Boatnerd Discussion Forum

torgy1962 wrote:

Guest wrote:During the sixties and '70s it was usually Bethlehem Steel and Interlake Steamship vessels that would load at Taconite Harbor; with the occasional CSL ship.

Taconite Harbor loadings of that time would mirror the owners, with Bethlehem as the principal, loading the most in mostly BSC vessels. Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Interlake, and Stelco would have shipped by contract fleets.[/quote

Didn't Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Interlake, Erie Mining, Pickands Mather, and Interlake Steamship Co. all have some common ownership involved? Interlake Steamship did haul a lot of the ore for Youngstown and Interlake Iron.

Guest wrote:During the sixties and '70s it was usually Bethlehem Steel and Interlake Steamship vessels that would load at Taconite Harbor; with the occasional CSL ship.

Taconite Harbor loadings of that time would mirror the owners, with Bethlehem as the principal, loading the most in mostly BSC vessels. Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Interlake, and Stelco would have shipped by contract fleets.

wlbblw wrote:She came to Lackawanna with ore.

The Fitz also delivered ore to Hanna Furnace in Buffalo, and loaded ore at Taconite Harbor. I've seen a cool photo of the Fitz loading ore there, whilst a smaller Ford boat unloads coal at the EMCo power plant!

That would be wonderful to see.

Guest wrote:I have a photo somewhere of her loading coal in Erie, PA during the 1960s.

During the sixties and '70s it was usually Bethlehem Steel and Interlake Steamship vessels that would load at Taconite Harbor; with the occasional CSL ship.

Two Harbors was used almost exclusively by Tinstackers.

Not related to your question Denny. but interesting nonetheless is a photo I came across in my internet search. It shows the William R. Roesch searching for survivors near Coppermine Point on November 11, 1975. The recovered lifeboat is seen near the base of the self-unloader boom.

http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/A ... SinksA.jpg

I have a photo somewhere of her loading coal in Erie, PA during the 1960s.

Thanks everyone as this has been a very interesting thread loaded with lots of neat information and historical facts as far as the other ports that she visited. I still did not however receive a yes or no as to my question of "Did the Fitz in her career ever load ore at the following two ports, Two Harbors or Taconite Harbor?" I would say no as Two Harbors was mostly used by USS/GLF ships but, I am sure others loaded there also. As for Taconite Harbor I don't know back then what all companies would have loaded from there as well in those days? One person on here thought at one time that she may also have loaded at Duluth Ore Dock or the old DM&IR Dock now the CN Ore Dock. I have never heard or seen anything that talked or mentioned that although, I supposed she could have?

The Fitz was at Ashtaubula on November 5, 1975, and in September, on the 22nd she was docked in Indiana Harbor at Inland Steel.

i'm quite sure that the Fitzgerald docked at the C&P ore dock in Cleveland sometime during her career, but I have yet to see photos of such.

No-just made a visit that one time.

Did not the Fitzgerald use Milwaukee as a lay-up port some years?

Since the term 'visit' was used in the original question, I'll add this: The Fitzgerald did 'visit' Milwaukee for an open house in 1959 shortly after she first sailed. Northwestern Mutual sponsored the event since she was named in honor of the NML chairman. It's hard to accept the fact that she's a collapsed wreck in Lake Superior.

The Fitzgerald did unload iron ore pellets in Huron, Ohio in 1972. It was a port record for that time.

I've seen a picture of the Fitzgerald loading at the DMIR ore dock in Duluth.

As many have talked and said here about the Fitzgerald and her trading patterns I would like to add a few of my own. First many are correct as she mostly loaded I presume from Silver Bay and unloaded in Toledo. As many also know she did load also from the Burlington Northern Allouez Docks in Superior and unloaded that at Zug Island on a few occasions. Not 100% sure but I seem to recall her unloading maybe in Huron, Ohio at one point so don't know if I am correct or not? As Brian had indicated she unloaded ore also in Lackawanna as well. I have never heard or recall if she unloaded ore in Cleveland or not but, I do know she did indeed unload in Ashtabula as that was her final unloading port at least before her untimely sinking. Not to get things confused as I know her last and fateful voyage was from Superior to Zug Island. I am only talking about the trip prior to that one as there was once something about that hanging up in the USACE Vistors Center years ago and it had listed her last unload port was Ashtabula before they loaded their last cargo in Superior. Also did they ever load in ore cargoes in Two Harbors, Taconite Harbor or Escanaba? I think I heard that they loaded in Escanaba but I have never heard of them loading in Two Harbors or Taconite Harbor. Just enquiring here is all this is?

She came to Lackawanna with ore.

I don't ever recall reading anything on the Fitzgerald loading grain, coal or stone during her career.
During the 1975 season, she took cargoes of iron ore pellets from Superior to Detroit (at least twice that season), Silver Bay to Ashtaubula. And she took a load of iron ore to Indiana Harbor (I don't know if it was for Inland Steel or Youngstown Sheet and Tube).

This may have been asked before but what other ports did the Edmund Fitzgerald visit during its career outside of its normal Silver Bay to Toledo run. Did it ever visit Marquette, Ashland, Cleveland, etc.? Did it ever carry coal, grain, or stone? Thanks for any answers.