S.S. Badger's Blog

Lake Michigan Carferry File Photo of SS Badger’s starboard propeller in dry dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 2021. For Immediate Release March 11, 2025 LUDINGTON, Michigan — The SS Badger cross lake ferry will be placed into dry dock this spring for repairs in  preparation of the upcoming sailing…

The SS Badger was built in 1953. Until 1990, its primary cargo was railcars (thus the name carferry). Since 1992 the Badger’s primary purpose has been to transport passengers, automobiles and commercial vehicles between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This photo shows the railcars being loaded onto the Badger at No. 2 Slip in Ludington…

My wife Sandra and I had planned a cruise after she retired. Then she was diagnosed with cancer. Our travel plans were on hold. Our planned cruise didn’t happen because of the need to stay close to medical care. Since I promised my wife a cruise, I started looking for a suitable substitute. My search…

LUDINGTON, Michigan — SS Badger cross lake ferry Wheelsman Joe DeBusk recently received the Interlake Maritime Services Customer First Award, presented during the company’s annual winter meeting in Savannah, Ga. Interlake Maritime Services, which operates the largest shipping fleet on the Great Lakes, acquired Lake Michigan Carferry (LMC) in 2020. DeBusk, who lives in Reed…

The SS Badger was launched on September 6, 1952 at the docks of Christy Corporation in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. In the background is her sister ship, the SS Spartan, which had been launched on Jan. 4, 1952 with little fanfare. Since the two ships were identical, executives at the C&O Railroad wanted to hold a…

Some of my most treasured childhood memories center around my family’s summer pilgrimages from Manitowoc to Ludington aboard the S.S. Badger. Excitement would build for the adventure ahead as we watched our car roll onto the deck.  I’ll never forget my dad’s cheerful ritual of knocking on our state room door, calling out “Ludington, Ludington!”…

On March 16, 1953, a week before the SS Badger’s maiden voyage, its crew posed for a photograph on its bow. Seated centered, in front, is Capt. Bernard Robertson, the Badger’s first captain. Other officers included John Turner, first mate; J.E. Halden, second mate; Willis Cross, Jr., third mate; Sylvester Larsen, chief engineer; Raymond Hall,…

Badger Tales “I have been riding the Badger since the early 90s. As a kid my family would take short vacations to visit various museums along the Wisconsin and Michigan sides of the Lake and the ride on the Badger was always a huge highlight of those trips. “My most recent trip was In 2022…

By Rob Alway In the mid-1890s, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway began negotiating with the Wisconsin Central Railroad to construct a branch from its main line at Neenah-Menasha, Wisconsin to Manitowoc, where its rails would connect with tan F&PM ferry. The goal was to transport railcars across Lake Michigan on car ferries. The railroad…

  Photo: Pere Marquette carferries 15, 17, 18, and 19 in Ludington, 1913 By Rob Alway The tradition of numbering the Ludington ferries began in 1883 when the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway debuted its first two break-bulk freighters, F&PM Nos. 1 and 2. Its first car ferry, the Pere Marquette, which began service in…

By Rob Alway William Lincoln Mercereau served as the superintendent of the Pere Marquette Railway carferries for 31 years. He was born on June 9, 1866 in Union, New York, the son of Seymour and Mary Mercereau. According to his obituary, published on June 24, 1957 in the Ludington Daily News, he spent some of…

By Rob Alway The year 2025 marks 150 years of cross-lake service from Ludington, Michigan to Wisconsin. In 1875, the first steamships to transport goods across Lake Michigan were known as break-bulk freighters. Railcars at that time did not travel across the lake, so the contents of the cars were removed, loaded onto the break-bulk…