HISTORY
SS Badger is a passenger and
vehicle ferry in the United States that has been in service on Lake
Michigan since 1953. Currently, the ship shuttles between Ludington,
Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, connecting U.S. Highway 10 (US 10)
between those two cities. It is the last coal-fired passenger vessel
operating on the Great Lakes, and was designated a National Historic
Landmark on January 20, 2016.
The ship is named after the University of Wisconsin's athletic teams,
the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badger runs on Michigan time (Eastern Time
Zone, whereas Wisconsin is in the Central Time Zone) and riders pay
Michigan taxes on their fares. It runs on a seasonal basis from May to
October.
History
The Badger was constructed as a rail car ferry in 1952 by the Christy
Corporation of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, along with its twin SS Spartan
(named after the mascot of Michigan State University) with a reinforced
hull for ice-breaking. It was originally used to carry railroad cars,
passengers and automobiles between the two sides of the lake all year
long. Today, the ferry connects the eastern and western segments of US
10 in the two cities from May to October.
Launched September 6, 1952, SS Badger entered service March 21, 1953,
for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (from 1973 a subsidiary of the
Chessie System). The C&O had acquired the rail car ferry operations in
Ludington with its acquisition of the Pere Marquette Railway in 1947.
After 1972, service was gradually curtailed; all but the three newest
vessels were retired, and sailings to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and
Manitowoc, Wisconsin, were discontinued, leaving only the route between
Ludington and Kewaunee, Wisconsin. On July 1, 1983, the Chessie System
ended its car ferry service when it sold the steamers Badger, Spartan,
and City of Midland 41 to Glen F. Bowden of Ludington. He organized the
Michigan–Wisconsin Transportation Company (MWT) to continue the
operation.
The railroad car ferry concept on Lake Michigan was facing serious
economic troubles during the 1980s and by November 1988, the Badger was
the only vessel running. It was the last of the 14 ferries based in
Ludington remaining in service. On November 16, 1990, facing bankruptcy,
Bowden laid up the Badger, ending 93 years of railway car ferry service
out of Ludington and 98 years on Lake Michigan as a whole.
Lake Michigan Carferry Service
After sitting idle for a year, the three ferries were purchased by
entrepreneur, philanthropist and Ludington-native Charles F. Conrad of
Holland, Michigan. He undertook a major overhaul and refit of the Badger
exclusively for carrying passengers and automobiles. The only operating
ferry of its kind in the world, the ship is an icon of car ferry
heritage on the Great Lakes. Conrad retired as president of Lake
Michigan Carferry Service in 1993. He died on February 9, 1995. Since
1993 the company has been headed by his son-in-law, Robert Manglitz.
The Badger is the last large coal-burning steamship in the United States
and is the last vessel in service on the Great Lakes to be powered by
Skinner Unaflow engines (manufactured by the Skinner Company of Erie,
Pennsylvania).
On average, the Badger completes a trip across Lake Michigan in about
four hours, covering 60 miles (97 km). SS Badger rarely misses a sailing
due to weather.
SS Badger is also unusual in that it is a registered historical site in
two states. The Michigan Historical Commission and the Wisconsin
Historical commission each named the Badger as a registered historical
site in 1997. In 1996 the Badger's propulsion system was designated a
mechanical engineering landmark by the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers. In 2002 the Badger was named Ship of the Year by the
Steamship Historical Society of America. The ship was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 2009. On January
20, 2016, the National Park Service designated the ship a National
Historic Landmark.
On August 9, 2008, the Badger suffered a stern bearing failure, causing
the company to cancel the ferry's sailings for nearly a week. It was the
first time the ship had ever experienced a stern bearing failure. On
August 10, the ferry sailed under its own power to the Bay Shipbuilding
yard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for repairs. As there was no opening at
the time for the work to be done in the dry dock, a team of divers was
flown in from California to assist in the repairs. Regular sailings
resumed August 15, 2008. It was the first time since 1993 (when it
struck a rock at Ludington) that the Badger was laid up for unscheduled
repairs and the first time since 2005 that the company canceled a
sailing because of mechanical failure.
The Badger's large deck space allows it to transport tractor trailers
and larger commercial loads. In 2012, it carried more than 1,000
commercial loads. The ship carries wind turbine components from
Wisconsin, some 150 feet (46 m) long and 150,000 pounds (68,000 kg). The
Badger's fall season was extended two weeks into early November to carry
additional wind turbine loads. In 2015, the ferry was officially
designated as part of US 10, thus linking together the two disconnected
segments of the highway.
Environmental impact
SS Badger came under fire from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and environmental groups in late 2008 because of its daily practice of
dumping untreated coal ash from its boilers directly into the waters of
Lake Michigan. Burning 55 short tons (50 t) of coal a day produces 4
short tons (3.6 t) of ash. Coal ash is a byproduct of the Badger's
propulsion system.
The Badger had earlier been the subject of EPA Clean Air action but was
granted an exemption under the law due to its historical significance as
a coal-fired, steam-powered vessel. Company officials compared coal ash
to "harmless sand" and planned to keep the Badger in its original
coal-burning configuration. In an effort to continue to minimize the
environmental impact to the lake, the Lake Michigan Carferry had
explored a number of alternatives including storing the ash on board and
unloading upon arrival in Ludington. Another option once considered was
the use of compressed natural gas, which would allow the historical
boiler system to be maintained and make SS Badger the first "green" ship
on the Great Lakes.
Lake Michigan Carferry signed a consent decree with the United States
Department of Justice and the EPA in March 2013 to end ash discharge
within two years, utilizing a new ash retention system. The revised
consent decree was filed in September 2013. In January 2015 work began
on a conveyor system that will store ash in four containment bins on
board. A new combustion control system will allow the ship to be more
efficient by burning less coal and generating less ash. The Badger was
retrofitted so that it will no longer discharge ash into the lake, and
has been certified to return to service. The ash will now be off-loaded
and used to make cement.
In November 2015 Badger was sent to Wisconsin for periodic maintenance,
including a hull inspection and a bottom and propeller cleaning.
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