Classic Ship Retrospective: Milwaukee Clipper

The Milwaukee Clipper is a much storied ship and one that has been extremely fortunate to have survived not just the vagaries of nature but the fickle dealings of industry.

At first glance this ship may appear to be a survivor from the 1930s but in fact, the Milwaukee Clipper is only 106 years young.

The models above depict two very different ships but in fact they are the one and the same. The Milwaukee Clipper started life in 1905 as the Juniata (the model on the left) and had two sister ships, the Tionesta and Octorara, all three sisters were named after rivers in Pennsylvania as was the custom for the Anchor Line (which was owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad) - the original owners of the Juniata.

The Juniata was the middle sister of the three, the first being Tionesta in 1903 followed by Juniata in 1905 and then the Octorara in 1910. The three sisters ran between Buffalo and Duluth for almost 30 years before the onset of the Depression and new safety regulations forced the retirement of all three ships. The poster above dates from the early thirties when the trio were given white hulls and the foredeck was built up. As the Great Depression set in traffic numbers fell but the final nail in the coffin was the sweeping reforms affecting passenger ships following the catastrophic burning of the Morro Castle which drastically restricted the amount of wood that could be used in the superstructure. (For more information regarding the Morro Castle disaster: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Morro_Castle_(1930))

In 1940, after four years of layup, the Juniata was bought by the Wisconsin & Michigan Stamship Company and was completely rebuilt. She emerged as the distinctly modern and unique Milwaukee Clipper, she was the only one of the sisters to eventually return to commercial service.

The original builders plate for the Juniata now resides in the ship's museum.

The Juniata could have easily been scrapped but instead she was rebuilt into a unique ship that symbolised the new expression of artistic modernism which was replicated across several of the newest American ocean liners of that era. The old look was replaced by a racy, modern and streamlined exterior that made the ship completely unrecognisable as her former self and gave her a style that was unique to passenger shipping on the Great Lakes. The only other passenger ship on the Great Lakes that came close to this degree of exterior styling was the Aquarama which entered service in 1952. Some brochure views: http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/moncsp.htm
And here: http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/moncbr.htm

American ocean liners embraced this style from the 1930s through to the 1950s with such examples as the Del trio (photos of the Del-Ships: http://www.ssmaritime.com/Del-Trio.htm) and the Ancon trio (photos can be seen here: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/CZAngelsSpace/PRRLinersOne.html). This streamlined styling climaxed with the 1958 Moore-McCormack sisters. (photos here: http://www.moore-mccormack.com/SS-Brasil-1958/SS-Brasil-Timeline.htm)

On the Great Lakes only a handful of ships sported a streamlined exterior and even fewer were passenger ships, today there is only the Puget Sound ferry Kalakala and the Milwaukee Clipper left to remind us of an era long gone. (For more information about the Kalakala see here: http://www.kalakala.org/). The Aquarama was scrapped in 2007 leaving only the Milwaukee Clipper as the sole survivor of a once considerable class of ship. Not only is she the last surviving American built art deco passenger ship on the Great Lakes, but she is also over a century old and still has her original quadruple expansion engines. She is also in remarkably good condition - a state of being that some ships many decades her junior would be envious!

Milwaukee Clipper at her current home in Muskegon, Michigan.

A tour of the Milwaukee Clipper provides an insight into a time when travelling included a touch of elegance and an opportunity to enjoy the good company of family and friends.

This is a slightly modified photo of the Milwaukee Clipper arriving at her namesake city, the original (and larger) photo can be found here: http://www.retrocom.com/retromilw/clipper1.htm

The Milwaukee Clipper currently resides at the dock formerly used by the Grand Trunk Railway.

Upon entering through the main doors, passengers were treated to this friendly message.

Below are photos depicting cabins in various states of preservation: 

This cabin is patiently awaiting some TLC....

The restoration of this cabin has brought it back to it's early Clipper condition.

On the upper deck forward of midships is the ship's Theatre complete with original fold up chairs.

Immediately ahead of the Theatre is the Children's Playroom, the two rooms were separated by a distinctly non-sound proof curtain. The two fairytale characters outlined to the right of the picture are original to the Milwaukee Clipper. Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny were added during the ships time in Chicago.

The Grand Staircase reflects the clean aesthetics of Art Deco  styling and functionality.

A glimpse into what the staircase well would have looked like when the ship operated as the Juniata can be found aboard the Keewatin (see below).

The Keewatin was built in 1907 and currently resides at Douglas, Michigan and is open for visitors. More information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Keewatin 

Another remnant from the Juniata that can still be seen are the sounding ports, these plugs, once opened, allow a measuring pole to be inserted to determine the depth of water in the bilges.

Continuing our tour of the Milwaukee Clipper:

The Soda Bowl.

The attendant behind the counter came to be known as the 'Soda Jerk', this term came from the old soda fountain days. The kids behind the counter would be serving "SODA
or POP" and would have to "JERK" the handle to get it to pour from the tap

The beautifully restored 1940s bar displaying what 20,000 hours of preservation work will do.

A quiet corner at the cafeteria.

Two views of the main lounge area that once thronged with families travelling between Milwaukee and Muskegon. Today a high speed ferry does the same voyage in two and half hours.

For more period views see these Brochure images: http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/wmsc.htm

And here for more internal views: http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/wmsc54i.htm

A lounge area for quiet reflection.

The ships bridge is a mixture of period equipment and replicas which have replaced the originals lost to vandals while the ship spent years laid up in Chicago.

The ship's wheel.

During her years of service, the lifeboats were rarely used although there were two occasions where they were deployed. One time involved rescuing the dog of Mr McKee, a prominent businessman and owner (at the time) of the Milwaukee Clipper, which decided to go for a swim and jumped out of his cabin porthole. The other occasion was when a woman tried to end her life by jumping overboard however she was rescued before the lake claimed her.

Looking towards the forepeak.

The streamlined forward superstructure of the Milwaukee Clipper typifies the era of elegance and functionality of the mid thirties.

Glancing back on the upper deck looking towards the faux funnel installed during the rebuild. While not a functional funnel, this structure was used to house generators, ventilation fans and batteries.

The 'real' funnel of the Milwaukee Clipper and to the left can be seen the original whistle used when the ship operated as the Juniata.

The Juniata original quadruple expansion engine was retained during the rebuild and is currently the only remaining American built engine of this type still in existence. The engine remains in extremely good condition however the four Scotch boilers have not aged as well and will need to be completely rebuilt before this engine can run again.

Also original from the days of the Juniata is the large rudder mechanism. The white chains at the top of the photo are the back-up should the main rudder engine fail.

On the main deck is also a museum featuring artifacts from the ship's service from her time as the Juniata as well as Milwaukee Clipper.

The dominant feature of the museum is the large half model of the Milwaukee Clipper.

The story of how this model came to be is recounted here:  The builder was Lester Williams, a graduate of Ripon College in Wisconsin, majoring in Physics and Math. He became a sign painter in Green Lake, Wis.  He built two half models, the SS Amsterdam and the SS Milwaukee Clipper. Lester built the Clipper model while the SS Juniata was undergoing her rebuild into the Milwaukee Clipper in 1940, supposedly on the advice from someone working on the ship as to what she would look like.  He gave the model to the owner of the Nautical Inn in Green Lake and apparently took the value out in drinks.  This would account for the little discrepancies the model has. In 1947 the owner in the Inn converted it into a dairy bar and the model was no longer appropriate.  It was moved to one of the storage buildings of the Pilgrim Church Camp until it was later hung in the mess hall over the doorway.  When they no longer wanted it, they contacted Mr. Jim Landwehr of the Wisconsin Historical Society and he put them in touch with MCPI (Milwaukee Clipper Preservation, Inc.) The camp had no idea that the Clipper still existed. A group of Clipper volunteers went to Wisconsin and brought the model back on a big trailer on the SS Badger.  The Badger people got a big kick carrying the Clipper to Michigan!  
A traditional steam powered voyage on the SS Badger can still be enjoyed, see here: http://www.ssbadger.com/home.aspx

This painting of the Milwaukee Clipper arriving on a wintry morning is by local Muskegon artist Bruce DeVries.

A last glance at the Milwaukee Clipper, a ship undergoing a steady rebirth after a long hibernation and one that represents two amazing eras of maritime history.
Douglas MacArthur said it and I will repeat it here: I shall return!

The Milwaukee Clipper is slowly being brought back to life by a dedicated group of locals who have formed the S.S. Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Inc, and apart from being among the friendliest and most hospitable people I have ever met, have worked wonders in gradually resurrecting this beautiful ship back to her former glory. 

Image courtesy of SS Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Inc.

This poster comes from the preserved car ferry City of Milwaukee but the messaging applies not just to the Milwaukee Clipper but to all preservationists seeking to educate future generations by preserving the last vestiges of the past.
More info on the City of Milwaukee can be found here: http://www.carferry.com/

For all the latest information about the Milwaukee Clipper, click here: http://www.milwaukeeclipper.com

Other helpful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Clipper
http://www.hnsa.org/ships/clipper.htm

Baragoola

The Manly ferry Baragoola is 90 years young and still holding tenaciously onto life. A group of volunteers are dedicated to preserving and restoring a true Sydney icon, this is the only ferry that spent its entire life in Sydney that is still afloat. The Baragoola was built at Mort's Dock, Balmain and launched with great fanfare on 14 February 1922. On 9 September of that same year the Baragoola entered service and began her life as a Sydney ferry, one that she would maintain for 61 years and earn a cherished place in the hearts of Sydneysiders.

Today the Baragoola welcomes you with hints of her former glory. The name is clearly visible despite loosing several of the bolted letters.

The road ahead may be a stormy one but the Baragoola has weathered almost a century of the vicissitudes of nature, man's fickleness and the march of time. The Baragoola belonged to a class of almost identical single funnelled, double ended ferries that included the Bingarra, Burra Bra and Balgowlah, all of which have either been scuttled or scrapped.

The Baragoola operated as a ferry from 1922 until 1983 after which she was retired. For 2 years there were efforts to use her as a floating university but this never came to pass and she was sold to private ownership. For the past 25 years efforts to preserve her have met with mixed success and today the Baragoola is located at Balls Head next to historic coal storage silos (the sandstone structures to the right in the above photo) and just behind the former lighthouse tender Cape Don (subject of a feature coming soon).

A tour of the Baragoola from the Bridge to the Engine Room:

The remains of the forward wheelhouse. The Baragoola being a double ended ferry had duplicate wheelhouses at both ends of the top deck and unfortunately both were vandalised in the decades spent laid up. The grey-blue machine in the centre of the photo is the telemotor on which hung the ship's wheel. Out of shot to the right was a wall and door to the Captain's cabin.

The controls for the Chadburn engine telegraph robbed of its distinctive covering and familiar shape.

The top deck of the Baragoola is covered with boards and tarpaulins to protect the interior form leaking rainwater. This area was further damaged when the military staged an airborne exercise and the down draft from the helicopters rotors flattened railings and tore away coverings.

The foredeck of the Baragoola with original winch and ventilator. Apart from a new, shorter funnel in 1958, the superstructure of the Baragoola is practically unchanged from her original appearance.

The upper deck has been cleaned and shows that the structure of the ship is sound and stable. The teak decking and benches however still need some attention....

Some leg rests and wooden bits awaiting to be rejoined to their companions.

A solitary screw awaits to be rejoined with its parent.

The grand staircase which leads down to the lower deck has lost none of its Edwardian elegance. There is another staircase at the other end of the deck.

An alarm box which was rarely used during operation now awaits a well needed clean. The amount of grime that has accumulated over the past two decades can be gauged by the small clean spot on the lower left.

Gear boxes and a working pump in one corner of the machinery spaces. The pump worked after some cleaning and greasing.

A corner of engine room with the hull to the left and a corner of the Gardner diesel to the right.

Close up of the Gardner diesels which are still operational despite 25 years of inactivity. 

The Generator Room sits just behind the main engine room.

Corner of generator room with switchboards.

The still working bilge pump and the watertight door which leads into the engine room.

Switches from the control panel in the Generator Room.

A restored bulkhead with newly applied rust protective paint and in the far right corner an the original Esso oil tank. In return for using Esso oil, there were Esso advertisements posted on bulkheads throughout the ferry.

The walkways have been deemed unsafe to use and the only way to reach the Baragoola is to take a dinghy out and moor next to the ferry.

Additional information for this articles was sourced from:

Mead, Tom Manly Ferries of Sydney Harbour, Child & Associates Publishing, Sydney, 1994, p172-173.

To learn more about how you can help keep the Baragoola afloat for future generations see: http://www.savethebaragoola.com/