Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: railroad ferry

"July 10, 1939 Grand Trunk R.R. Ferry Lansdowne Between Detroit and Windsor" This photo is severely cropped from the original, which mostly showed water. This is one of the more famous ships in the Borucki collection. Lansdowne was launched as a carferry in 1884--at the time, the longest ship on the Lakes--and continued in that role until roughly 1972 (sources vary a bit; she was officially retired in 1978). She was the last sidewheel steamer operating on the lakes. The steam powerplant was removed in 1970 after a piston blowout and she was pushed by a tug for her last couple seasons. After her retirement she was converted to a Detroit-waterfront restaurant, using a pair of Milwaukee Road Skyliners as the dining room. By 1990 the restaurant had failed, but she was still moored by the RenCen when we took our MHSD tour. I've been looking for a photo I took that day--I remember it as being unusually lousy--but haven't yet located it. Until quite recently she was moored in Buffalo , still with the MILW cars on her deck. A succession of owners had tried to revive the restaurant, without anything resembling success. In 2009 she sank, for the second time, at the Buffalo dock, and has reportedly been dismantled. A sad end. I understand the Skyliners have been saved. More information here . And here . And Andy McFarlane published an old photo of her on MichPics several years ago. Borucki's Lakers