time, rather than spend the time and gas money to travel around the south end of Lake Michigan, they took the SS (Steam Ship) Badger car-ferry from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI. Since our 2022 journey included traveling to Michigan after visiting with my brothers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, MFI suggested we make the same crossing with Sid and Arthur.
Badger is the last coal-fired passenger vessel operating on the Great Lakes and became a National Historic Landmark on January 20, 2016. She was launched on September 6, 1952 and placed into service on March 21, 1953. Her length is 410 feet 6 inches, height is 106 feet 9 inches, and beam is 59 feet 6 inches. Badger weighs 6,650 tons and can carry 4,244 tons. She is powered by two 4-cylinder Skinner Unaflow steam engines, which produce 7,000 shp (shaft horsepower) and support a maximum speed of 21 knots (24 mph). She carries a top crew size of 60 and can transport 600 passengers along with a combination of 180 vehicles including, cars, motorcycles, buses, commercial trucks, and RVs.
A Brief History (credit to Wikipedia for all facts herein)
Badger’s roots were in economically transporting cargo by rail across Lake Michigan. It all began with the first steel-hulled railroad car ferry, Pere Marquette, being added in 1897 to a fleet of ships owned by the Flint & Pere Marquette company. The ship had four rail tracks on her deck, and for the first time, this allowed goods to be transported across the lake entirely by rail. Prior to this, ships couldn’t take on railcars, so longshoremen had to unload railcar cargo onto ships for crossing and reverse the process at the destination . In 1947, The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad bought the Flint & Pere Marquette company and expanded railcar ferry service into its heyday with seven ships including Badger and her sister ship Spartan. These two were the largest and last coal-fired steam railcar ferries built in the USA. However, with improvement of rail service around the lake, economics declined until the Interstate Commerce Commission abandoned cross-lake routes in 1980, and Badger, Spartan, and City of Midland were sold to two Ludington businessmen. They founded the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company and continued carrying cargo via the railcar ferries until it was no longer profitable. The company filed for bankruptcy in November 1990. Charles Conrad, a retired Ludington native and entrepreneur, bought the three ships in 1991 and started the Lake Michigan Carferry Service. Investing his own money, he refitted Badger, and in only two years, proved the economic viability of using Badger to transport leisure travelers, their vehicles, and commercial trucks. He sold the company to Bob Manglitz (his son-in-law), Jim Anderson, and Don Clingan in 1994 to continue the car ferry tradition. They sold Badger, Spartan, and other assets to Interlake Holding Company in 2020.
The night before our crossing, we camped at the Manitowoc Expo Center. We have discovered that state, county, and even some city fairgrounds often have campgrounds with water and electric hook ups. They’re usually well-operated because of the traffic they see and very economical. The overnight in Manitowoc gave us the chance to drive our route to the dock and check out the logistics. Next morning, we arrived at the dock about 45 minutes before departure and were close to being first in line. We were greeted by several crew members who confirmed our reservation and checked us in. A police dog was walked around both Sid and Arthur, and we were directed to park at the head of row 3. The weather was cold and rainy, so we sat inside the Badger Boatique gift shop and waiting area until boarding began. I missed seeing Sid and Arthur being backed onto Badger by the crew vehicle drivers. But I was able to catch a picture of them as we climbed the stairs to the passenger decks.
I had reserved a stateroom for us and simply exchanged my driver’s license for our room key with the Cruise Director. As we walked to stateroom #12 to drop our jackets and backpack, we passed the cafeteria, seating areas, lower deck bar, museum, game room, gift shop, and movie theater. Unfortunately, they were showing Disney’s Encanto, which we’ve seen several times with grandkids, so that was off our agenda. We ate hot dogs for a late lunch, then I napped for an hour. Our stateroom was nothing fancy for sure, but it was clean, cozy, and suited our needs perfectly. Later we climbed to the second passenger deck, bought a coffee at the Upper Deck Café, and chatted with two crew members there.
We went topside once we neared the mouth of the Ludington Harbor. I took a number of pictures and videos, including docking in front of Spartan. We learned she is only used for cannibalizing parts when Badger needs repairs. It was 60 miles across Lake Michigan from Manitowoc to Ludington, and Badger did it in about 4 hours. That’s a whopping 15 mph! The weather remained cloudy and rainy the entire trip but didn’t dampen our spirits.
Arthur was unphased by her maiden voyage. We drove only four miles to Pancho’s Pond RV Park and chilled for two nights before moving north. We’re glad we made the trip. It was relaxing and definitely a unique way to travel when RVing.
