Railroad: Ann Arbor railroad
Built: 1925. Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.,, Manitowoc, WI
Crossing: Lake Michigan
End of Service: 1982
Disposition: Rebuilt with new diesel engines as Viking and in service until 1982
Length: 347 feet. Held 30 cars.
Type:
Under the name Viking, served from 1965-1982. Reduced to a pulp barge in 2019 in Menominee, MI.
The original pilot house is preserved at the Bayfield Maritime Museum in Bayfield, WI. [AATHA-2027-Cal]
1925. February 22. Ann Arbor No. 7 departs Frankfort on its first revenue trip. [AATHA]
1965. Rebuilt with steam engines replaced by diesel-electric propulsion system, doubling horsepower and raising the boat's maximum speed to 21 mph.
1974. The Viking is currently bearing the entire burden of the trans-Lake Michigan crossing to the Green Bay & Western connection at Kewaunee, WI. Service to Manitowoc has ceased since the break down of the Arthur K. Atkinson. No boats are available for lease from the GT Muskegon-Milwaukee operation as has been done previously. [IT-1974-02]
2005. The former Ann Arbor car ferry Viking, which has been docked in Menominee since January, 2003, has been moved across the river to Marinette. Reportedly it will be prepared to haul wood pulp from Canada. The Viking was built as Ann Arbor No. 7i in 1925 and sailed in cross-Lake Michigan car ferry service until the service shut down. It was later moved to Erie, PA in the hope of starting a cross Lake Erie service but the plans never materialized. The vessel was sold in 2003, towed to Menominee for the proposed pulp wood service, which appears to to be put in place. [MRF-2005-09]
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
