Detroit, MI: Ferries

Riverfront Railroad Yards has more photos with ferry docks.

A history of Detroit ferries: "At one time 15 railroad ferries crossed the lake Michigan."

Detroit - Area Railroad History posted
1906 Detroit waterfront. Note the whaleback freighter.
Thomas Rubarth They look very similar, but are too small to be the Boblo Boats. I think the smaller one might be the ferry to Bell Isle, but am not sure. These were pre-bridge (1929) and tunnel (1930) days, so there was a lot of Detroit/Windsor passenger ferry traffic.

A closeup of the boxcars on the Grand Trunk ferry.

Closeup of above photo

Note that the smoke has not been added by a postcard illustrator to make the city look prosperous. This is a photo. Trains and boats were steam driven and homes and business were heated with coal. This illustrates why Chicago published a 1915 Smoke Abatement Report with a plan to electrify the railroads because smoke pollution was so serious that the politicians understand that something needed to be done about the pollution.

 

Betty Reeves posted
I can remember as a kid in the late 40’s and very early 50’s crossing the Detroit River  at Windsor on a ferry while on the train we were headed for Rochester Michigan now called Rochester Hills after walking to a bus uptown. My father had a CNR family pass to anywhere in Canada and parts of .the U.S.

Jerry Klopfer: Many of the CNR passenger trains to Windsor actually terminated in Detroit after ferrying across the river. A look at early to mid 1950s timetables show trains that had Detroit and Chicago sections, dividing and combining at London. On your trip, you walked uptown and probably caught a DSR (city bus line) out to their turn around terminal at the fairgrounds. There you might have caught a Martin Lines bus which served Rochester directly. An alternative was to ride one of the GTW trains to Pontiac and catch a Bee Line bus to Rochester. Another alternative would be to connect with the GTW mixed train from Pontiac to Richmond which served Rochester directly. I don't know when, perhaps when CNR began terminating their passenger trains in Walkerville, the railroad began operating a connecting bus between Detroit and the new Walkervillle depot. It also made a circuit of the downtown Detroit hotels. Rochester is still a separate city within the City of Rochester Hills which used to be Avon Township. There were several attempts when I was growing up in the township for Rochester to annex the township. Instead, the township became its own city but did not merger with the original City of Rochester.

Gary Rotar posted
One of many...

A different exposure.

The Way We Were Photos posted
The Lansdowne Grand Trunk rail ferry crossing the Detroit River in winter. 1905. The Lansdowne was launched in 1884 for the Grand Trunk Railway as a rail ferry shuttling rail cars between Detroit and Windsor.
History's Mirror posted
[The description sounds like it was AI generated.]

Gary Hadden: The Lansdowne I believe. She had 2 single cylinder steam engines, one on each side. Thay could be coupled together to run straight or decoupled to run in opposition to turn around itself.

William Worden: Gary Hadden They could not be coupled together. The shaft would have run across the tracks.

Gary Hadden: William Worden I think you are right about that, sorry.

Because of this photo, I added the label "rrPM" to these notes. 

Terry McCullough posted
Pere Marquette 10 in the St Clair River. Summer of 1973. Terry McCullough photo

Brian Bernard: The Richelieu in the background.

Simon Hutchinson: I found some pictures of this ferry both laid-up and being towed 2009, but I can't find what's happened to it since. I did see something about it being owned by the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad. Would you happen to know if this ferry still exists, or has it been scrapped?

 

Steve Horton commented on Simon's comment
Google aerial photo of it being scrapped at Dean Construction in LaSalle, Ont. in 2015

As mentioned, there was a lot of ferry traffic before the railroad tunnels and vehicle bridges were built.

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted
The waterfront of Detroit, Mich. circa 1936 (Image Source: Wayne State University Libraries – Digital Collections – Virtual Motor City Collection). The steamer, second from the left, appears to be the Greater Detroit.
The ship on the right may be the City of Detroit III. The image is part of an aerial photograph showing multiple steamers and ferries on the Detroit River waterfront taken by the Detroit News that is now part of the collection of the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University 
[The description continues with a history for each of those ships.]

Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted
Canadian National Railway's car ferry Huron, seen crossing the Detroit River to Windsor in July 1969. The 1875-built steamship was in its 95th year of operation when the photo was taken. Currently (2023) the vessel is at the bottom of a slip in the City of River Rouge, where it sank several decades ago after conversion to a barge. Emory Massman Jr. photo/MHSD collection.
Jay Bascom: It was fascinating to listen to her when she was running because she was a non-condenser and the exhausting steam made a great puffing sound. I made one crossing over and back on her when she still was in steam.

Kevin Keeton posted
Transfer steamer on the Detroit River 1905.
John Gibson Burning old rubber tires for fuel, by the look of it.

Peter Dudley shared
A June 1969 photograph shot by John R. Lee shows one of the three railroad car ferries Wabash Railway ran between Windsor and Detroit (WINDSOR, DETROIT, and MANITOWOC). By 1969, all three ferries were operated by Wabash-inheritor Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W).
Later, all three were converted into tug propelled barges.
I think the one pictured here is DETROIT, which was scrapped at Windsor c. June 2010 (one month shy of the Detroit River Tunnel centennial).
DETROIT, the last of Michigan Central Railroad's railroad car ferries, was launched at Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) in 1904. She was laid-up after M.C.R.R.'s new tunnel was completed in July 1910, and eventually sold to Wabash.
Jim McCarthy The Roanoke would be the fourth.

 

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted
The waterfront of Detroit, Mich., circa 1900-1910, showing the ferries Excelsior (left) and Victoria (right) crossing the Detroit River (Image Source: Library of Congress – Detroit Publishing Co. Collection – enhanced by Shorpy.com). 
[The description continues with a history of each ferry.]

Barry Beaubien posted
The rail ferry Detroit being launched in Ecorse Mi. 1904
I wonder if my grandfather helped build it?

Richard Mead commented on Stephen Phillip's posting
Peter Dudley Richard Fiedler: During DETROIT's long career, the number of stacks was reduced from four to three, and eventually to just two. It makes it harder to identify DETROIT photographs from different eras.

Peter Dudley shared
DETROIT (of Detroit), Michigan Central Railroad's last railroad car ferry, entered service on the Detroit River in 1904 (two years before construction of M.C.R.R.'s Detroit River Tunnel started). The ferry was scrapped at Windsor ON in June 2010 (one month shy of the tunnel's centennial). Some time after the tunnel was completed (July 1, 1910), the ferry was sold to Wabash Railroad.
DETROIT originally sported four stacks -- the number was gradually reduced, during subsequent decades.
William Worden She originally had three tracks and the pairs of funnels were between the center track and the outer tracks. She was later altered to have four tracks and the stacks were moved to be on the centerline between the two center tracks. She was not re-engined or reboilered.Katica Doyle's posting
"Transfer Steamer Detroit" on the Detroit River plowing through the ice, Michigan, circa 1905, from Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress.
Chris Edwards Library of Congress has an enormous Detroit catalogue- especially the Detroit Publishing Company works- an extraordinary Detroit success story- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Publishing_Company...
Peter Dudley When searching this collection, don't use the keyword "Detroit" (you'll get the entire collection in your search results).
Adam Hernandez Sr. I’ve been retired frm the Norfolk Southern R.R. ovr 13yrs. Just b4 I hired in, around 1971. The NS R.R. Was named the Norfolk & Western R.R. Before this, it was the Wabash R.R. Under the Wabash R.R. They operated 4 transfer steamers, The Detroit, Roanoke, Windsor & Manitowoc.

Steve Vanden Bosch posted five photos with the comment: "The DETROIT was a four stacker, Car Ferry between Windsor and Detroit. these photos are from the Library of the Congress."
Dennis DeBruler The two steam powered tractors on a Michigan Central flatcar are also interesting.

Richard Colby shared

Note the steam tractors on the flatcars. Quite a set of photographs.
Peter Dudley shared
DETROIT's original four stacks were eventually reduced to three, and later only two stacks - which were removed when the ferry was cut down to a barge.
William D G Baker 120hp nichols & shepard tractors?

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Raymond Storey posted
A MC car ferry.

History Images posted
A Michigan Central Railroad car ferry maneuvers its way into a slip along the Detroit River waterfront, ca. 1900.
Lloyd Pittonet I worked for CPRail,Derailments on the barges in the Winter were not for the faint of heart.
One wrong lift ,you're in the Drink.
Forgotten Railways, Roads & Places shared

Barry beaubien posted
A cold day in Detroit

Al Haskell

Is that the S.S.Lansdowne?

Joel Goodrich

Al Haskell

 Yes, transporting rail cars between Detroit & Windsor.

Al Haskell

Found out it’s the Michigan Central,name Is on the Wheelhouse.

Greg Mross posted
Lansdowne, Detroit River, 5/11/61. Amazing this paddle wheeler lasted as long as it did! John Ingles photo from my collection.

 

Steve Vanden Bosch updated
This photo of the Lansdowne is from the Detroit Publishing Collection Library of Congress
Dennis DeBruler

LC-D4-22154 [P&P]

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016795254/

Barry Stone

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Lansdowne

Casey Coolich: I thought the Ann Arbor #1 was the first car ferry in service on the Great Lakes. This guy looks to be in service about 10 yrs earlier and also quite a bit longer.
William Worden: River versus open lake.
Kenneth G. Reid: I started at Grand Trunk in 1969. The Landsdowne was just a barge by then. I used to write up the consist of cars going from Detroit to Windsor and board the Landsdowne to drop off the paperwork.
Chris Lewis: In the 1970s the Lansdowne was owned by Windsor-Detroit Barge Line and hauled rail cars loaded with shipping containers back and forth between Windsor and Detroit. The tug Prescotont - Captained by R.A “Sandy” Sanderson pushed her, as well as the former paddle-wheeler the “Huron”.

safe_image from Wayne Koch's share of a Shorpy link
Raymond Storey - I always return to this amazing high res. photo, circa 1900! Steam power. Note guy smoking a pipe.Laurence Ronan Raymond, she looks like a paddle wheeler, or was converted from one. However, in that ice, paddle wheeler’s were hard to perform, even with steel wheels. I do know, it was hard for an inboard engine, hampering the cars rolling on in center.
Be interesting to find her history.
Will try see see if obtainable.
Dwayne Weber Someone stated they were left derelict and sunk at their piers?

Nick Kotsidis The resolution of this is absolutely incredible, especially for 1900. I wonder how they achieved it, especially being that this was likely a motion shot.
One thing I just noticed, it appears that the box car in the center row is still outfitted for link and pin couplers. I thought they would have all been gone by 1900, especially on a major rail line. Would anyone be able to confirm whether that's the case?
In terms of the ship, the size of the paddle wheels is impressive to say the least. Thanks for sharing!
Doug Moore Actually looks like she is temporarily locked in the ice. The smoke shows a little blur from its motion. Most likely taken on an 8x10 glass plate,
Jack Franks Link and pin cars were restricted to rear end service in mixed trains and crew members were instructed to pass hand signals after passing crossings at grade and after doing up or down a grade, according to an old rule book I had. Another rule in that book was brakemen were allowed to ride on the engine as long as they were not required to be on top of the train.
David Torke The Shorpy collection has photographs that were made with a number of different cameras, not all Speed Graflex. Some were made, like this one, with a dry plate glass negative. High res refers to the relative tightness of the photograph's grain. It's not a digital standard.

pinterest

Dennis DeBruler commented on Wayne's share
Str. Detroit, Michigan Central Transfer, the launch
One of nine 1904 photos of a ferry being constructed from the LoC search:
https://www.loc.gov/search/?in=...

Photo from LoC
Car ferry, Michigan Central, entering slip, Detroit River

Photo from LoC
Car ferry turning in ice, Detroit River

LC-DIG-det-4a04915

Ken Myles commented on Raymond's post
The details here... the deckhand smoking a pipe, both men looking down at the ice, heavy smoke from factory in the background...
Dennis DeBruler And in front of the factory is a big wooden grain elevator.

Alan Stouder posted
Former Wabash/Norfolk Western boat yards, downtown Detroit,MI. Tri-level car haulers and certain box cars were too big for the railroad tunnel under the Detroit River to Windsor,Ont. So they ferried them across the river on special barges. This picture was taken in 1980.
Christopher J. Smith Third track in from the water. Is that a vinegar car?Doug Kaniuk http://vinpic.dhke.com/
Mark Hershoren shared
Brian Henson I understand that, since the railroad tunnel has been enlarged (by CP), such cars can now pass through the tunnel.

Randall MacArthur posted
John Shaw shared John De Lorenzo's post
The Detroit River circa 1905 Transfer steamer
Dennis DeBruler: Note that another ferry is in a dock in the left background.

Randall MacArthur posted

Randall MacArthur posted

Raymond Storey posted two photos with the comment: "An MC car ferry in Detroit."

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Ray Schloss shared
Detroit, MI 🇺🇸 - Windsor, ON 🇨🇦 ferries ⛴️

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Barry Beaubien posted
Ecorse Mi. 1904, My grandfather might be in this picture, he worked in the shipyards during that era.
Fred Bultman Detroit.Barry Beaubien Michigan Central transfer, Detroit to Windsor

Barry Beaubien commented on his post
The finished ship.

Gerard Joseph posted five photos with the comment: "Here's a few Detroit River Railyard & Railroad Car Ferry Operation Photos from My File Collection - sent to Me years ago from a friend who worked with the Detroit Historical Society..Detroit seen the PRR, the NYC, and the N&W run the operations through the decades."

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Steve Vanden Bosch posted
Detroit from the Library of Congress
Mike Harlan shared

Paul Erspamer commented on Steve's post
Interesting they have three sets of tracks. The cross-lake carferries for Pere Marquette/C&O, Grand Trunk and Ann Arbor RR mostly have four. Here's Pere Marquette 21.

An earlier design.

Barry Baubien posted
Smoke on the water, The Detroit river around 1905
Mike Harlan Appears to be The LandsdowneNancy Karen Sisson Back when the river used to ice up and freeze. Wish we let that happen occasionally now..

Joseph Provost posted three photos with the comment: "Construction and Launching of the Michigan Central Railroad ferry Detroit at the Great Lakes Engineering Works circa 1904, later struggling in the Detroit River ice."

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And it wasn't just railcar ferries.

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted
An image from a dry plate negative of excursion steamers and ferries on the Detroit waterfront, circa 1900-1908 (Image Source: Library of Congress - Detroit Publishing Co. Collection).
An analysis of a high-resolution copy of the photographs identifies the vessels, from left to right, as the Victoria (1872), City of Toledo (1891), and what appears to be the second White Star Line steamer Greyhound (1902).
[The description continues with the history of each of those vessels.] 

 

Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted

Norfolk and Western's Detroit River ferry Windsor docked in Windsor in 1965.  Dan Cornellie photo/MHSD.

The Wabash Railway obtained trackage rights (the right to operate trains on another company's tracks) across southern Ontario from Windsor to Buffalo from the Grand Trunk Railway (later Canadian National) in 1897.  These rights were passed on to Wabash's corporate successors (Norfolk and Western and later Norfolk Southern) and were not relinquished until late 2006.  Initially the Wabash relied on the Grand Trunk ferries to haul its traffic across the Detroit River. But it started their own ferry service around 1912 when it purchased three used ferries from the Michigan Central Railroad. Because the newly acquired Wabash ferries used three track loading aprons instead of two track aprons that CN utilized, the Wabash built its own slips on both the Detroit and Windsor shores.  The ferries were steam powered until 1969 when they were reduced to barges pushed across the river by tugboats. The ferry route lasted until 1994, at which time Norfolk Southern started using the Detroit-Windsor railroad tunnel for all of its Canadian traffic.

The Windsor is believed to have been scrapped at Port Colborne circa 2007.

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted

The passenger ferry Sappho at the Belle Isle Park ferry dock at the foot of Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit, Mich., circa 1905-1910 (Image Source: Library of Congress – Detroit Publishing Co. Collection – enhanced by Shorpy.com). 

The photograph was created from a dry glass plate negative. The notes accompanying the image identify the photographer as Lycurgus S. Glover (1858-1935).

Additional Historical Information

Launched in April 1883, the passenger ferry Sappho was built in Detroit, Mich. by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. for Hiram Walker & Sons of Detroit. The 107-foot vessel, along with ferry Ariel, was sold to the Walkerville & Detroit Ferry Co. in October 1883

The Walkerville & Detroit Ferry Co. was formed in 1881, and provided year-round cross-river ferry service between the foot of Walker Street in Detroit and Devonshire Road in Walkerville, Ont. During the summer months, its ferry route would also include service to Belle Isle.

Belle Isle was a 982-acre island located in the Detroit River, just north of downtown Detroit. It was purchased by the city in 1879 for use as a community park. Larger than New York City’s Central Park, elements of the park were designed by landscape architect Federick Law Olmstead. 

The Sappho was acquired by the Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co. of Detroit in 1899. The vessel was then used to provide passenger service between the foot of Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit and Belle Isle in the summer months. It also ferried people across the Detroit River to and from Windsor, Ont. 

In 1898, the Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co. began developing its own day park and recreation area on Bois Blanc Island, about 18 miles south of downtown Detroit. In the years that followed, as the popularity of Bois Blanc grew, the popularity of Belle Isle waned. 

By 1911, ferry service to Belle Isle was no longer a major part of the Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co.’s business and it was reorganized as the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Co. The Sappho caught fire and burned to a total loss in 1929.

That same year, the Ambassador Bridge across the Detroit River was completed followed by the opening of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in 1930. Demand for cross-river ferry service dropped dramatically. The Detroit & Windsor Ferry Co. ended its service from the foot of Woodward Avenue on July 18, 1938. It went out of business in 1942. 

[See the post for links to the information sources.]

Peter Carr shared these notes.

Barry Sell posted three photos that are already in these notes.