Car Ferry Grand Haven

[William Lafferty]

Where were mccarthys remaining a autucarriers scrapped at?

George H. Ingalls and T. J. McCarthy: Arrived at Port Colborne, Ontario, 28 June 1966 in tow of tugs Amherstburg and Atomic for demolition by Marine Salvage, Ltd.

George W. Mead: Arrived 21 June 1966 under tow of John Purves at Ashtabula for demolition by Acme Scrap & Iron Metal Company

Mataafa (chartered by T. J. McCarthy Steamship Company, Detroit, 1961-1964, owned by Ranahan-McCarthy Marine Terminals, Inc., Buffalo, 1964): Arrived at Hamburg 19 July 1965 for demolition by Eisen-un-Metall AG.

[badger]

Where were mccarthys remaining a autucarriers scrapped at? Cleveland? The ss acquaramma ran between Detroit {beside westcotts} and Cleveland. Service didn't last long because their competition was the Ohio State turnpike. Itd make no sense at all!

[Guest]

Was the the same McCarthy's autocarrier fleet that owned the T. J. McCarthy?

Yes.

There must have been some demand for cross lake
service at the time. Steel shipments by rail from Hamilton to Cleveland took 7 days; the ferry service claimed it would reduce that to 24 hours. Meanwhile, the state of Ohio was proposing to build a bridge across Lake Erie from near Eastlake to Port Stanley. They were inspired by the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel, which opened the same year.

[Guest]

Was the the same McCarthy's autocarrier fleet that owned the T. J. McCarthy?

[William Lafferty]

Originally USCAN was to use McCarthy's four auto carriers in the service. Grand Haven arrived at Cleveland the evening of 28 December 1964. The Cleveland Stevedoring Company erected fencing, a gate, and roadway improvements to Dock 28, completed 24 December 1964. Its initial trip to Port Burwell was 22 January 1964, leaving there that day with 125 tons of steel coil from Stelco at Hamilton for the Ford plant at Walton Hills. The vessel did not make another trip until 3 March 1965, having suffered engine problems. It returned to Cleveland suffering boiler problems. It had been in ordinary for four years at West Palm Beach and Jacksonville before coming back to the lakes. It finally left Cleveland 8 March 1965, sailing into heavy ice. The three Canadian trucking firms that were to co-operate in the USCAN venture received licenses from the Ontario provincial government the next week, and it appeared to be clear sailing, but heavy ice continued to cause problems on southern Lake Erie. Almost immediately more opposition to the service arose in Canada, and the Ontario Board of Transport scheduled hearings for late February to sort things. However, these were not sorted out, with the Niagara Frontier Traffic Bureau that regulated commercial traffic across the border not granting the type of tariff USCAN sought to make the service profitable. Grand Haven appears to have run only intermittently in the spring of 1965, laid up at Dock 22 at Cleveland by June, later moved to the Old River Bed where the vessel sank on 20 September 1969. Meanwhile in spring 1965 McCarthy's fleet, its remaining three auto carriers, were sold to the breakers.

[Rob]

Mr. Link,
Thanks for that interesting article. That web page is a weird one. Kind of twitchy to use. One thing they left out is that the West India Fruit and Steamship Co. lost a couple ferries in WWII that had been drafted into US Navy service, one to a typhoon and another to a mine I believe. I would need consult Mr. Hilton's book to confirm that, but I think that was what happened. Thus they needed tonnage.

[guest]

Any one have more info? By the sound of it the venture wasn't too successful, be foreign registered they must of needed a pilot. Interesting to glean any more info'

[Mr Link]

The November 1964 edition of the Telescope had a four page article about the Grand Haven by Bill Worden and is available online here: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegrea ... /page/4?n= It includes details about the truck ferry route, but keep in mind it was written while the route was still active, so it doesn't have any details about why it didn't succeed.

[Guest]

Guest,
Can you tell us more about her time as a truck ferry? This time is missing from my knowledge of the Grand Haven. The next I know is that she sank at her slip.

I don't know much about it and I'm sure others will chime in, but the plan was to use the ferry to transport trucks carrying steel (coils?) from Cleveland to Port Burwell and Port Stanley. It was referred to as fishy-back service, a play on piggyback service of the railroads. They started that winter and I don't think it lasted more than a few months before it failed.

[Rob]

Guest,
Can you tell us more about her time as a truck ferry? This time is missing from my knowledge of the Grand Haven. The next I know is that she sank at her slip.

[E J B]

All, appreciate the info !

[Guest]

No, as per previous comment, it was taken in the Welland. She was windbound and was tied on the east wall above Lock 7. That was when she was being returned to the lakes. I know because I was there myself that day and took almost identical photos of her there. All day we kept hoping that she would resume her upbound trip, but the wind would not abate and the Seaway would not let her proceed in such conditions.

[William Lafferty]

Given the Canadian "courtesy" flag flying above the pilothouse, I assume the vessel is in Canada, and given the text probably Port Burwell, although I think it made trips to Port Stanley, too. I am going to speculate it is sitting in the old P-OTCo car ferry slip at Port Burwell.

[Guest]

If the 1964 photo date is correct, then probably Port Burwell. It arrived there from Jacksonville on November 24, 1964, to be prepped for truck ferry service, and made its first run to Cleveland on December 28th.

[Guest]

She was upbound in the Welland Canal on her return trip to the lakes. The photo, taken from near the old "tin shed", shows her tied up for wind between Lock 7 and the old Guard Gate.

[guest]

If I had to guess I'd say port colborne by the steel mill. Its flying a slag of convenience, probably panama

[E J B]

In today's history.....where was that picture of the Grand Haven taken ??