TOP: Interesting locomotives were common on the Soo Line in St. Ignace. On February 23, 1978, the Chief Wawatam was switched by two leased Lake Superior & Ishpeming U23Cs. ABOVE: The pilot house of the Chief Wawatam on February 23, 1978. LEFT: A Soo Line F-unit and Geep stand by to switch cars off the ferry at St. Ignace on October 7, 1976.


boats (the company ultimately owned four) could earn their keep each winter as ice breakers on the Great Lakes while the Chief Wawatam generally ferried the railroad cars between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.


Things were routine when a friend and I rode the Chief northbound on Thursday, February 23, 1978. Since the boat had not sailed the previous day, the sheet ice was about 14 inches thick across the Straits, and some reversing of the engines was necessary to batter our way through. Below decks the loud, deep rasping sound of ice scraping against the riveted steel hull was impressive indeed. The attractions of the old boat were numerous. The many brass fittings were nicely polished, and there were large well-painted open spaces below decks where passengers and around-the-clock crews once congregated. The last pas- senger trains to cross the Straits on the


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Chief were DSS&A Nos. 1 and 2, the Lake Superior Limited, which ran be- tween Mackinaw City and Marquette. These trains were cut back to eliminate the Straits crossing in August 1955. But the real show was deep below in the boiler room, where human stokers were firing the boilers as they always had — with shovels. The railroad enthu- siast accustomed to the high firing rate of locomotive boilers might think the fir- ing rate of a steamship boiler to be rath- er leisurely. Nevertheless, the fire doors were high above deck level and lifting shovels of coal that distance made for a strenuous job. In his masterful blend of steamship technical data and romance titled The Only Way to Cross, John Maxtone-Gra- ham wrote, “Although passengers were always encouraged to tour the ships that carried them... boiler rooms were seldom included on the itinerary. It was not be-


cause of the heat and noise, but rather that stoke-holds were the crucibles of company ambition, where nothing that might distract from the deadly serious work should intrude. No matter what schedules might be selected in compa- ny board rooms, no matter what speed requests might be rung down from the spotless bridge, both owner and mas- ter relied completely on the endurance, brawn and skill of those awesome men who kept up the steam.” After taking photos in the boiler room,


a short but extremely muscular fireman asked if I might like to borrow a shovel and toss a couple of scoops of coal into the boilers, just so I could say I did. I would not have asked for such a privi- lege — and certainly did not consider my effort a contribution — but could not turn the invitation down. More than 35 years later I still recall his kindness. He was obviously proud of his work, as


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