Three-quarter bow view of the railroad carferry "City of Midland 41" splashing sideways off the ways from building berth B into the Manitowoc River during launching at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company shipyards in Manitowoc, Wisconsin at 1:58 p.m. on September 18, 1940. In the background is a bridge crane used in construction of the vessel, and beyond are two large grain elevators: Elevator B on the left and Elevator A in the center. At launching, the carferry’s superstructure was not yet in place. On the building berth, members of the launching party can be seen on the striped launching platform, adjacent to the ways. Below and in front of the platform are shipyard workers and members of the Manitowoc Marine Band, which played during the ceremony. On the river bank in the foreground, cameramen film the launching, which was covered by scores of newspaper reporters and four camera crews. One man watches while perched on a telephone pole. Built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company for the Pere Marquette Railroad at a cost of approximately $2 million, the City of Midland 41 was the largest and most luxurious carferry that had ever been built up to that time. She measured 406 feet in length and had a capacity of 34 loaded freight cars, 50 automobiles, and 376 passengers who were accommodated in 60 staterooms, 12 parlor suites, smoking rooms, a lounge, and a large dining salon. There were even steel dog kennels for passengers’ pets. Her keel was laid March 21, 1940. She was launched September 18, 1940; underwent sea trials March 9, 1941; and departed on her maiden voyage to Ludington, Michigan on March 12, 1941. It was estimated that 15,000 people lined the shipyard docks and both sides of the river to view this launching, which was subsequently seen in movie theaters throughout the country in a Movietone News newsreel narrated by Lowell Thomas. Versions of this image have been widely reprinted. Manitowoc Herald-Times photographer Louis Fandrick signed at least one print of this image, and he won several awards for what appears to be a cropped version titled "Two Million Dollar Splash." This picture has also been credited to Glander Art Studio.