SS BADGER with CLOSE CALL at LUDINGTON

The iconic, ex. C&O railroad car ferry SS Badger comes into Ludington a few minutes behind schedule on a beautiful summer day, nearly taking out a foolish aluminim fishing boat in the process. They got very close for comfort, close enough that the Badger sounded off its horns twice to alert them to move.

The Badger is the last coal fired steam powered boat on the Great Lakes and the last large coal fired vessel in the United States, and is also the last operating railroad car ferry of its type in the United States. The 410 foot steel hulled ferry is equipped with two rare four-cylinder compound Skinner Unaflow steam engines, totaling 7,000 hp powered by four Foster-Wheeler water-tube type D boilers. This also makes the Badger the last steam powered vessel powered by Skinner Unaflow steam engines.

The Badger was Added to National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 2009, Designated National Historic Landmark on January 20, 2016 and
Designated a Michigan State Historic Site on March 6, 1997. The vessel was also added as an offical piece of US highway 10 in 2015, officially bridging the gap between the two disconnected segments of highway.

This vessel is a true treasure and is a marvel to watch in operation, including the old school way of turning the boat to dock at the ferry dock using the port side anchor, as the vessel is not equipped with a bow thruster.