Great Lakes passenger steamers had to divest themselves of their marine divisions on the lakes. Under this divestiture law, the "Milwaukee Clipper", for instance, was sold by the Anchor Line along with four other railroad-owned company fleets to the newly formed Great Lakes Transit Corporation. Under this flag, the "Clipper" carried passengers along her old route until retired in 1970. Before trains and, later, cars became prevalent, summer vacation areas in more remote areas around the Great Lakes were accessible primarily only by steamer. Northern Michigan's tourist and resort areas began to grow in this manner in the late 1890s. In the late 19th
SS City of Milwaukee navigation of the vessel took place. There is also a small pilot house on the stern that is used for docking the vessel. The ship was built in 1930 and launched in 1931 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin to replace , which sank with all hands on October 22, 1929 during a gale. Car ferry service had been introduced to the Great Lakes in 1892, and there was many as 14 vessels operating on the lakes at the system's peak. These specialized vessels were capable of carrying up to 34 railroad cars across the often stormy and ice-packed lakes at any time