SS City of Milwaukee SS City of Milwaukee The SS "City of Milwaukee" is a Great Lakes railroad car ferry that once plied Lake Michigan, often between Muskegon, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was built in 1931 for the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company and is the only pre-1940s ship of this type to survive. She now serves as a museum ship, bed and breakfast, and event venue on the waterfront of Manistee Lake in Manistee, Michigan. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. The "City of Milwaukee" is a steel-hulled ship with a carrying capacity of 28-30 fully loaded rail
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