whalebacks
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Travis
Re: whalebacks
They are not all gone forever. SS Meteor http://www.superiorpublicmuseums.org/ss ... ORMAIN.htm
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Russ
Re: whalebacks
Just to add to the previous discussion, there is also a little booklet called "Pigboat .... the Story of the Whalebacks" by Head of the lakes Marine Society, Ltd., 1981. Also, you can go on-line to the US Library of Congress and search the photo collections for "whalebacks". They have several dozen photos. The old standby, Ebay, always has postcards of various whalebacks up for auction. Finally, there was the Christopher Columbus - the passenger whaleback that carried visitor to the 1893 Worlds Fair and continued to operate on the lakes until the 1930's.
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ed mertz
Re: whalebacks
I would like to thank Les Weston, soo-charlie and guest for taking the time to reply to my query on whalebacks. I remember seeing these strange looking ships back in the 60's when they traveled the Saint Clair river but, it seems that they are gone forever. It seems that not many pictures remain of these unique ships and just a handful of information remains to pass on to the younger folks.
Thanks again,
ed
Thanks again,
ed
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Guest
Re: whalebacks
I have "notes", and not an answer for you, on whalebacks. My notes aren't organized. edited, credited, cited, compiled, or the best answer to your post. But, I am sending to you the notes I have, for "Anything" you might find helpful in your search.
The American Steel Barge Company was organized in 1888 for the construction of the unique whaleback design of freighter, developed by Alexander McDougall, an immigrant from Scotland.
The whaleback barge 107 (steel whaleback barge, 276 foot, 1,295 gross tons) was launched 1890 by the American Steel Barge Co., at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted eight years. In 1898, she broke free from the tug Alva B in rough weather and stranded near Cleveland, Ohio and was wrecked.
The whaleback steamer Washburn (steel propeller freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #124) at W. Superior, Wisconsin on 25 June 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was scrapped at Cleveland, Ohio.
On this day in June 25, 1892, the American Steel Barge Company, West Superior Wisconsin, Captain Alexander Mc Dougall manager, held the first triple launching on the Great Lakes which included the whalebacks Pillsbury, Washburn and the small tug Islay. A crowd in excess of 10,000 people witnessed the event. Only the tug Islay remains afloat.
On 25 June 1892, the Pillsbury (steel propeller whaleback bulk freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co., at West Superior, Wisconsin. She was rebuilt at Conneaut, Ohio in the winter of 1918-1919 (315.75 feet x 42.25 feet x 24.16 feet; 2,394 gross tons- 1,465 net tons) when she received straight sides and a flattened deck. In 1927, she was converted to crane vessel, with two cranes on deck. In November 1934, she stranded on the north pier at Muskegon, Michigan in a storm and then broke in half. She was scrapped the following year.
On 21 September 1892, the whaleback steamer James B Colgate (steel propeller whaleback freighter, 308 foot, 1,713 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #121) at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted until 1916, when she foundered in the "Black Friday Storm" on Lake Erie with the loss of 26 lives.
The whaleback barge 127 (steel barge, 264 foot, 1,128 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Company of W. Superior, Wisconsin, on 29 October 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was scrapped at New Orleans, Louisiana.
At 7:10 p.m. on August 21, 1901, the whaleback steamer Alexander Mc Dougall (steel propeller modified whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) ran into and cut in two the tug George Stauber (wooden propeller tug, 55 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) in the rapids at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The Stauber sank immediately in about 60 feet of water. No lives were lost. The steam barge Ida assisted in retrieving people in the water. The Mc Dougall did not stop.
McDougall sold it to The American Ship Building Company in 1900. AmShip renamed the shipyard Superior Shipbuilding, but it later became AmShip Superior. It lives on today as Fraser Shipyards.
The whalebacks had small hatches that hindered unloading. The hatch coamings also were easily damaged by unloading gear. Since these hatches had to be watertight (a loaded whaleback had little freeboard)that caused a lot of problems. The whaleback's internal framing also hindered unloading gear. Another factor that I think has never been explored is that the American Steel Barge Company yard changed hands and the new owners built conventional lakers there. The yard's sale (or theft, if you believe Alexander McDougall's version of events) included the whaleback patents. So the whalebacks may have vanished simply because the new owners preferred to build the conventional design.
There are four possibilities. The most likely is the Whaleback Meteor that was operated by Cleveland Tankers. She has been retired in 1972 and is currently a museum in Superior, WI. The other three possibilities are the John Ericsson, the Alexander Holley, or the Barge 137. The last three were operated by Upper Lakes Shipping. As far as I can tell, the Ericsson was not operated in 1964 or 1965 and was scrapped in 1967. Barge 137 and the Alexander Holley were not operated in 1964 or 1965 and were scrapped in 1965.
The remaining whaleback, the tanker Meteor is now a museum ship at Superior, WI.
Having spoken with several Meteor sailors the consensus was the vessel was very easy to wheel and tracked well, however the extreme tumblehome reduced the working space on deck and made them somewhat wet.
Besides the Thomas Wilson at Duluth, did any other Whalebacks sink? At least nine (barges 101, 102, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, and 133) sank in on the East Coast, one whaleback (number 132) sank in the Gulf of Mexico, and six whalebacks (barge 115, Captain Thomas Wilson, Samuel Mather, James Colgate, Sagamore and barge 129) sank on the Great lakes.
My understanding was that because of the slopped sides in the early years, it made it very hard to unload the boat holds and that was why they stopped making them and others never took up building themleback has typically a triple expansion engine and the throttle is a lever connected to the steam supply valve on the HP section of the engine.
The original names of the whalebacks and their launch dates were as follows: Barge 101 (1888), Barge 102 (7/17/89), Barge 103 (10/5/89), Barge 104 (2/6/90), Barge 105 (4/22/90), Colgate Hoyt (6/9/90), Barge 107 (8/16/90), Joseph L. Colby (11/15/90), Barge 109 11/15/90), Barge 110 (4/28/91), Barge 111 (4/28/91), CHarles W. Wetmore (5/23/91), E. B. Bartlett (7/9/91), A. D. Thompson (6/6/91), Barge 115 (8/15/91), Barge 116 (8/29/91), Barge 117 (11/21/91), Barge 118 (12/5/91), Thomas Wilson (4/30/92), Samuel Mather (5/21/92), James B. COlgate (9/21/92), Sagamore (7/23/92), Pathfinder (7/16/92), Washburn (6/25/92), Pillsbury (6/25/92), Barge 126 (12/17/92), Barge 127 (10/29/92), Christopher Columbus (12/3/92), Barge 129 5/13/93), Barge 130 5/27/93, Barge 131 (6/3/93), Barge 132 (2/20/93, Barge 133 (6/17/93), Barge 134 (6/10/93), James B. Trevor, Frank Rockerfeller (4/25/96), Barge 137 (5/9/96), John Ericsson (7/11/96), Alexander Holley (8/12/96), Alexander McDougall (4/21/97), City of Everett, Barge 201 (4/30/97), Barge 202 (4/30/97), Sagamore (British). These are the original names at the time of launching but 33 of them had name changes during their careers.Of these boats, i sank on Lake Huron, 2 sank on Lake Erie, 4 sank on Lake Superior, 13 sank on salt water, and 1 [Sagamore(British)] was torpedoed.
The American Steel Barge Company was organized in 1888 for the construction of the unique whaleback design of freighter, developed by Alexander McDougall, an immigrant from Scotland.
The whaleback barge 107 (steel whaleback barge, 276 foot, 1,295 gross tons) was launched 1890 by the American Steel Barge Co., at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted eight years. In 1898, she broke free from the tug Alva B in rough weather and stranded near Cleveland, Ohio and was wrecked.
The whaleback steamer Washburn (steel propeller freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #124) at W. Superior, Wisconsin on 25 June 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was scrapped at Cleveland, Ohio.
On this day in June 25, 1892, the American Steel Barge Company, West Superior Wisconsin, Captain Alexander Mc Dougall manager, held the first triple launching on the Great Lakes which included the whalebacks Pillsbury, Washburn and the small tug Islay. A crowd in excess of 10,000 people witnessed the event. Only the tug Islay remains afloat.
On 25 June 1892, the Pillsbury (steel propeller whaleback bulk freighter, 320 foot, 2,234 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co., at West Superior, Wisconsin. She was rebuilt at Conneaut, Ohio in the winter of 1918-1919 (315.75 feet x 42.25 feet x 24.16 feet; 2,394 gross tons- 1,465 net tons) when she received straight sides and a flattened deck. In 1927, she was converted to crane vessel, with two cranes on deck. In November 1934, she stranded on the north pier at Muskegon, Michigan in a storm and then broke in half. She was scrapped the following year.
On 21 September 1892, the whaleback steamer James B Colgate (steel propeller whaleback freighter, 308 foot, 1,713 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #121) at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted until 1916, when she foundered in the "Black Friday Storm" on Lake Erie with the loss of 26 lives.
The whaleback barge 127 (steel barge, 264 foot, 1,128 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Company of W. Superior, Wisconsin, on 29 October 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was scrapped at New Orleans, Louisiana.
At 7:10 p.m. on August 21, 1901, the whaleback steamer Alexander Mc Dougall (steel propeller modified whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) ran into and cut in two the tug George Stauber (wooden propeller tug, 55 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) in the rapids at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The Stauber sank immediately in about 60 feet of water. No lives were lost. The steam barge Ida assisted in retrieving people in the water. The Mc Dougall did not stop.
McDougall sold it to The American Ship Building Company in 1900. AmShip renamed the shipyard Superior Shipbuilding, but it later became AmShip Superior. It lives on today as Fraser Shipyards.
The whalebacks had small hatches that hindered unloading. The hatch coamings also were easily damaged by unloading gear. Since these hatches had to be watertight (a loaded whaleback had little freeboard)that caused a lot of problems. The whaleback's internal framing also hindered unloading gear. Another factor that I think has never been explored is that the American Steel Barge Company yard changed hands and the new owners built conventional lakers there. The yard's sale (or theft, if you believe Alexander McDougall's version of events) included the whaleback patents. So the whalebacks may have vanished simply because the new owners preferred to build the conventional design.
There are four possibilities. The most likely is the Whaleback Meteor that was operated by Cleveland Tankers. She has been retired in 1972 and is currently a museum in Superior, WI. The other three possibilities are the John Ericsson, the Alexander Holley, or the Barge 137. The last three were operated by Upper Lakes Shipping. As far as I can tell, the Ericsson was not operated in 1964 or 1965 and was scrapped in 1967. Barge 137 and the Alexander Holley were not operated in 1964 or 1965 and were scrapped in 1965.
The remaining whaleback, the tanker Meteor is now a museum ship at Superior, WI.
Having spoken with several Meteor sailors the consensus was the vessel was very easy to wheel and tracked well, however the extreme tumblehome reduced the working space on deck and made them somewhat wet.
Besides the Thomas Wilson at Duluth, did any other Whalebacks sink? At least nine (barges 101, 102, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, and 133) sank in on the East Coast, one whaleback (number 132) sank in the Gulf of Mexico, and six whalebacks (barge 115, Captain Thomas Wilson, Samuel Mather, James Colgate, Sagamore and barge 129) sank on the Great lakes.
My understanding was that because of the slopped sides in the early years, it made it very hard to unload the boat holds and that was why they stopped making them and others never took up building themleback has typically a triple expansion engine and the throttle is a lever connected to the steam supply valve on the HP section of the engine.
The original names of the whalebacks and their launch dates were as follows: Barge 101 (1888), Barge 102 (7/17/89), Barge 103 (10/5/89), Barge 104 (2/6/90), Barge 105 (4/22/90), Colgate Hoyt (6/9/90), Barge 107 (8/16/90), Joseph L. Colby (11/15/90), Barge 109 11/15/90), Barge 110 (4/28/91), Barge 111 (4/28/91), CHarles W. Wetmore (5/23/91), E. B. Bartlett (7/9/91), A. D. Thompson (6/6/91), Barge 115 (8/15/91), Barge 116 (8/29/91), Barge 117 (11/21/91), Barge 118 (12/5/91), Thomas Wilson (4/30/92), Samuel Mather (5/21/92), James B. COlgate (9/21/92), Sagamore (7/23/92), Pathfinder (7/16/92), Washburn (6/25/92), Pillsbury (6/25/92), Barge 126 (12/17/92), Barge 127 (10/29/92), Christopher Columbus (12/3/92), Barge 129 5/13/93), Barge 130 5/27/93, Barge 131 (6/3/93), Barge 132 (2/20/93, Barge 133 (6/17/93), Barge 134 (6/10/93), James B. Trevor, Frank Rockerfeller (4/25/96), Barge 137 (5/9/96), John Ericsson (7/11/96), Alexander Holley (8/12/96), Alexander McDougall (4/21/97), City of Everett, Barge 201 (4/30/97), Barge 202 (4/30/97), Sagamore (British). These are the original names at the time of launching but 33 of them had name changes during their careers.Of these boats, i sank on Lake Huron, 2 sank on Lake Erie, 4 sank on Lake Superior, 13 sank on salt water, and 1 [Sagamore(British)] was torpedoed.
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soo-charlie
Re: whalebacks
Here is another good book: McDougall’s Dream, The American Whaleback by John H. Wilterding, Jr.; Lakeside Publications Ltd; Printed by Badger Bay Printers, Green Bay, Wisconsin; Copyright 1969 by John H. Wilterding, Jr.
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Les Weston
- Posts: 169
- Joined: March 16, 2010, 1:56 pm
- Location: Brook Park OH
Re: whalebacks
Hi, Ed.
There is a great Arcadia book out in the "Images of America series":
"McDougal's Great Lakes Whalebacks", By Neel R. Zoss.
Good information.
There are also two or three small booklets out. Al Hart, Who visits these boards regularly, may have them for sale.
There is a great Arcadia book out in the "Images of America series":
"McDougal's Great Lakes Whalebacks", By Neel R. Zoss.
Good information.
There are also two or three small booklets out. Al Hart, Who visits these boards regularly, may have them for sale.
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ed mertz
whalebacks
Does anyone know where I can find more information on whalebacks ?
Thanks in advance,
ed
Thanks in advance,
ed