Mackinac Transportation Company

Mackinac Transportation Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Transportation, Rail ferry
Founded	1881
Defunct	1984
Headquarters	Mackinaw City, Michigan , United States
Area served	Straits of Mackinac, Michigan
Products	Train ferry services

The Mackinac Transportation Company operated as a train ferry enterprise that moved railroad cars across the Straits of Mackinac between 1881 and 1984. It gained prominence through its operation of the icebreaking train ferry SS Chief Wawatam from 1911 until the company's closure in 1984.

Early Years

Established in 1881 through a collaboration among the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and Michigan Central, the Mackinac Transportation Company (MTC) ensured continuous year-round connectivity between their rail terminals located at Mackinaw City, Michigan and St. Ignace, Michigan.

At the outset, the company acquired the steamship SS Algomah along with a barge called Betsy to ferry railcars. Due to constraints such as limited capacity, vulnerability to weather conditions, and insufficient icebreaking ability, MTC commissioned a specialized icebreaking rail ferry in 1887. This vessel, equipped with a bow propeller designed for ice navigation, commenced operations in 1888 and could carry ten railcars. To address increasing transportation needs, a larger ferry capable of transporting eighteen railcars was launched in 1893.

Chief Wawatam Period

The SS Algomah was sold in 1895, and following a dock-related incident in 1902, the St. Ignace was refloated and returned to service. In 1911, MTC introduced its first steel-hulled vessel, the 26-railcar capacity ferry Chief Wawatam, which replaced the earlier Sainte Marie. The former Sainte Marie was converted into a barge until 1927. A second vessel named Sainte Marie was delivered in 1913, prompting the sale of St. Ignace, which served as an icebreaker before being repurposed as a barge until its disposal in 1930.

Starting in 1916, MTC began transporting automobiles by loading them onto railcars; however, limited space and elevated charges encouraged competition from state-operated car ferries beginning in 1923. These state ferries ran seasonally but utilized MTC's vessels under charter during winter months from 1936 until 1952, when Michigan introduced its own icebreaker named Vacationland.

Following the cessation of rail passenger service in August 1955, MTC increasingly relied on chartered vessels for icebreaking duties. This decline in demand resulted in the scrapping of the Sainte Marie in 1961.

After the Mackinac Bridge opened in 1957, MTC encountered financial losses exceeding $100,000 annually by the early 1960s. Initial efforts to discontinue ferry operations were rejected by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), but approval was eventually granted in 1976. Despite this, Michigan provided subsidies enabling MTC to maintain service until August 1984 when damage to docks necessitated suspension of operations. Shortly afterward, the Soo Line Railroad terminated rail access to the area, and in 1988, Chief Wawatam was sold for conversion into a barge.

See also

• Ferries in Michigan