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A Message Washed Ashore on Lake Michigan - The Lost Railcar Ferry Milwaukee
Season 7
Episode 21
Published 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Description
On Oct. 22, 1929, the railroad car ferry Milwaukee left Wisconsin for Grand Haven, Michigan, despite a severe storm raging across Lake Michigan.
The 338-foot vessel carried 25 loaded railroad cars and nearly 50 crew members. Other captains had chosen to remain in port, but Capt. Robert “Bad Weather” McKay headed into the gale.
The Milwaukee never reached Michigan.
Days later, bodies, lifeboats and wreckage began washing ashore. Then searchers found something remarkable: a watertight message container holding a handwritten note from the ship’s purser.
“The ship is making water fast,” he wrote. “Seas are tremendous. Things look bad.”
There were no survivors.
In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we follow the final voyage of the Milwaukee, examine why the ship sailed, what may have caused it to sink and how a small piece of paper became the final voice of a lost Great Lakes crew.
The wreck remained missing for more than 40 years before divers found it sitting upright beneath Lake Michigan, still holding railroad cars and cargo from its final crossing.
The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications
The 338-foot vessel carried 25 loaded railroad cars and nearly 50 crew members. Other captains had chosen to remain in port, but Capt. Robert “Bad Weather” McKay headed into the gale.
The Milwaukee never reached Michigan.
Days later, bodies, lifeboats and wreckage began washing ashore. Then searchers found something remarkable: a watertight message container holding a handwritten note from the ship’s purser.
“The ship is making water fast,” he wrote. “Seas are tremendous. Things look bad.”
There were no survivors.
In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we follow the final voyage of the Milwaukee, examine why the ship sailed, what may have caused it to sink and how a small piece of paper became the final voice of a lost Great Lakes crew.
The wreck remained missing for more than 40 years before divers found it sitting upright beneath Lake Michigan, still holding railroad cars and cargo from its final crossing.
The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications