by Mr Link » May 15, 2021, 3:44 pm
Passenger accommodations, the ability of the City of Midland, Spartan and Badger to carry autos on their upper deck, and the clearances on the car deck all affected how the vessels were assigned as well.
For instance the May 1962 edition of "Railway Line Clearances" (the only edition I can access) shows Ferries #21 and #22 assigned to Kewaunee, since they could only handle cars 10' 9" wide by 15' 9" tall, while ferries 31, 32, 41,42 and 43 were on the Milwaukee and Manitowoc runs since they could handle 11 foot wide by 16'6" tall cars. (This was before the upper decks on the Badger were raised to increase clearances). There was a footnote that said that bigger cars could be handled with advance notice, and possible delay. This probably meant placing them in specific locations on deck near the stern that had more clearance or assigning a bigger boat the the Kewaunee run.
For comparison, the Grand Trunk Western's Madison was listed as being able to handle 11'6" wide cars 19 feet tall, since it had already been modified in 1961.
The poor Chief Wawatam was listed with minimum clearances for a 11'2" wide by 14'7" tall car, but with further width restrictions below 3 feet and above 12 feet. In fact it could only be 5 feet wide at full height. It did have locations on the bow that could handle two 15'4" tall cars per trip.
Passenger accommodations, the ability of the City of Midland, Spartan and Badger to carry autos on their upper deck, and the clearances on the car deck all affected how the vessels were assigned as well.
For instance the May 1962 edition of "Railway Line Clearances" (the only edition I can access) shows Ferries #21 and #22 assigned to Kewaunee, since they could only handle cars 10' 9" wide by 15' 9" tall, while ferries 31, 32, 41,42 and 43 were on the Milwaukee and Manitowoc runs since they could handle 11 foot wide by 16'6" tall cars. (This was before the upper decks on the Badger were raised to increase clearances). There was a footnote that said that bigger cars could be handled with advance notice, and possible delay. This probably meant placing them in specific locations on deck near the stern that had more clearance or assigning a bigger boat the the Kewaunee run.
For comparison, the Grand Trunk Western's Madison was listed as being able to handle 11'6" wide cars 19 feet tall, since it had already been modified in 1961.
The poor Chief Wawatam was listed with minimum clearances for a 11'2" wide by 14'7" tall car, but with further width restrictions below 3 feet and above 12 feet. In fact it could only be 5 feet wide at full height. It did have locations on the bow that could handle two 15'4" tall cars per trip.