Trip on the Badger across Lake Michigan.

[TLS Guy]

My brother James flew back to the UK last night after a visit for a week.

We went to Milwaukee last Sunday, on Monday we had a leisurely drive up to Manitowoc stopping at interesting harbors on the way up.

The Badger is the world's last stem ship carrying out daily functions and transport. She was made a National Historical Monument in 2016, after the woke lunnies wanted her scrapped, as she is a coal burner. I contributed to the campaign to save her. Anyhow the granting of that status shut those woke lunnies up, and hopefully for good. No harm in a little black smoke between friends.

She is a sternloader, with the door operated from a steam winch with a pulley system.

Leaving Manitowoc harbor.

After a 60 mile plus crossing we approach Ludington Michigan.

It looks a bit like approaching the "White Cliffs" of Dover. However these cliffs are apparently sand and not chalk.

We had a Coast Guard escort coming into Ludington. They had to chase this boat out of the way. Steam ships glide through the water silently, as this vessel was unaware the Badger was bearing down on them.

The badger is powered by two 3,500 HP three cylinder triple expansion steam engines.

Coming into the harbor the seamanship was superb. The ship has to back into the dock. So the skipper dropped the forward anchor and turned the badger on her length with one engine forward and the other reversed. There are no bow thrusters on this vessel. Then the ship reversed into the loading dock and the vessel never scraped either side, or even bumped the dock. There was phenomenal seamanship on display.

We disembarked and travelled up the Michigan East Coast to Manistee for the night. The next morning we travelled up to Port St. Ignace and took the ferry and hand luggage to Mackinac Island we there are only horse drawn carriages and bicycles. We arrive back home on Wednesday night and my brother flew out of MSP past evening.

 

[GO-NAD!]

That's a fine looking ship. Sailing in fresh water would certainly slow down the rate of corrosion.

 

[TLS Guy]

That's a fine looking ship. Sailing in fresh water would certainly slow down the rate of corrosion.

Steam ships always were fine looking ships and SO Silent!

I had not been on a steam ship for 65 years.

I used to do fairly regular trips on the paddle steamer Medway Queen, that was based just below our house. It did runs down the Medway and to the South Coast Seaside towns on the Thames Estuary as far up as Clacton. We used to go over to Southend.

PS Medway Queen coming into Strood pier, you can see Rochester Cathedral on the opposite side of the river Medway.

One of the nice features pf paddle steamers was that the engine room was open and you could see the twin pistons turning the crankshaft, and the paddles were direct drive. Generally they were two cylinder like the MQ.

The other steam vessels were the car and passenger ferries that crossed the Thames from Gravesend in Kent to Tilbury in Essex. There was generally a long queue, so we got up early to get the first one about 5:00 AM.

This service ended with the opening of the Dartford Purfleet tunnel in 1963. The Medway Queen ended regular service in 1963 also.

The Medway Queen still survives and is under restoration and hopefully one day will return to steam.

The only other steam ship I travelled in is the Falaise, built in 1947 and was steam turbine. This was a car ferry that went from Southampton to St. Malo in Brittany. It was overnight service and we had sleeping rooms. We did the trip when I was 13 in 1960.

We left Southampton water in the evening as the sun was starting to set and had a wonderful view of the Needles on the western edge of the Isle of Wight, as we steamed down Solent Water.

So that is my experience with steamships.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Steam ships always were fine looking ships and SO Silent!

I had not been on a steam ship for 65 years.

I used to do fairly regular trips on the paddle steamer Medway Queen, that was based just below our house. It did runs down the Medway and to the South Coast Seaside towns on the Thames Estuary as far up as Clacton. We used to go over to Southend.

PS Medway Queen coming into Strood pier, you can see Rochester Cathedral on the opposite side of the river Medway.

One of the nice features pf paddle steamers was that the engine room was open and you could see the twin pistons turning the crankshaft, and the paddles were direct drive. Generally they were two cylinder like the MQ.

The other steam vessels were the car and passenger ferries that crossed the Thames from Gravesend in Kent to Tilbury in Essex. There was generally a long queue, so we got up early to get the first one about 5:00 AM.

This service ended with the opening of the Dartford Purfleet tunnel in 1963. The Medway Queen ended regular service in 1963 also.

The Medway Queen still survives and is under restoration and hopefully one day will return to steam.

The only other steam ship I travelled in is the Falaise, built in 1947 and was steam turbine. This was a car ferry that went from Southampton to St. Malo in Brittany. It was overnight service and we had sleeping rooms. We did the trip when I was 13 in 1960.

We left Southampton water in the evening as the sun was starting to set and had a wonderful view of the Needles on the western edge of the Isle of Wight, as we steamed down Solent Water.

So that is my experience with steamships.

My only direct experience with a steam ship was the first one I sailed in after joining the RCN. That was HMCS Protecteur.

She had two propulsion steam turbines - a large one for going ahead and a smaller one for going astern. And, two turbo-alternators (steam powered generators). As a "stoker", I served watches in the engine room and boiler room. Those spaces were most definitely NOT quiet. I served a couple of years in her before transferring to the submarine service.

 

[Alex2507]

As a "stoker", I served watches in the engine room and boiler room.

lol ... of course you did

 

[GO-NAD!]

lol ... of course you did

Ummm...I don't get it.