The S.S. City of Midland 41 was a railroad car ferry  serving the ports of Ludington, Michigan

Ludington, Michigan

Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason County.Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River...

, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, Manitowoc

Manitowoc

Manitowoc may refer to:* Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, a county in Wisconsin* Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the city in Wisconsin, county seat of Manitowoc County* The Manitowoc Company, heavy equipment manufacturers* Manitowoc River...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, and Kewaunee, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 for the Pere Marquette Railway

Pere Marquette Railway

The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Buffalo; Toledo; and Chicago.The company was...

 and it's successor, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...

 from 1941 until 1988. The ferry was named after the city of Midland

Midland, Michigan

Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....

.

Railroad car ferry

The vessel was built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company

The Manitowoc Company

Manitowoc Company Inc is a global company specializing in products for the food service and construction industries. Manitowoc recently completed the divestiture of their marine division in January 2009.-History:...

 in 1940 at a cost of $1.75 million. One of the last coal-burning car ferries on Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

, she entered service for the Pere Marquette Railway company in March 1941 as the largest Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

 ferry ever built. Powered by two Skinner Unaflow steam engine

Uniflow steam engine

The uniflow type of steam engine uses steam that flows in one direction only in each half of the cylinder. Thermal efficiency is increased in the compound and multiple expansion types of steam engine by separating expansion into steps in separate cylinders; in the uniflow design, thermal efficiency...

s, the City of Midland 41 was capable of speeds up to 20 miles per hour (16.4 kn) with a cruising speed of 17.6 miles per hour (14.5 kn).

The City of Midland 41 was unique for car ferries in that she also contained many amenities for the automobile and passenger traffic that crossed the lake in the warmer summer months. She had an extra passenger deck compared to the other ferries of her time, and frequently would run the Ludington-Manitowoc

Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Manitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...

 route during the busy summer months, serving as a moving connector of U.S. Highway 10

U.S. Route 10

U.S. Route 10 is an east–west United States highway formed in 1926. Though it never became the cross-country highway suggested by the "0" as the last digit of its route number, U.S...

. Because of her exemplary amenities as well as her size and aesthetic silhouette she was nicknamed the "Queen of the Lakes".

In addition to transporting railroad cars through the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 years, the City of Midland 41 also served as a training vessel for United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 and United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 enlisted sailors, since the vessel's Unaflow engines were similar to those used aboard the .

In 1947 the Pere Marquette Railway was acquired and its assets, including the City of Midland 41, merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...

 (C&O). During the late 1940s through the 1960s the City of Midland 41 experienced the prime years of her career. In 1952 and 1953, the carferries and were upgraded, and two new carferries, and , entered service. They were the last two railroad car ferries built on the Great Lakes.

Barge conversion

By the mid-1970s, the C&O was seeking to abandon its car ferry routes. Many of the older ferries, including the Pere Marquette 21 & 22, were retired and sold for scrap, leaving only the Spartan, Badger, and City of Midland 41 as the last three ferries operating. In 1979 the Spartan was laid up in Ludington, leaving only two ferries still in operation.

In 1983, the C&O completed the abandonment of its car ferry routes and the three vessels were purchased by Glen Bowden and George Towns, who formed the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company (M-WT). This venture, while keeping the ferries running, was doomed to fail almost from the start. Increased labor costs, combined with improved rail and highway routes through Chicago rendered the ferries obsolete. In 1987, USCG inspections showed that the boiler mounts on the City of Midland 41 had deteriorated and needed replacement, however these repairs were waived for a year.

Rather than losing the only ferry in service (the Badger had been laid-up in 1984), M-WT opted to refurbish the Badger and in 1988, the City of Midland 41 made her last voyage in November of that year. She was laid-up in Ludington's No. 2 slip. She sat rusting in the harbor for nine years before her fate was decided.

After a 47 year career in which she carried approximately 1 million railroad cars and sailed 3.5 million miles, it was determined that the City of Midland 41 would be converted to a barge. She was towed out of Ludington harbor on 1 October 1997 and had her superstructure reduced on 7 November.

The City of Midland 41 can be seen today as the deck barge Pere Marquette 41, that makes its home port in Ludington, Michigan.