SS Milwaukee

The SS "Milwaukee" was a train ferry that served on Lake Michigan. It was launched in 1902 and sank with all hands off Milwaukee on October 22, 1929. 52 men were lost with the vessel.

On the Manistique run: 1902-08

The "Milwaukee", when launched in 1902, was named the "Manistique, Marquette & Northern No. 1", for service on to the port of Manistique in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The vessel had a four-track deck and could carry up to 30 railroad cars. However, it was not built with adequate hatch covers to keep water on the track deck from penetrating the rest of the vessel should the vessel fall into a wave trough during a severe storm.

In January 1908, while traversing through heavy ice on Lake Michigan near Manistique, several hull plates were broken in. The ferry barely made it to a Manistique lumber company dock, where it sank without casualties. It was quickly salvaged and returned to service. Later in 1908, the vessel was purchased by the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company and was renamed the "Milwaukee".

On the Milwaukee run: 1908-29

The "Milwaukee" shuttled railroad cars back and forth from Milwaukee to the Grand Trunk Railway's dock in Grand Haven in western Michigan. This route enabled shippers to avoid the crowded railroad yards and sidings of Chicago. The "Milwaukee" was home-ported in the city for which it was named. The docks of the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company were located on the Kinnickinnic River, and their ferries were familiar sights to residents of Jones Island.

October, 1929

Shortly before 3:00 pm on October 22, 1929, the "Milwaukee" sailed off on Lake Michigan into a storm bound for Grand Haven, and was lost. The "Milwaukee" was last seen passing by U.S. Lightship 95 (LV-95/WAL-519), a ship anchored three miles offshore, serving as a lighthouse. The "Milwaukee" was reported to be pitching and rolling heavily as it disappeared into the rainy mist. The ship did not have radio equipment. It was considered routine for the "Milwaukee" to challenge the storm. The theory is that its cargo of 25-27 railroad cars came loose in the 37-mph (59 km/h) gale and crashed through the sea gate, allowing water to come in over the stern and sink her. The captain, Robert H. McKay, apparently turned back for Milwaukee, but never made it.

On October 24, aircraft searched Lake Michigan, but found nothing.

Some of the lifeboats were launched by the crew, and the bodies of two crew members wearing SS "Milwaukee" lifejackets were picked up two days later by the steamer, SS "Steel Chemist", off Kenosha, Wisconsin. A lifeboat containing four dead crew members was found floating near Holland, Michigan, on the other side of the lake.

On October 27, an empty lifeboat was found floating near Grand Haven, Michigan. On further investigation, it was found that the ship's message case was floating nearby with an apparent final message: "Oct. 22, 1929. 8:30 pm. The ship is making water fast. We have turned around and headed for Milwaukee. Pumps are working, but sea gate is bent in and can't keep the water out. Flicker is flooded. Seas are tremendous. Things look bad. Crew roll is about the same as last payday. A.R. Sadon, Purser."cite journal| year=2007| month=Mar/Apr| title=Message in a Bottle| journal=Michigan History| volume=91| issue=2| pages=40–47 ]

All 52 people on board were lost, but only 21 bodies were recovered. As the years passed, interest in the circumstances around the loss of the ship was occasionally rekindled. For example, the story was retold by marine historian Dwight Boyer in his "Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes" in 1968.cite book
year = 1968
author = Dwight Boyer
title = Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes
publisher = Dodd, Mead & Company
location = New York City, N.Y.
id = LOC #68-23094 ]

"City of Milwaukee"

As a result of the loss of the SS "Milwaukee", the Grand Trunk needed a new train ferry. The replacement was the SS "City of Milwaukee", launched November 25, 1930. The replacement vessel is now a museum ship and National Historic Landmark. Its website can be found at http://www.carferry.com/ The City of Milwaukee is the last traditional steamer-type railroad ferry and is worth a visit to get an idea of what sailing aboard the SS Milwaukee was like.

The train ferry rediscovered: 1972 to present

In April, 1972, the wreck was located in Lake Michigan, seven miles northeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, three miles offshore (on a line between Milwaukee and Grand Haven), at coord|43|08|11|N|87|49|55|W| [http://midwestscubadiving.com/Blog/2007/2/24/Milwaukee-Area-Wrecks/] Website viewed 19 August 2008.] , in 90 to 120 ffw.

In March 2006, the television program Deep Sea Detectives on the History Channel premiered an episode entitled "Train Wreck of Lake Michigan" which profiled the loss of the Milwaukee through historical documents, interviews with historians and dives on the wreck itself. The show highlighted the fact that there were missing hatch covers between the track deck and compartments below, including the engine room and the crew quarters (Flicker), that probably allowed those areas to become flooded and thus was a contributing factor to the sinking of the ship.

tatistics

*Built: Cleveland, Ohio; launched late December 6, 1902
*Length: 338 feet
*Beam: 56 feet

External links

* [http://www.carferry.com/history.htm S.S. Milwaukee history]

References