The SS Badger is the last coal-fired steamship in the United States, and it is also a registered National Historical Landmark.
The ferry was built by the Christy Corporation in 1952 for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway to carry mainly railroad cars across Lake Michigan to and from several towns along the lakeshore. By the 1980s, these routes were becoming less profitable, and the Chessie System sold the ferry and two others to the Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company (MWT). Already by 1988, the Badger was the only ferry left running, and in 1990 it too was taken out of service. A year later, ownership changed hands and the freight concept was changed to carrying exclusively automobiles and passengers. In 2021 the Badger was acquired by the Interlake Holding Co. which also operates Great Lakes freighters. The company says that it will continue operating the Badger on Its current sailing route between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
In this video we see the Badger being loaded with cars and trucks dockside in Ludington with her sister ship Spartan nearby. We check out the lounge and game room, and inspect one of the many staterooms that can be booked on board. Coming in to Manitowoc we watch as the ship, with its one port at the stern, turns around using its anchor, and backs into the dock for unloading.