page_title: Robert Logan (naval architect)
section_title: Logan boats
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Logan (naval architect) / Logan boats
caption_attribution_description: Postcard depiction of the sinking of the Pere Marquette car ferry number 18 on September 10, 1910. The railway operated rail car ferries on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, as well as some rivers. The ferry carried 62 people and 29 rail cars when it began taking on vast amounts of water. The captain dumped 9 railcars into Lake Michigan, but it didn't help the sinking ship, which was traveling to Milwaukee from Ludington, Michigan. The ship was able to send a distress call and fortunately the Pere Marquette ferry number 17 was not far away. Number 17 went to the rescue of the sinking ferry. Number 18 sank shortly after the arrival of the rescue ferry. There were 33 survivors of the disaster.
context_page_description: Robert Logan was a Scottish naval architect. He was a university graduate of mathematics, science, and engineering. Logan designed and constructed several large ships for various shipbuilding firms worldwide. His first ones were passenger cruise excursion boats. He later constructed freighter ships for the American Shipbuilding Company that carried railroad trains across Lake Michigan. He designed the world's first steel train ferry. This was followed by several more Logan boats that ultimately developed into the world's largest carferry fleet that operated out of Ludington, Michigan.
context_section_description: The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad ("F & PM") ordered in the late nineteenth century train transport carferries to be constructed to carry their trains across Lake Michigan. Their first carferry was given the company's name to keep their name out front in public view. The SS Pere Marquette was the first steel train ferry in history. Logan was specifically selected to design it in 1895. This carferry was constructed in 1896 as a cross-lake ferry to endure the extreme weather conditions of Lake Michigan with the ice. The "Logan boats" had pilot houses with open upper levels and elevated bridge wings, twin smoke stacks with a slight angle slant, and no sea-gate. 
  The Pere Marquette Railroad merged with two other railroad lines in 1900. The newly formed conglomerate company was called the Pere Marquette Railway company. It renamed and renumbered their freight ships in 1901. They started their numbering system with number 15. The first Logan boat constructed thereby received the number 15 designation. The ship's crews referred to her by just the number at the beginning. The name change which involved both the name with its number wasn't actually done until 1924. From then on it was officially known as the S S Pere Marquette No. 15. It was originally owned by F & PM and had departed on its maiden voyage out of Ludington on February 19, 1897.
  The merged companies brought in a wooden ferry from one of the other companies called Shenango No. 2. It was renamed the Muskegon since its' original travel route across Lake Michigan was out of the town of Muskegon in Michigan and went to the city of Milwaukee in Wisconsin. It was  the railway's fourth boat and renamed again later the S S Ann Arbor No. 4 with the "S S" standing for steamship. It ultimately received the name S S Pere Marquette 16 when F & PM's new numbering system took place in 1901. The system started with the number 15. At that time there was already an order for a new all steel ferry that was placed with Logan in 1895. This boat while in construction had been referred to as the No. 15 as it was the first in a series of boats designed by Logan and the new numbering system started with 15.     
  The Pere Marquette Railway company ordered in 1901 a steel ferry from American Shipbuilding Company to be designed by Logan. it was the first freighter for the new railway. F & PM was pleased with the performance of their first steel ferry constructed by the naval architect in 1896. This second steel boat ordered from Logan of American Shipbuilding received the designation S S Pere Marquette 17 since the number 16 had already been taken. This steamship was an upgraded version from the previous Logan boat. The steel craft was 338 feet long, 56 feet wide, and had a depth of 19.5 feet to the main deck. This steamship was constructed with extra strength metal parts and lavish luxury accommodations. It had triple expansion engines powered by four boilers like those on the modern Scottish ships at the time. They were thirteen feet high and twelve feet in diameter and generated 175 pounds per square inch of steam pressure giving 2,300 horsepower. The transport ship could carry thirty standard railroad freight cars on its' four track internal platform. It had luxury passenger staterooms with better facilities than the first Logan launch. The vessel was 2,775 gross tons and officially registered as US #150906. 
  The third railroad train car ferry ordered from Logan, designated S S Pere Marquette No. 18, was launched at the Cleveland shipyard dock of the American Shipbuilding Company on August 1, 1902. She was christened by Miss Beatrice Logan, the daughter of Robert Logan, the design engineer of the all steel vessel. The new steamship was 350 feet long, 56 feet in beam, and had a depth of 20 feet from keel to top of the shell plating. She had six boilers and triple expansion twin engines. The engines were triple compound vertical jet condensing and were equipped with air and cooler pumps. All the engine parts, including shafts and propellers, were extra heavy duty for service in working t
caption: Sinking of Pere Marquette #18 in 1910 and coming to 
   the rescue is Pere Marquette #17 in the background.[17]
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