The MV ''Illahee'' was a operated by

Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals ...

. Originally built as the MV ''Lake Tahoe'' in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

for the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...

, she started out serving on SP's Golden Gate Ferries subsidiary on

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...

. She was purchased by the

Puget Sound Navigation Company The Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded by Charles E. Peabody in 1898. Today the company operates an international passenger and vehicle ferry service between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria, BC on the Coho. History In the past, th ...

in 1940, and she was moved to

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

and renamed the MV ''Illahee'' until

acquired and took over operations in 1951. She was serving on the inter-island route in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core o ...

when the entire Steel Electric class was withdrawn from service on November 20, 2007 due to hull corrosion issues. In the summer of 2009, the ''Illahee'' and her sisters were sold to Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, California. In August 2009 the ferry was towed out of Eagle Harbor and was scrapped in Ensenada, Mexico.The MV ''Illahee''
- evergreenfleet.com

Notes

References

* Kline, Mary S., and Bayless, G.A., ''Ferryboats -- A Legend on Puget Sound'', Bayless Books, Seattle, WA 1983

Notes

References

See also