By James Heinz
Recently while on assignment for the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, I saw one of the oldest operating coal fired steamships in the world sail out of the harbor of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
The SS BADGER was built in 1952 as a railroad car ferry for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. She and her twin ship the SPARTAN were named for the football mascots of the state universities of Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively. That railroad service came to an end in 1990.
In 1992, new owners brought her back into service as an auto ferry between Manitowoc and Ludington, Mich.
In 2020, the BADGER was sold to Interlake Steamship Company.
The ship displaces 6,650 tons. She is made of steel and is 410 feet long, 59.5 feet wide, 106 feet in height, and draws 24 feet of water. Her two car decks can carry up to 180 vehicles. Her two passenger decks can accommodate up to 620 passengers and she has 40 staterooms. In addition to autos, she has been known to carry other cargos, like wind turbines.
Her two Skinner Unaflow compound steam engines drive her across the 60 miles of Lake Michigan in about 4 hours from May to October.
BADGER is the last of her kind, being the only steam powered ferry in the world and the only coal fired steamship in America. She is a registered historical landmark in both Wisconsin and Michigan, is a National Historic Landmark and on the National Registry of Historic Places.
One of her propellers is a monument in the parking lot of the marina at Port Washington, Wis. https://wmhs.org/a-memorial-to-a-ship-that-is-still-afloat/
Her sister ship SPARTAN is profiled in a previous article: https://wmhs.org/the-spartan-is-launched/
Photos by James Heinz.
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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.
