• HAUNTED HOUSE DIRECTORY
  • Michigan
    • address
    111 Arthur Street ( US-31 North)
    Manistee, MI
    49660
    United States
    tickets
    Adults - $6.00, Children (ages 6-17 ) & Seniors (ages 60 and up) - $4.00
    Phone:
    (231) 723-358
    Website:
    http://www.carferry.com

      About:

      Every autumn, the S.S. City of Milwaukee transforms from a National Historic Landmark vessel to a frightening Ghost Ship. A twenty-five minute tour lures visitors through a haunted maze of catwalks and pipes in the engine room, and narrow passageways and spooky cabins in the upper decks. Don't spoil your appetite before coming aboard leave that to our ship's cook, who prepares special dishes nightly. A visit with the captain rounds out the tour. A reckless twinkle in his eye portends the worst fate for the ship and everyone onboard.

      History:

      The Great lakes railroad car ferries are a unique and innovative style of vessel that impacted the way maritime commerce evolved on a global scale. The first vessel to attempt to transport a train over the open and unprotected waters of the Great Lakes was the S.S. Ann Arbor #1. Thought to be a folly at the time of its 1892 maiden voyage, the S.S. Ann Arbor # 1 quickly proved to be a practical innovation. The ship ushered in the concept of "roll on - roll off " loading, new ice breaking and ship/railroad design technology. Soon this new type of vessel proliferated on the Great Lakes and its technology replicated throughout the world. The S.S. City of Milwaukee is the last remaining traditional Great Lakes passenger/railroad car ferry. Beginning in 1923, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company designed and built six sister ships which are considered to represent the "aesthetic pinnacle of car ferry design." The first two ships were built for the Pere Marquette Railroad, the third for the Ann Arbor Railroad and the final three for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. The last of these sisters, the S.S. City of Milwaukee was launched on November 25, 1930. It was built to replace the S.S. Milwaukee, which foundered during a severe storm in 1929. This vessel measures 360 feet in length with a 56-foot beam and 19-foot draft. It is powered by four scotch fire tube boilers developing 185 working psi. The triple expansion engines are 1,400 horsepower each. This power combined with the two 12-foot diameter iron propellers can drive the ship 14 mph or break through three feet of solid ice. The freight deck can accommodate an entire freight train (32 boxcars on four tracks), and 300 passengers on the cabin deck. The vessel sailed under the Grand Trunk Western Railroad the majority of its career, but was leased and operated by other railroads around Lake Michigan over the decades. It was purchased by the State of Michigan to operate as an Ann Arbor Railroad vessel in 1979. The ship was retired in operable condition in 1981 when the State of Michigan shut down its cross-lake ferry system.



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