Cruise Talk: Last of the Great Lakes Passenger Liners

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»	Cruise Talk » Ocean Liners and Classic Cruise Ships » Last of the Great Lakes Passenger Liners

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Topic: Last of the Great Lakes Passenger Liners

Great Lakes
First Class Passenger
Member # 1836

posted 08-15-2001 07:22 PM

I've noticed that even though there have been over 8,000 posts on this part of Cruise Talk, the topic of Great Lakes ships of the past has never come up. While the history of Great Lakes passenger travel is not nearly extensive as that of ocean travel, it does have a history that very few people are aware of. In the past there have been well over a hundred passenger ships built exclusively for Great Lakes service. As the quote by historian Harry J. Wolf goes "At one time there were more people asleep on boats on the Great Lakes than on any other ocean in the world." While many were very modest, many others rivaled the elegance of even the greatest ocean liners. The S.S. Keewatin is the last classic Great Lakes passenger ship remaining and while not the largest, she was one of the most luxurious. The Keewatin was built in 1907 in Govan, Scotland and remained in service for Canadian Pacific Railway on the Great Lakes until 1965. She is 3,856 gross tons, 346 feet long, 44 feet wide and has 105 passenger staterooms. The following are a few of the photos I took on my last two visits to this beautiful ship which is currently a museum in Douglas, Michigan.

More pictures are available at My Album: The Last Great Lakes Passenger Ship and The S.S. Keewatin Maritime Museum

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: Great Lakes ]

[ 08-16-2001: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]

Posts: 74 | From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP: Logged

TBirdFrank
First Class Passenger
Member # 2280

posted 08-16-2001 05:14 AM

Isn't she beautiful. I have a copy of "Farewell to Steam" which has some wonderful picures of her in service, but I just did not know she still existed.

As a major collector of CP memorabilia in Britain I have just been handed another of life's little targets and I thank you for it.

On a future trip to the States this museum has just got top priority!!

Thanks again

Posts: 158 | From: Manchester, England | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP: Logged

Frank X. Prudent
First Class Passenger
Member # 1723

posted 08-16-2001 09:21 AM

Thanks, Great Lakes, for your post on the KEEWATIN. I have visited her twice, and look forward to the next time that I can tread her beautifully cambered decks. By the way, there are two different tours offered of her. One traverses the passenger areas and the other is down into the bowels of the old gal. All of the photos posted by Great Lakes would have been snapped on the former tour. The later tour you need to ask for and the highlight is seeing her steam machinery and the "cut away" boilers.

There are other retired lake steamers, both passenger and freighters, that are open for tours also. A great resource to find where they are located is the booklet, Know Your Ships:2001, www.knowyourships.com published yearly and has all operating and laid up lake boats along with the museums listed. Also there is still the coal fired S.S. BADGER that carries passengers and freight on Lake Michigan between Ludington, MI and Manitowoc, WI.

Next year will hopefully be a banner year for passenger travel on the Great Lakes; Delta Queen's C.V. CAPE MAY LIGHT is scheduled to make numerous cruises on the Lakes including several three, four, and seven night round trips out of Chicago!

Posts: 577 | From: Covington, Kentucky, U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 2000 | IP: Logged

Great Lakes
First Class Passenger
Member # 1836

posted 08-16-2001 12:41 PM

TBirdFrank, the book "Farewell to Steam" is actually a big part of what saved the Keewatin. A man named Roland Peterson recieved the book as a present from his wife for Christmas in 1966. As you know in the back of the book it states that the Keewatin had already been scrapped. But Mr. Peterson was so impressed by what he saw in the book he called Canadian Pacific Railway anyway and discovered that the ship had been sold for scrap, but it was still at their dock frozen in place by ice. Mr. Peterson went to inspect the Keewatin and made an offer to buy it and the offer was accepted. As Frank X. Prudent said, next year will be a banner year for Great Lakes cruises. The ships that will be cruising the Great Lakes next year include the Cape Cod Light, Cape May Light, Columbus, Georgian Clipper, Grande Caribe, Grande Mariner, Le Levant, Nantucket Clipper, & Niagara Prince. Also, TBirdFrank, the picture in the book that says "Assiniboia: Flower Well" is actually the Grand Staircase of the Delta Queen.

Posts: 74 | From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP: Logged

TBirdFrank
First Class Passenger
Member # 2280

posted 08-16-2001 06:07 PM

Thanks for that.

So you can see where my loyalties lie you may care to visit http://www.paddlesteamers.com
where you will be able to visit the former LNER (London & North Eastern Railway) Paddle Steamer Waverley which is preserved operationally over here. You may even find some of my photos of this years activities on the site.

Why should I have CPR sympathies? - well CP sailed from the Clyde and the Waverley and her sisters used to tender to the Empresses.
They also sailed from Liverpool and I can still remember seeing the Empress of England brand new in Canada Dock from the much lamented overhead railway at the tender age of six - many years ago!

Knowyourships looks a vital source of information, but you mention much activity on the Great Lakes next year - where could I find details from which to plan a visit - that is if they have cleared the Welland Canal locks by then (!)

Posts: 158 | From: Manchester, England | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP: Logged

Frank X. Prudent
First Class Passenger
Member # 1723

posted 08-20-2001 02:12 AM

quote:
Originally posted by TBirdFrank:
- that is if they have cleared the Welland Canal locks by then (!)

Could you further explain yourself?

Posts: 577 | From: Covington, Kentucky, U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 2000 | IP: Logged

TBirdFrank
First Class Passenger
Member # 2280

posted 08-20-2001 07:11 AM

You may not have heard, but a Laker was struck by a lifting bridge which was lowered too early (by remote control) and severely damaged the vessel causing a fire which immobilised the ship and blocked the waterway.

There were no casualties and the waterway is now clear, but the ship has only been moved to one side for survey and now fleets of lawyers are manouevring into position.

Looks like being an interesting winter!

Posts: 158 | From: Manchester, England | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP: Logged

Great Lakes
First Class Passenger
Member # 1836

posted 08-20-2001 12:40 PM

The best place to find information on Great Lakes cruises is atCruising the Great Lakes. Although the 2002 itineraries are not yet available on this website you can use the links to the various cruise lines' websites to see those itineraries. American Canadian Caribbean Line, Clipper Cruise Line, and Delta Queen Coastal Voyages all have itineraries available for 2002. Both the Le Levant and the Cape May Light should be stopping at Saugatuck/Douglas, and the Grande Mariner will stop at Holland, which is only a few miles north of Saugatuck. While I'm not a travel agent you can email me and I may be able to provide you with more information.

The Waverley looks like a beatiful ship. Where did they get the money to restore her? The Waverley must be a really popular ship for them to be able to find funding for a complete rebuild. If you're really interested in paddlewheelers the Great Lakes where home to the largerst sidewheelers ever constructed. If you go to Historical Collections of the Great Lakes and type in "Greater Buffalo", "Greater Detroit", "City of Detroit III" or "Seeandbee" it will provide you with a pciture, complete technical information and a timeline of the ship's history.

Posts: 74 | From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP: Logged

Barryboat
First Class Passenger
Member # 33

posted 08-20-2001 12:47 PM

There's definitely a market for Great lakes cruises although it would be a seasonal cruise line, because it gets COLD up there.

Posts: 1851 | From: Bloomington, Minnesota (Home to the Mall of America) | Registered: Mar 99 | IP: Logged

TBirdFrank
First Class Passenger
Member # 2280

posted 08-20-2001 07:47 PM

Glad you had the chance to look at our site.

Our national lottery makes grant aid available to qualifying projects after some jumping through hoops - a hell of a lot of jumping through hoops!!

It took us two and a half years to get through the mill and when we came out the other end the refit had increased in cost and complexity from £3.5m to £5.1m

We cheese pared back to an actual £4.1m spend but increased the proportion we funded so that our share of £5.1m would be the same as it would have been of £3.5m and are now back trying to get the other £1.0m to completely finish the job.

The problem - The lottery wanted authenticity - the Marine Safety Agency wanted compliance. You can't have both so delay and re-writing a specification to both bodies satisfaction resulted in the extra cost.

Posts: 158 | From: Manchester, England | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP: Logged

mikiebaccarat
First Class Passenger
Member # 1026

posted 08-20-2001 07:53 PM

Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cruises.
When looking at Great Lakes Cruises don't forget Rideau St. Lawrence Cruise Line of Kingston Ontario. Their Ship, Canadian Empress offers cruises from Kingston to Montreal, Kingston to Quebec City and Kingston to Ottawa (via the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers) and the reverse of each. She is an 19th century replica steamsip(actual diesel power). Small and iniimate with only 32 double cabins but friends who have taken her rate her very highly. All her cruises give you a good tour during daylight hours to the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Posts: 53 | From: Kingston,ON,Canada | Registered: Jan 2000 | IP: Logged

Barryboat
First Class Passenger
Member # 33

posted 08-20-2001 10:05 PM

I also understand there is quite a market for cruising the lakes on the tankers and cargo ships....some of them have great accomodations.

Posts: 1851 | From: Bloomington, Minnesota (Home to the Mall of America) | Registered: Mar 99 | IP: Logged

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