Sunset Cruise

by Gales Of November

Title

Sunset Cruise

Artist

Gales Of November

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Ludington, Michigan is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The first settlers arrived in 1847 and the community of Pere Marquette sprang up. In 1873 the town was renamed Ludington after James Ludington, whose logging operations gave rise to the community that rose up around it.

In 1875 the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad began shipping across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin and Ludington became a major Great Lakes shipping port. 1897 saw the introduction of the first steel ferry which was used to transport rail cars from the railhead in Ludington to the western side of Lake Michigan.

Population peaked in the 1950 and in the 1910s and �20s Ludington was home to the Ludington Mariners, a minor league baseball team.

Named after the University of Wisconsin�s mascot, the SS Badger was launched in September of 1952 and entered service the following year for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. At the time car ferries plied the Great Lakes transporting rail cars from one shore to the other. She would be the last of her kind.
Over time, rail traffic declined and the great car ferries were gradually withdrawn from service and in November of 1990, the last of the car ferries, the Badger was laid up, ending 98 years of ferry service on the Great Lakes and 93 years out of Ludington.
The Badger was purchased by Charles F. Conrad of Holland Michigan who remembered the ferries from his younger days. The ship underwent a major overhaul being converted from a railcar ferry to an automobile ferry and returned to service in May of 1992. She now makes the run between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin serving as the connection for US10 between the two ports. A trip takes about 4 hours to cover the 60 miles which is about half of what it would take to make the drive.
She is the last coal fired passenger ship on the Great Lakes and has been subject to intense scrutiny from the EPA which threatened to end service. The owner of the Badger, Lake Michigan Carferry Service, has undertaken millions of dollars of refits and modifications to enable her to continue service.
In her current configuration, she can carry 620 passengers and 180 cars. Her size also allows her to transport busses, semis, RVs and she has been used to carry parts for windmills used for power generation.
Photographers comment: I have taken the Badger several times and cannot recommend it enough. To step aboard is to be transported to a time when life moved at a slower pace. She isn�t a new ship, but she has history. If you ever get a chance to take a ride, do it. You won�t soon forget it.

Here the Badger leaves the port of Ludington preceded by a boat shooting water into the air on her annual 4th of July fireworks cruise.

Uploaded

August 4th, 2014

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