Name: The Ironton Ferry returns out of service after replacement clutches bind and overheat
Start: 2003-10
End: 2003-10
Location: Beaver Island

The Ironton Ferry returns out of service after replacement clutches bind and overheat

Also The Ironton Ferry returns out of service after replacement clutches bind and overheat

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago

Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.

TypeEvent

Date2003-10

WithinBeaver Island

ErasModern era

Event

Date: 2003-10
Kind: Closure
Where: Beaver Island
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: transportationinfrastructureeconomy
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

The Ironton Ferry was out of service again in fall 2003 after newly installed clutches bound and overheated under vehicle loading, forcing commuters onto a much longer route.

Evidence limits

The humorous report does not state the repair completion date or ferry’s final mechanical resolution.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, October 2003, “The Poor Ironton Ferry”.
Explains that replacement clutches with incompatible tolerances bound and overheated when multiple cars loaded, taking the ferry out of service again and lengthening the alternate drive. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2003-10_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, October 2003, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the October 2003 report.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2003-10_Beaver-Beacon

Added 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “The Ironton Ferry returns out of service after replacement clutches bind and overheat”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-ironton-ferry-clutch-outage-2003/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, October 2003, “The Poor Ironton Ferry”. (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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