S.S. LINCOLN 580 tons Lengeth: 147' 3"   Beam:  43'   Draft:  12'.6",   Built: Lake Washington Shipyard,  Houghton Wa, for  King County on Lake Washington, 1914 Linen postcards offered the chance to turn a black and white photo into color.  The effect was somewhat odd, making the photograph look almost cartoon-like.  They do offer clues as to livery however when such details are lost to history.  It would appear the  Lincoln had a bright yellow stack working for King County.  Author's collection.
		Few people today remember that at one time the only way to cross Lake Washington was by ferry.  With all the talk of the 520 bridge needing to be replaced, it seems that revisiting  two of the three main vessels serving the Lake (the third being the Leschi, covered elsewhere in the Retired Fleet section) is appropriate..      Information on the Lincoln is scant.  Her years on Lake Washington seem to have been uneventful, though she did create solid memories for at least one passenger, Mr. Paul Gilmore who was kind enough to share his recollections: "I remember being on the Lincoln and my Dad taking me by the hand and looking down from the car deck at the engine room and being told the larger cylinder of the triple expansion steam engine was six feet in diameter."      Built in 1914, the steam-powered ferry could handle about 45 cars.  Unlike the paddle-wheel Leschi, built a year earlier, she was driven by single propellers at either end of the boat.  With her large yellow stack belching black smoke, for the next 30 years she plied the waters of Lake Washington under heavily subsidized ownership from King County.      By 1940 she was out of work.  The Leschi continued on at Madison Park, but the new bridge idled the Lincoln.      The next time the Lincoln saw use it was under remarkably different conditions.      By the late 1940's it became increasingly clear that the State of Washington was going to get into the ferry business one way or the other.  Captain Peabody had outfoxed the state after they'd revoked his franchise license to operate on Puget Sound by setting up a county-by-county charter service instead.  Only one group rebuked Peabody's efforts: Vashon Island.      Creating their own ferry district in 1948,  the dilapidated Lincoln was brushed off and placed in service between Vashon and Fauntleroy.      Passengers boarding the Lincoln were painfully aware the ferry had seen better days:  daylight glistened through walls and floorboards.  The foaming waters of Puget Sound could be seen through cracks in the deck.  However, she provided a much needed service and performed admirably despite her advanced age.      Three years later it was all over.  Washington State Ferries began operations on June 1, 1951, and with their formation more suitable boats were assigned to the route.      The venerable Lincoln, which was listed as part of the assets of Washington State Ferries in 1951, was never put into service. WSF sold her as early as the fall of 1951.  The old ferry was scrapped in 1952  and began fading from memory.  Today, few people remember the boat that served the Lake  for so many years, and that came through for residents of Vashon Island.
Perhaps the most modern looking ferry on the Lake, the Lincoln steams in for another landing.  Courtesy of Tom Sanislo. Postcards of the Lincoln are not easy to come by, but they do exist.  Here she's seen at dock on Lake Washington, about to take on more passengers.  Author's collection.
		S.S. WASHINGTON Length:120' Beam: 36'  Draft: 8'4"  Propulsion: steam,  Built: 1902. The  Washington docked somewhere the author isn't sure of.  The snapshot has no idication of where the photographer was when the photo was taken.  Author's collection.
Even less remembered is the old steam ferry Washington, which started life on Lake Washington as a passenger  vessel in 1902.      In 1919, with the Lincoln and Leschi carrying most of the traffic across the Lake, the converted Washington was assigned to the Vashon-Fauntleroy-Harper route which she held down until 1925 when replaced by the new auto ferry Kitsap.      The vessel was used primarily for excursions from that point on.  Pacific Steamboats by Gordon Newell and Joe Williamson includes a photo of an open-decked Washington steaming up the Sammamish Slough.      She was put into service in 1939 when the Black Ball Line went on strike, and was listed under county ownership again by 1940.      The Washington was scrapped in 1950.      Any information you might want to share about the either the Lincoln or Washington, please feel free to email me.
	A very narrow vessel, the Washington could still haul a respectable amount of "tin Lizzy's."  Photo courtesy of Tom Sanislo.  At right, the Washington late in her career, circa the 1930's.  Already an"old boat" by this time, she saw less and less service.  Courtesy of the Bayless collection.
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