Boatnerd Discussion Forum

All three engines were the same horsepower (1500) and there were 6 boilers I believe (2 per engine, but not sure on this). The bow engine (the one in Manitowoc) was only used in wintertime for icebreaking so it has the least amount of hours on it. I was told that the maximum RPM's on it was 75. The display operates at a maximum of 5 RPM.

Fantastic job!! Looks great and can educate people more than just explaining how things would work. Thanks for sharing.

That would be something else to see someday. That looks like a big engine there in the display. How much horsepower did a forward engine have in the Chief? And the main engines in the rear for that matter? TIA

That is so cool that you have it operating via a functional Chadburn!

I often send people out to see the remaining portions of one of the aft engines from the Chief, currently sitting along US-2 outside of St.Ignace, but I tell them that they really need to visit the Manitowac Maritime Museum to see that bow engine in action.

There are plenty of scale models and paintings of the Chief around the Straits, but with the local engine in pieces, there is nothing as impressive as that functional bow engine.

The bow engine from the Chief Wawatam rail ferry was put into the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wi back in 2005 and I put electric motor control and a lubrication system so that the engine could rotate for the public display. At that time it was controlled by a touch screen resembling an Engine Order Telegraph (Chadburn). Over the years we have had multiple computer failures and the museum wanted to put a real "Chadburn" in command of the engine.
Yesterday that vision was finally realized and is now in operation.
There are 3 speeds "Ahead" and "Astern" (engine reverses) as well 3 stop positions (Stop, Finished with engines, and Standby) that can be actually operated by the chadburn.