After about a year and half of on and off again work I finally completed this drawing of the rail ferry Chief Wawatam. Although she changed little over her 70 years of service I've depicted her as she would have looked early in her career. I will be releasing this on my site soon, but here is an early preview…
The S.S. Chief Wawatam was designed by Frank E. Kirby and built in 1911 at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company in Toledo, OH. She served as a rail ferry working year round shuttling railcars across the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s Lower and Upper peninsulas. The bow propeller was very useful for icebreaking during the winter months when ice in the straits can build up. The “Chief” as she was affectionately known is sadly no longer in existence. For more information and many pictures of the real Chief Wawatam please take a look here:
http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/histor ... efault.htm
~John