The Henry G. Dalton's "Doghouse".

[Guest]

The Dinkey received new stern half-cabins in 1948.

[Al]

The Governor Miller also carried company guests during the summer. I spoke with one of the boat's former mates who said the crew enjoyed getting the expensive leftovers from the guest kitchen.

When did it carry passengers? I know when I sailed the Irvin was still the primary passenger boat, even though we carried a lot of passengers on the Clarke in the 70s. Then pretty much the Blough took over.

I expect it carried guests from its first days at least through the 1950s or early '60s, although I'm sure there were some years when no guests were carried due to war or economic conditions. Pittsburgh Steamship Co. published a souvenir booklet (apparently in the 1950s) titled "Your Trip on a Great Lakes Ore Boat." The book noted that the Governor Miller, William A. Irvin, James A. Farrell and Myron C. Taylor all were equipped to carry guests.

[garbear]

The Governor Miller also carried company guests during the summer. I spoke with one of the boat's former mates who said the crew enjoyed getting the expensive leftovers from the guest kitchen.

When did it carry passengers? I know when I sailed the Irvin was still the primary passenger boat, even though we carried a lot of passengers on the Clarke in the 70s. Then pretty much the Blough took over.

[hayhugh3]

hayhugh3 wrote:
Quote:
in any event the Irvin suffered a casualty.

?


If the Irvin went down and was lost.

The Wm/ A. Irvin did not sink and is at present a Museum in the port of Duluth. Take a trip aboard its worth the time and fee.

[Rob]

in any event the Irvin suffered a casualty.

??

If the Irvin went down and was lost.

[Alex]

Want to mention the James A. Farrell of 1913 that was the forerunner to the Irvin and Miller that had the extra level on the forward deckhouse for guests and the doghouse on main deck.

[Al]

The Governor Miller also carried company guests during the summer. I spoke with one of the boat's former mates who said the crew enjoyed getting the expensive leftovers from the guest kitchen.

[hayhugh3]

in any event the Irvin suffered a casualty.

????

[Alex]

The four boats of 1938 that Pittsburgh Steel added, John Hulst, William A. Irvin, Governor Miller, and Ralph H. Watson were the first ones built with below deck tunnels for walking end to end. They were also the first vessels on the lakes to have direct power from the steam turbines to the propeller. Yes the Irvin was built as the new flagship, and the Miller was built as a twin in any event the Irvin suffered a casualty.

[JayJ]

I was told the reason for a forward dinning "Doghouse" was so guests would not have to walk the deck in foul weather to eat. I don't know about earlier built boats, but the Irvin also had sleeping quarters up forward for 3 Porters. They would take care of the forward galley, dinning room, and up to 8 guests from 4 state rooms. There was still berthing for 2 Porters in the stern house for the whole crew. I believe the Irvin and Miller were some of the first boats built with "walk tunnels" below the spare deck, so forward crew or guests could go a stern out of the weather. I'm guessing later built (after 1937) ore boats with extra guest decks eliminated the inconvenient for loading and unloading doghouse because they had walk tunnels available.
I know the Irvin was built as a replacement fleet flag ship for Pittsburgh Steel, but what was the logic to build and sail the Miller at the same time.
In 1966 according to some of the crew, her forward doghouse hadn't been used in years while some of the guest quarters where still occupied once in a while.

[hayhugh3]

#1 and also #2 hatch on the Gov. Miller/Wm. Irvin were both telescoping with the Guest Dining Room in between.

[PDBLK25]

I was always told they were from the 2-12 to 3-8 watch changes on older ships.

Two notes. Yes, the Haddington's Doghouse WAS aft of the stack. I even included a photo showing it that way. I don't know what I was thinking (or if I was).
As for what "guest" said, this was true in many cases. As study has shown, Doghouses immediately after the forecabins were for guests & many were later removed (note the unique arrangement of the Governor Miller. The 1st hatch is Telescoping, as the Guest Doghouse blocks access to it by the "Iron Deckhand" which served the other hatches.) Other Doghouses located on the spar deck were located closer to the aft cabins, these were for the crew. They could not have been too much of a hindrance to loading & unloading as Pittsburgh Steamship, Pioneer S.S. & other boats built around 1900 retained their spar deck-mounted crew Doghouses until the end of their careers. In fact, in a few cases (John W. Gates. Queen City, etc.) crew Doghouses were added & retained until the ship was retired.

[William Lafferty]

The doghouse of the Haddington is aft of the funnel. This was a wooden affair that may have been original but, if not, certainly added in the earliest years of her career and remained until conversion to a tanker. What extends forward beyond the boiler house is the number six hatch that was raised even with the afterhouse around 1910 to provide additional package freight space. This may have been a refrigerated space.

[PDBLK25]

After seeing so many examples of crew "Doghouses" mounted on the stern cabins, I became curious as to the first time this arrangenent was used. I tracked down its first use to be sometime around 1920. In 1919 the 1896-built, Pittsburgh Steamship Str. Coralia received a major re-build in which her forward cabins were moved to the forecastle, and a crew Doghouse was placed aft of the stack. This was the first U.S. example I could find.
On the Canadian side is the CSL Str. Haddington. It was built in 1904, 270' long, and owned by CSL as the Haddington from 1913 to 1920, and as the Maplehill from 1920 to 1938. The attached photo (from the Bowling Green Archives) shows the CSL Str. Haddington (old CSL insignia) with a crew Doghouse clearlly located forward of the stack. Unfortunately, the photo is undated, but it cannot be later than 1920.

[Al]

That makes sense for the Dalton since it probably lost "flagship" status when the Harry Coulby was launched. The Coulby had very nice guest quarters, including a fireplace.

[PDBLK25]

its deckhouse was a dining room for guests. I think others may have served this purpose or been used as crew quarters.

I didn't know why the Dalton had that Doghouse, or why it was removed, but now I think I may know. The Henry G. Dalton was Interlake's 1st 600-footer (1916) & the flagship. Most flagships had Guest Quarters. The Dalton's Doghouse not only had 7 deadlights, but also a small stack. This leads me to think it was Dining Quarters for Guests. I notice that post-1920 ships added crews quarters by putting Doghouses on the stern cabins (examples are the Strs. C.H. McCullough, Elton Hoyt [1], Wolvin, Harry W.Croft, C.S. Robinson, D.G. Kerr, Horace Johnson, Eugene Thomas, Homer Williams, Lamont, Tietjen. etc. I also heard Captains & Officers (including Capt. Metz) say that on older ships, Guest Quarters were often converted to officers' rooms. If this happened to the Dalton then she wouldn't need a Guest dining-room and the Doghouse could be removed.

[Guest]

I was always told they were from the 2-12 to 3-8 watch changes on older ships.

[Guest]

Here are a couple of direct links to relevant doghouse pictures:

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthumbs ... 923-mp.jpg

http://users.wowway.com/~ookpik72/HenryGDalton.jpg

[Al]

You can find a number of older boats that had "doghouses" on the spar deck at one time, and I'm not sure anyone has the answer for what purpose all of them served. I read a contemporary description of one of the Peavey boats (I don't recall which one) that said its deckhouse was a dining room for guests. I think others may have served this purpose or been used as crew quarters. In comparing photos of the same boats over the years, you see a lot of these deckhouses disappear pretty early, I expect because they were a nuisance for loading and unloading. Several boats had "penthouses" added to the top of the after cabin when crew quarters were modernized. Interlake did a lot of this, adding one to the Wolvin, the first Elton Hoyt II and the CH McCullough Jr. in 1950.

[PDBLK25]

All the talk of Doghouses in the Bourke-White thread got me to thinking about the one on the Interlake Str. Henry G. Dalton. Two postcard views; one of her docked at the Ashland ore-dock in the '40s or '50s, another showing her at Dollar Bay in 1955; clearly show that she has a Doghouse immediately aft of her forward cabins. Later views of the Dalton (in Barry's Fate of the Lakes & in Greenwood's Namesakes: 1956-1980) clearly show that this Doghouse has been removed. Why was it there in the first place (she appears to have no Passenger accommodations), and when was it removed?