Historical Perspective in Photos

[Guest]

Great shots ! I especially like the ones with the crew doing their work.

[Jon Paul]

First 4 photo's are Upbound Davis Lock July 10, 1977 - headed for Duluth (Trip #23-15,687 tons of McCook Fine Red Ore for Ashtabula A & B Dock)

TRIP #40
Making the dock at C & NW Escanaba - January 22, 1978 @ 12:15
Loaded 13,652 tons of Empire pellets for Republic Steel/S Chicago

The July photo's were taken on a beautiful sunny day in the upper 70's
and the January shots were on a beautiful sunny day with the temps in the single digits, lol

[Jon Paul]

Was Jeff Penny a deckhand on the White? What year were your photos taken in regards to the gas mask? I don't have a thing on Jeff Penny.

He was a deck hand and I believe the photo was taken during the '77 shipping season.

[clarkjol]

Was Jeff Penny a deckhand on the White? What year were your photos taken in regards to the gas mask? I don't have a thing on Jeff Penny.

[Jon Paul]

Photos of some of the crew being trained on the use of Oxygen Re-breather included Engineer's and deck crew including me as AB Watchman.
We were going to access a ballast tank and there was concern that gases might be present.

[a guest]

Late 1962, the Ford fleet put the McNamara to work hauling coal from Toledo, Ohio to their Rouge Plant. 1966, upon approval from the American Bureau of Shipping and the Coast Guard, that summer the hatches and deck were removed and replaced with six foot tall sides to make a completely open cargo hold. Afterward, the McNamara was restricted to that run and remained so until summer 1972.

[ds]

The Sylvania operated with her hatches open and topped off with coal well above the hatch combings on a regular basis in the 70s. I believe the J.R. Sensibar and G.A. Tomlinson also did occasionally as well. They were doing short runs from Toledo to Monroe or up to about three different unloading ports along the Detroit River.

[Jon Paul]

The John Boland sank in a storm due to her hatches being open to allow coal to go beyond the deck level, not a collision unless there is or was another Boland. There is a story that this sinking caused regulations to be changed about letting vessels overload their holds with grain or coal. However I've been told on this board that that was not the case and the practice continued for decades after the sinking.

The Roy Jodrey is a awesome wreck. The sheer size of everything compared to the other older freighters I've been on has put everything in perspective on how man can still make mistakes and sink modern ships. It was also the hardest technical wreck dives that I have ever done due to the nasty current in the river.

I posted a photo earlier on this thread that shows the Sylvania on Lake Erie with her hatches open and coal overflowing that I took in the '70s.
The Robert McNamara ran like that with coal from Toledo to the Ford mill in Dearborn decades after the canaller John J Boland sank in Lake Erie on Oct 5, 1932.
Certain restrictions were put in place for this type of cargo hauling after the Boland sinking which limited it to Toledo - Detroit River runs but I do not know the exact specifics.

[Guest]

I take that back, the Boland in the picture is not the small Boland that sank off Barcelona.

You're thinking of John J. Boland Jr, which sank on October 5, 1932 after departing Erie, Pennsylvania with a load of coal for Hamilton, Ontario.

[Jared]

I take that back, the Boland in the picture is not the small Boland that sank off Barcelona.

[Jared]

The John Boland sank in a storm due to her hatches being open to allow coal to go beyond the deck level, not a collision unless there is or was another Boland. There is a story that this sinking caused regulations to be changed about letting vessels overload their holds with grain or coal. However I've been told on this board that that was not the case and the practice continued for decades after the sinking.

The Roy Jodrey is a awesome wreck. The sheer size of everything compared to the other older freighters I've been on has put everything in perspective on how man can still make mistakes and sink modern ships. It was also the hardest technical wreck dives that I have ever done due to the nasty current in the river.

[Jon Paul]

BUMPS, BRUISES AND ON THE BOTTOM

MV Roy Jodrey struck Pullman Shoal in St Lawrence Seaway and sank Nov. 20, 1974

Benjamin Fairless and Ralph Misener had a Forecastle Bender in the Welland Canal June 16, 1964

Sylvania on the bottom of St Clair River June , 1967

Renvoyle in Welland Canal after sinking Sylvania

Tashmoo broke 14 mooring lines on June 18, 1930 and collided with the Belle Isle Bridge

Daniel J Morrell sank in Lake Huron on Nov 29, 1966

Edmund Fitzgerald photo taken during first full year of service

J F Schoellkopf Jr struck the I-75/Zilwaukee Bridge on Oct. 5, 1967

Sidney E Smith and Parker Evans the afternoon of the collision June 5, 1972

John J Boland after colliding in fog on Lake Erie with Frank Armstrong Nov 2, 1948

MV Topdalsfjord showing bow damage from sinking Cedarville

Cedarville sank in Straits of Mackinac May 7, 1965

Stonefax sank in collision with Arthur Stove on Oct. 14, 1966
in the Welland canal

[Guest]

It must have been a source of pride and amusement for the captains and crews of the Triplets to regularly break ice for other ships and even stuck tugs and USCG vessels. And to pour on the speed to beat another vessel to a dock. I wish there was some film footage available of these 3 amazing and unique vessels.

Checkout 7:54 and 8:14 of this documentary on the Fitz. Each has about 3 seconds of footage showing a Triplet cruising with cargo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uOnnIv5Qs

[Guest]

It must have been a source of pride and amusement for the captains and crews of the Triplets to regularly break ice for other ships and even stuck tugs and USCG vessels. And to pour on the speed to beat another vessel to a dock. I wish there was some film footage available of these 3 amazing and unique vessels.

[WM4504]

Bill Smith on the Homer did a similar thing as The Gap in 1978, he took us in the east entrance at Taconite Harbor rather then backing in or using the turning block.

[Guest]

The C&NW ore dock at Escanaba closed for the season on February 22, 1978, so the Inland Steel boats laid-up for the season shortly after that.

[Jon Paul]

Thank you for posting an image of the Arizona with her sky pilot. Of the two tugs receiving this apparatus, images of the Colorado with this are much more common, Arizona images are quite rare.

Your welcome JL. As I said, we rarely ever used tugs and I wanted to get some photos of the tow. Arizona is a very interesting tug and I believe her and the Colorado are sisters. I saw a picture of Arizons from the mid '90''s and the Sky Pilot had been removed.

[Guest]

Did the Inland vessels run all winter?

[JL]

Thank you for posting an image of the Arizona with her sky pilot. Of the two tugs receiving this apparatus, images of the Colorado with this are much more common, Arizona images are quite rare.

[Jon Paul]

Joh Paul, was that a one time unload at the South Works? I notice in both photos what, at least on the Clarke, was called the "Gap", the opening in the breakwall. It was supposedly against USS/GLF policy to go thru the "Gap" and not the main entrance/exit to Calumet harbor. One trip departing S. Chicago our Captain took the Clarke thru the "Gap". To the veteran sailors it sounded like the Captain had performed a treasonous act. Being a punk kid I didn't know, but the veterans talked about it for days.

Yes, unloading at South Works was a one time deal. The long Miners Strike in '77 put all the steel mills in a hole and then the quick cold snap and freeze up in December really added to the problem. When we tied up to unload basically the only pellets on the dock were what the Munson had just unloaded.
US Steel repaid the trip the following spring by having the Fairless take a Cliffs load from Marquette to Trenton.
The reason I know this is I was on the wheel upbound just off Gros Cap a few months later in May and the Skipper on the Fairless called on the radio. He knew we were running in there a lot and wanted some details from our Captain on the Trenton Channel and Grose Isle Upper Bridge in particular. It's kinda tricky there and just through the bridge you have to do an abrupt 180* turn to dock facing the current.
As for the gap in the breakwall, I had heard of some of the smaller boats taking the short cut but never saw it done.
Rumer had it that the narrower and shallower self unloaders that ran in and out of Rail to Water used to do it all the time in ballast only and weather permitting.