The C&O slip in the west side of the river had been out of service for over 10 years according th Hilton's Great Lakes Car Ferries.
To handle increased auto traffic the C & O built an auto ramp at slip 3 at Ludington in early summer 1960 and another at Jones Island completed that fall to load cars on the spar decks of the
Badger and
Spartan. This had been done at slip 2 at Ludington and at the Manitowoc C&NW slip in 1955 to service the
City of Midland 41. The Maple Street slip was abandoned in 1960.
It was very difficult to enter or leave the slip, especially if a boat was unloading at the Milwaukee Solvay Coke & Gas Company dock just north of the slip. It's been awhile, but as I recall in arriving a line was dropped at the end of the slip's south pilings and the vessel pivoted astern into the apron. Leaving the biggest challenge was straightening up to pass the C&NW swing bridge (built in 1898 and still with us). The bridge caused delays because the tracks served the railroad's mainline out of its Milwaukee depot, so the C & O was more than willing to consolidate at Jones Island.
Here is an Erhardt Peters photographic that graphically shows the congestion at that point in the Kinnickinnic River, taken from the
Pere Marquette 21 in the 1930s as it approached Maple Street. Milwaukee Solvay is to the right, and the GT slip to the left. The congestion there wasn't any better in the late 1950s as I recall.
[quote]The C&O slip in the west side of the river had been out of service for over 10 years according th Hilton's Great Lakes Car Ferries.[/quote]
To handle increased auto traffic the C & O built an auto ramp at slip 3 at Ludington in early summer 1960 and another at Jones Island completed that fall to load cars on the spar decks of the [i]Badger[/i] and [i]Spartan[/i]. This had been done at slip 2 at Ludington and at the Manitowoc C&NW slip in 1955 to service the [i]City of Midland 41[/i]. The Maple Street slip was abandoned in 1960.
It was very difficult to enter or leave the slip, especially if a boat was unloading at the Milwaukee Solvay Coke & Gas Company dock just north of the slip. It's been awhile, but as I recall in arriving a line was dropped at the end of the slip's south pilings and the vessel pivoted astern into the apron. Leaving the biggest challenge was straightening up to pass the C&NW swing bridge (built in 1898 and still with us). The bridge caused delays because the tracks served the railroad's mainline out of its Milwaukee depot, so the C & O was more than willing to consolidate at Jones Island.
Here is an Erhardt Peters photographic that graphically shows the congestion at that point in the Kinnickinnic River, taken from the [i]Pere Marquette 21[/i] in the 1930s as it approached Maple Street. Milwaukee Solvay is to the right, and the GT slip to the left. The congestion there wasn't any better in the late 1950s as I recall.