Detroit St Clair Rail Ferries

A look at rail ferry operations on the Detroit and St. Clair rivers in November, 1988. These ferries were in use for excess dimension loads and hazardous materials that could not pass through the tunnels at Port Huron/Sarnia and Detroit/Windsor. A new tunnel was built under the St. Clair river by CN, while the CP tunnel at Windsor was enlarged, thereby eliminating the need for the ferries. The CSX ferry was a holdover from Pere Marquette days, and the NS operation was inherited from the Wabash. CN and Grand Trunk also had a ferry at Port Huron/Sarnia. At Detroit the NS served both CP and CN at different slips in Windsor. The CN turntable at Windsor is also shown in operation. All this is now gone, replaced by a network of riverfront parks, while the rail ferry yard at Port Huron is being developed for multiple uses including an interpretive center for Great Lakes shipping.