Looking forward from the Past

 A recent post on Facebook reminded me that traditional Great Lakes freighters, built with the wheelhouse forward, are becoming rarer as time goes on. As older ships are removed from service and scrapped their replacements have the wheelhouse and all accommodation aft like modern bulkers around the world. This loss of distinctive appearance is regrettable, but understandable, as new technology has meant that the visibility provided from a forward wheelhouse is no longer essential to safe navigation.

Also ships that work the Great Lakes are now often built to work off the Lakes and beyond the Gulf of St.Lawrence for short sea voyages to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and even to the Bay of Fundy coast of New Brunswick. Some even go farther afield and make ocean voyages.The forward mounted wheelhouse is much more exposed, subject to more pitching and isolated from the accommodation, galley and is thus a liability. Steering and engine control connections are also awkward and complex.

Halifax saw many ships with wheelhouse forward  over the years, although they were generally of the small canal sized vessels (some of which had been built in the UK and made transatlantic crossings in peace and war.)  The many locks on the old St.Lawrence River canals limited ships to 260 feet long and 45 feet wide with a maximum draft of 14 feet.

 

The Charles R. Huntley, built in 1926 in Scotland, was obsolete by the time the St.Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, although it was still sound enough to be converted to a suction dredge. It worked on the construction of the South End Container Terminal in Halifax (then called Halterm) in 1969 and kicked around for several years thereafter, dredging in Saint John and St.Lawrence River channels. It also had some close calls at sea in bad weather. It was finally scrapped in 2003 as BV Reyna.
 

The Lachinedoc, built in 1956 in Newport, Wales, was one of the last ships built to the old canal dimensions. It carried a pair of cranes to handle newsprint cargoes, but also carried bulk grain to Halifax as in this 1970 photo. It remained in Canadian service until sold overseas in 1975 and was lost in Bahrain in 1981.

Once the St.Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, and much larger ships could travel to and from the Great Lakes some of the canallers were lengthened and even deepened to increase their capacity.

Eastcliffe Hall was built in 1954 to suit the old canals but in 1959 was lengthened 90 ft ( 27.5m) from 258 ft (78.9m) to 349 ft (106.4m) and deepened. [It sank with  loss of life a few days after I took this photo in Halifax in July 1970.]

When the Nortcliffe Hall was sold south in 1975 it wisely fitted storm shields over the wheelhouse windows. (Built in 1952 as the first Frankcliffe Hall it was deepened in 1959, renamed in 1962 and returned to Canada as Roland Desgagnés in 1976. It sank off Pointe-au-Pic in 1982 with a cargo of salt from Pugwash, NS for Montreal.)

New ships, built to the maximum allowable size for the new Seaway locks (originally 730 feet by 75 feet), were basically enlarged versions of the traditional ships, with wheelhouse and some accommodation foward. Also they were not normally built strongly enough to go to sea. Their relatively long and slender shapes would need considerable reinforcement beyond what was needed for Great Lakes conditions, especially if they were to work off Lakes in winter, and as noted, the forward wheelhouse was a liability. Lakers also had limited sailing range, as fueling locations were plentiful on the Lakes. Even into the 1960s and beyond, many lakers still burned coal.

A new breed of "salty laker" was designed for both high seas (salt water) and Lakes work (fresh water). One of the first was an odd ship, a self-unloader, the Hallfax built in the UK, with wheelhouse forward. It was built to carry coal from Sydney, NS to Montreal and Toronto and often back-hauled grain to  Halifax. Well shy of the maximum dimensions for the Seaway, it was enlarged, but never really fit in and must be considered an experiment.

In 1970, when this photo was taken, Halifax did not have the ability to receive grain from self-unloaders, and instead used the old-fashioned "grain leg" which was a bucket conveyor that reached into the ship's hold. However the ship did use its self-unloading equipment to move cargo to one central hold so that the ship did not have to shift as each hold was emptied.

After this, new "salty-lakers" were built with wheelhouse and accommodation aft. The Cape Breton Miner (680 ft x 75 ft) and near sister Ontario Power (712 ft x 75 ft) carried coal from Sydney, NS under contract to Ontario Hydro, but would also carry grain to Halifax on the return trip. They operated deep sea in winter, and had bulbous bow and "seagoing" hull shape.

Another unique ship was an exception to the rule. The Frankcliffe Hall (second of the name) was built in 1963 for the Lakes trade. It was later converted to a self-unloader and reinforced so that it could make "short sea" voyages to Halifax with grain and to back-haul gypsum, salt or other bulk cargoes. The ship's original fine appearance was marred by the self-unloader frame and an awkward funnel extension. The ship remained a steamer too until broken up in 2011.

Renamed Halifax when acquired by CSL, it was the last Great Lakes caller in Halifax with wheelhouse forward.

 There was also one unplanned visit of traditional Lakers to Halifax and that was when the Helen Evans and the Thornhill arrived in late 1980.

The Helen Evans was built back in 1906 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in the Detroit suburb of Ecorse, it was originally called the James Laughlin and worked for Jones + Laughlin Steel's Interstate Steamship Co until 1952 then Wilson Transit before its sale to Canadian owners in 1964. Those owners were Hindman Transportation of Owen Sound, ON - noted for their ability to squeeze more years of service out of old hulls. They renamed the ship Helen Evans (after fleet owner Captain George Hindman's daughter) and in 1967 re-powered the ship with second hand steam machinery from a Liberty ship. Then in 1974 they converted its boilers from coal-fired to oil. However at only 550 feet long it was not large enough for profitable operation, as ships of maximum Seaway size could be operated by a same or smaller sized crew.

In 1978 Hindman sold the ship to Quebec + Ontario Navigation, but that ownership was short lived and Q+O sold it for scrap in 1979. The buyers were in Colombia, and the ship was to be towed to their scrapyard in Mamonal along with another veteran ship. 

The Thornhill, the other ship in the tow, was also built by Great Lakes Engineering Works in 1906, but for the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co, and named Ishpeming. It was re-powered with steam turbines in 1951, and served Cliffs until 1966 when Canadian owners Upper Lakes Shipping bought the ship. They operated it as Thornhill until 1979 when they sold it to intermediaries who sold it on to the Colombian breakers.

 The tug assigned to the job was the Captain Ioannis S, ex Sistella, ex Sandy Cape, built in Norway in 1994 and rated at 5400 bhp. It had recently been acquired by Quebec Tugs. With the tandem tow assembled, they departed Quebec City September 17 and while out in the Gulf of St.Lawrence a malfunction in the tug's controllable pitch propellor system caused it to back over and sever the tow line.

The Helen Evans and Thornhill (with names painted over, and port lights plated over) were eventually rounded up and towed into Halifax on September 23, 1980. It was a memorable event, as these were the first (and so far only) classic lakers to arrive in Halifax in original configuration. (I make a distinciton between "lakers" and "canallers".)

Of note, both ships had new larger wheelhouses built in the 1950s. Radar and other navigation aids had become mandatory and would not fit in the confines of the old steering stations, so more room was needed.

 

 

Tugs finally got the dead ships alongside Pier 21 (it took four tugs each). There was no one aboard the ships save a harbour pilot and no operable winches, so gangs of linesman had to be arranged from shore and from the tugs. Note the emergency steering wheel on the boat deck aft. Another of the problems with a forward wheelhouse was the long connection from helm to rudder, running the length of the ship. In case of emergency the ship could be steered from aft, but how it was navigated must have presented challenges!

After a few weeks in Halifax, the tow arrangement was restored, the flotilla set sail October 16 and arrived in Colombia October 30, 1980 without further incident.

Among the remaining forward wheelhouse ships on the Great Lakes today, several are Canadian, but none are likely to ever visit Halifax, as they are not strengthened for "outside" work. Most get as far east as Sept Iles, QC. One example is the John D. Leitch (730 ft x 77'-11 3/8") which operates regularly on the lower St.Lawrence.

 Built in 1967 the John D. Leitch has none of the grace of its predecessors, but has proven to be a valuable member of the ULS, then Algoma fleets. (Its cargo section was widened when the Seaway increased the maximum width from 75 ft to 78 ft.)

Two others, CSL's CSL Tadoussac and Frontenac have foiled my attempts for clear photographs -   Frontenac by skillfully camouflaging itself in fog. 

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Service Disruption

The relentless to-ing and fro-ing of the Halifax harbour ferries was disrupted for a few hours today as heavy snow forced the shutdown of municipal services such as transit and refuse collection. With schools, colleges and unversities also closed and many businesses shuttered, at least for a time, the ferries would not have had much business had they been operational for the morning commute.

Unlike ferry services in less sheltered waters, the harbour ferries are rarely effected by weather, and then only in the most extreme conditions. They often run when all other means of transportation grind to a halt.

Today's interruption was short lived as the boats began to run again in the late morning once some roads were clear and it was safe for passengers (and crews) to reach the three terminals. Credited as the oldest (and continously operated) salt water ferry service in North America, and the second oldest in the world* after the Mersey ferry in England, the service dates back to the founding of Halifax in 1749. The first municipally chartered service began in 1752, and has relied on several means of propulsion including horses turning paddle wheels. They were double ended, with two wheelhouses.

 In the early 20th century, the boats were steam powered and carried automobiles until 1956 when the Angus L. Macdonald bridge was built connecting Halifax and Dartmouth. It was then that the noted naval architect William Roue (of schooner Bluenose fame) designed a pair of wooden hulled, diesel powered, pedestrian only, boats that established the basis for future designs.

The little double enders with a centre wheelhouse, did not need to turn around as they travelled  back and forth across the harbour, as they were built with propellors at bow and stern, and operated in forward or reverse mode.They also used the old docking slips at each end of the run. They operated until 1978 when a second generation of boats came into service. These new boats were steel hulled and were sideloading.  New floating terminal structures, gave passengers somewhat more shelter in bad weather.

Named Halifax III and Dartmouth III, they used the Voith - Schneider propulsion system, allowing the engines to change direction and speed by altering the pitch of the vertical prop blades. Otherwise they were remarkably similar in concept and appearance to their Roue-designed predecessors.

Designers E.Y.E. provided a virtually identical design when a third ferry was added to the fleet in 1986 when a second terminal was added on the Dartmouth shore at Woodside. The newest boat was named,  perhaps predictably, Woodside I.

The new route was longer, but all three boats were interchangeable and did take turns, sometimes confusing patrons. All three vessels were built by Ferguson Industries in Pictou, NS.

The current fleet numbers five boats. All were built by A.F.Thériault in Meteghan River between 2014 and 2018 to an upgraded E.Y.E. design, but which still has the distinctive profile given by Roue.
 

Having five boats in the fleet allows for two vessels on each route and a spare to cover maintenenace periods or breakdowns. All boats are named for people, and each boat carries an interpretive panel explaining that person's role in history. 

 

The Wikipedia page on the ferry service gives a brief bio of the namesake for each boat. 

See: Ferry and namesakes

When the current boats came into service the three previuous boats were sold. Dartmouth III made its way to Toronto where it was to run to a waterfront amusement park. So far it has not entered service. Dartmouth III and Woodside I, were acquired by the same owners, but at last report were laid up in Lunenburg, NS.

*I am always wary of "firsts" and "biggests" and "oldests". Our Eurocentric version of history normally excludes a lot of (perhaps) unrecorded events that happened far from western eyes. There have been salt water ferry services as long as there have been bodies of salt water to cross (real or imagined or even flaming). See: Charon

The current boats' "rooster tails" when underway give a bustling appearance, which is entirely appropriate. There is also a hardy breed of passengers who ride "outside" on the weather deck whenever possible. (Sometimes the crew closes the upper deck for safety.)

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Cutlass Fury 2021 - big navy day

 It was a big day for the Royal Canadian Navy as hosts for Operation Cutlass Fury 2021. There were three visiting warships in port and eight Canadian ships participated in a sail past and several aircraft carried out a flypast. Unfortunately there was some glitch in the proceedings and a lengthy delay in the start and a lagging ship at the finish, so I was not in the best position when it finally got going.

First to leave port was USS Thomas Hudner which did not participate in the sail past. I barely caught site of it as it headed outbound, passing the inbound container ship MOL Experience (see more below).

With all the Canadian ships and the French ship Aquitaine in Bedford Basin, HMCS Windsor also headed for the Basin before returning to a position on the ferry track to take the salute.

No points for appearance, but Windsor appears to be fully clothed with its acoustic jacket patched in place.

The Canadian ships eventually headed for sea in line ahead, HMCS Toronto in the lead:

Followed by HMCS Montreal:

and HMCS Halifax:

The line then continued with the three MCDVs, HMCS Kingston:

HMCS Moncton:

and HMCS Summerside:

Certainly a rare scene of six Canadian ships in line:

USS Forrest Sherman sailed directly from HMC Dockyad and did not participate in the sail past.

Astrerix was also in the sail past but was well behind the rest of the Canadian ships:

FS Aquitaine , anchored in Bedford Basin, took its pilot pretty much on time at 1530, but didn't seem to be in the same time zone and didn't sail until about 1900 as far as I can figure:

All this activity didn't effect what little commercial traffic there was in the harbour. The container ship MOL Experience, mentioned above, managed to slide in to Bedford Basin before the naval vessels began to leave.

Built by Hyundai, Ulsan in 2007 it is 54,098 gt, 62,953 dwt ship with a capacity of 4803 TEU including 330 reefers. From 2008 to 2010 it was named APL Experience. It is now on THE Alliance's AL5 service for ONE.

Due to the extensive leaf cover of Shipfax headquarters, I missed the flyover, but did catch an errant helo earlier in the proceedings:

It flew out over Bedford Basin, then circled back inland and I did not see it land on any of the RCN ships.

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Ferries named Halifax (and Dartmouth) - Part 1

 The Halifax-Dartmouth ferry service must be one of the most reliable means of transportation in the Halifax area. It seems to operate no matter the weather. However for the first time in many moons it was shut down Sunday, February 15, 2015 during an intense rain and ice storm. People were asked to stay home and off the roads, due to the hazardous conditions. The ferries probably could have run, but for the safety of crews and to discourage travel they were out of service for the day.

Having featured ships named Halifax in several posts, the series would not be complete without mention of the several harbour ferries that have carried the name Halifax. Since the ferries were operated for many years by the Dartmouth Ferry Commission (to 1958), the Town of Dartmouth (to 1961) and the City of Dartmouth, the ferries usually operated in pairs, with a running mate named Dartmouth.

The Halifax - Dartmouth ferry service pre-dates the steamboat era, and was initially started with a paddle vessel, powered by horses on a treadmill. It was well into the steam age, and several boats later, before ferries were named for the two towns facing each other across the harbour.

HALIFAX (i) and DARTMOUTH  (i)

The first Halifax (i) ferry, a side paddle wheeler, dated from 1878 when it was built by William H.Baldwin of New Baltimore, NY with the patriotic name of States Rights. It was renamed Annex 2 in 1888 and was operating between Brooklyn, NY and Jersey City, NJ in 1890 when the Dartmouth Ferry Commission bought the ship. It sailed on its own via Yarmouth and arrived in Dartmouth June 26, 1890. On December 9, 1909 an arsonist set fire to the ship and it was so badly damaged that it was sold for scrap to Charles Brister.

Its running mate Dartmouth (i) came from the Burrell - Johnson Iron Co in Yarmouth, NS in 1888. It was a side wheel paddle steamer and operated for 47 years. Renamed Old Veteran in 1934 when a new Dartmouth (ii) was built, it was sold for scrap the same year and broken up in 1935. 

HALIFAX (ii) and DARTMOUTH (ii)
The next Halifax also lasted for a long time, logging 45 years in harbour service. Built in 1911 by Napier + Miller of Old Kilpatrick, Scotland it was a typical double ender, with rudders and props fore and aft, and corresponding wheelhouses. It had passenger cabins on each side of the hull with carriageways each side of the centre line funnel casing. Its delivery trip from started from Clydebank August 8, 1911, but was interrupted by storm damage, when the ferry put in to Lough Swilly three days later. What followed was a harrowing trip, with the boat continually swamped and pumped out only to be swamped again. A temporary bow, or breakwater, built at one end of the deck was smashed and the master was severely injured in a fall. However the boat arrived in Halifax towards the end of August but it took several months to get it in shape to operate.

Halifax (ii) approaches the Halifax ferry terminal in 1950.

After 45 years of service, the boat was sold for scrap in October 1956. However it was only reduced to a hulk and the hull was used as an equipment float by Construction Equipment Ltd (a division of Foundation Maritime.) but was undocumented, since it was no longer used for transportation purposes. 


Its fleet mate Dartmouth (ii) came from DavieShipbuilding+Repair in Lauzon, QC in 1934. It followed the proven double ender design with fore and aft screws and rudders and two wheelhouses.

  It was licensed for 550 passengers and could carry 18-20 vehicles. It lasted until 1957 when it was broken up at pier 9 in Halifax. Some of its components survived however. One of its wheelhouses was used in rebuilding the former Lurcher lightship as the coaster St-Yves.

 The lightship was converted in 1956-57 by Lunenburg Foundry, and in Halifax, and the coaster (and its recycled wheelhouse) worked on the St.Lawrence River until at least 1983 when the boat was finally lost or scrapped (accounts vary).


HALIFAX II  and DARTMOUTH II
With the opening of the  Angus L. Macdonald Bridge in 1956 the Dartmouth Ferry Commission realized that car and truck ferries were no longer needed, and ordered a pair of small pedestrian-only ferries.  They were originally intended to be steel vessels, but the tendered prices exceeded the budget. The ferry commission engaged W.J.Roue to redraw the plans for wood construction and Smith + Rhuland built the two boats in Lunenburg.

 
Halifax II was christened by Mrs. Dalton Randall (Capt. Randall was superintendent of the ferry operation) and launched July 27, 1956. Sister ferry Dartmouth II had been launched July 24, 1956 with Mrs. I.W. Akerley as sponsor (Mr. Akerley was the newly elected mayor of Dartmouth and chairman of the Ferry Commission).
The 171 grt boats were about 75 ft loa x 34.9 ft beam and were also double enders, with screws and rudders fore and aft, and two independently operated 260 bhp Cummins diesel engines. However the boats were operated from a single midships mounted wheelhouse. There were two cabins, port and starboard, originally designated for ladies and gentlemen, as were the previous generations of ferries, but they were soon integrated.

Orange chevrons were added in 1969 in an attempt to dress up the ferries' dowdy image, and were described as "mod". By the 1970s many passengers refused to use the cabins, which were described in the lingo of the day as "grotty", and remained out on deck in all weathers.

As the only boats in the fleet, they ran in tandem, without backups, between Halifax and Dartmouth until 1979. There were many incidents, and a few accidents over the years.

On December 23, 1963 Halifax II collided with the cable ship Lord Kelvin and then with sister Dartmouth II and sustained damage above the water line.

On July 26, 1979 Dartmouth II collided with he tug Point Viking acquiring a gaping hole 15 ft  x 7 ft above the waterline. Repairs were made with plywood, blanking out two windows on one side, to get the boat through to September when it was retired.

The most spectacular accident occurred January 29, 1977 when Dartmouth II parted her lines in a gale, went adrift and ran aground on the Dartmouth shore. It was towed off at high tide without damage by the tug Point Valiant.

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The boats' egg shaped hulls were quite durable and heavily fendered.

The boats were exceptionally sturdy and survived numerous bumps and scrapes when docking in Halifax and Dartmouth.

The pair served until September 9, 1979 when a new pair of ferries went into service. Although they only served for 23 years, they are well remembered as reliable - if funky.

The boats looked pretty drab by the time they were laid up, complete with plywood patches, and no attempt to repaint the chevrons.

Post ferry work, Dartmouth II ended up in LaHave, NS where it was advertised for sheriff's sale in April 1983, then again for sale in the Autotrader in June of the same year and still with its engines. By 1986 it was back in Halifax where it was converted to the non-propelled floating restaurant Lobsters Ahoy.

Dartmouth II at pier 25 undergoing conversion to a restaurant.

It berthed at the old ferry slip, where it sank October 18, 1992 when a bilge pump burned out.

The boat was raised and was next sighted in Liverpool. NS in 1996, where it was being dismantled.

Although Dartmouth II was raised, it was never repaired. Considerably worse for the wear, it was being dismantled in Liverpool in 1996.

It is likely that the hull was used for fish farming for a time, but I lost track of it after that. Its registration was finally closed April 2, 2000.

Halifax II seems to have traveled extensively after its ferry days.It was purchased by H.B.Nickerson + Sons Ltd of North Sydney, NS and reduced to a barge and renamed Labrador II . Its wheelhouse became the gatehouse at Sydney Engineering and Drydock Co (which Nickersons owned) , and its hull was spotted in Canso in 1992 and in Jeddore in 1993, apparently working its way back to Halifax! It looked like it was being used as a work float for dismantling some old trawlers, and probably did not survive long after that work was done.

Its registration was closed April 22, 2004.

Required Reading: For those interested in the history of the Dartmouth ferry service, the definitive story is contained in a book entitled Like a Weaver's Shuttle by Joan and Lewis Payzant. It was written in 1979 but can still be found on line and in used book shops.

To be continued for HALIFAX III and DARTMOUTH III