S.S. CITY OF BREMERTON Formerly the Majestic and Whatcom.  Built: 1901  Length: (all as Majestic) 169'  Beam: 29'  Draft: 13' 7" 657 tons, Propulsion:  triple expansion engine   Coverted to auto carrier in 1921.  Autos: 60 Passengers:  1500   Above, a colorized photo of the City of Bremerton early in her career, with the Barlow steam elevator in place.
There are probably few people living in Bremerton today that realize there was once a vessel carrying the name of their city on her bow.  Another of Black Ball's converted steamers, she was a vessel that embodied  every element of the early auto ferries on Puget Sound:   sponsoned hull, boxy superstructure, and, in the early days of  travel, a  Barlow steam elevator which would lift cars up onto docks not yet built to accommodate automobiles.          She was launched  as the Majestic, in 1901  a typical passenger steamer of the era with nice lines and a single, soot-belching smokestack.  Her time serving her original owners was short. The fierce competition on Puget Sound led her to become the property of  the increasingly dominant Puget Sound Navigation Company.          Painting  her long funnel crimson, the company  renamed her Whatcom in 1904.  Under this guise she sailed for a number of years stopping at ports in Gig Harbor and Shelton.  With the automobile  being the way to get around, the need for multiple stops on the smaller docks was not needed: people were driving to the bigger ports to be picked up by waiting steamer, or, as provided, onto ferries.   One by one the routes to more rural areas were dropped.           During this time, the Seattle- Bremerton run was in need of vessels that could carry  cars.  The Whatcom went into the yard  in 1921 to be rebuilt to carry vehicles.  She emerged looking nothing like her former trim self as the  steam  ferry City of Bremerton.            At this time, the docks in Kitsap County were not able to load and unload cars, so the Barlow elevator was hooked up to the boat.  Early photos show her with the elevator, which was later removed as docks were rebuilt and expanded.            One piece of equipment acquired for the City of Bremerton was greeted by some as an insult.  The fine old stern wheeler Baily Gatzert, retired from the Bremerton route, gave up her melodious 5-chime steam whistle to the City of Bremerton .        Serving her namesake route for many years, Black Ball was able to retire her as the newer, more economic diesel powered ferries came on line.  With the Chippewa and the new Kalakala on the route the uneconomical City of Bremerton was no longer needed.   In 1936 she was withdrawn from service and sent to the breakers.  The  chime whistle was saved, but everything else from the City of Bremerton was cut up for scrap.
At left, in a booklet hailing the arrival of the Chinook (1947) Black Ball paid tribute to its past, including photos of many of their old steamers.  The notation on the Majestic/Whatcom is that "she is probably remembered as the S.S. City of Bremerton."   At right, PSN sponsoned out the Majestic and renamed her Whatcom. She took over the Seattle-Port Townsend-Victoria route after the loss of the Clallam.   Author's collection.
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				A Glimpse of Seattle Past...      A snap shot taken of Colman Dock  in August 1933 shows the City of Bremerton backing away from the dock.  Automobile travel had become the norm on Puget Sound, and the docks had all been converted to handle them, so the need for the elevator on vessels was no longer needed.  The City of Bremerton looks much more like a ferry with the elevator gone.  Author's collection.