This freighter allided with the Port Robinson Bridge on the Welland Canal.
The elevator on the other side of the slip stores Lime Silica.
The owner of the freighter pays $75,000 in annual storage fees. It has been docked there since 1982. The port authority wants to remove this elevator, but it would cost $17m. Fixing the dock at the mouth of the Calumet River has higher priority for any funds that they can get. [Chicago Tribune, Aug 27, 2023, p17]
Continental used to lease this elevator as well as the former Glidden Elevator. This one was referred to as House C and the other one was House B. The other one is still operational, but this one has been abandoned since Continental allowed their lease to expire. I've noticed that most Seaway ships are now loaded in Toledo, OH at ADM, Andersons, and Cargill, which is operated by Andersons.
idaillinois photo showing two ships at each elevator. A photo of just this elevator There are other 1960 photos of Port District at Lake Calumet such as a ship handling barrels. No wonder containers made the St. Lawrence Seaway obsolete.
Continental used to lease this elevator as well as the former Glidden Elevator. This one was referred to as House C and the other one was House B. The other one is still operational, but this one has been abandoned since Continental allowed their lease to expire. I've noticed that most Seaway ships are now loaded in Toledo, OH at ADM, Andersons, and Cargill, which is operated by Andersons.
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| 1990s photo provided by Greg White |
I saved the satellite image because the Laker is supposed to be towed away for scrapping in 2020.
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| 3D Satellite [The two marine unloaders are still intact.] |
The freighter was used a supplementary storage.
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| Fred Miller II posted CTC #1, at South Chicago, 1988, while still being used as a storage hull, the former STEELTON, also sailed in 1979 as PIONEER for Cleveland Cliffs. Kyle Herdman: Jacob Northup she was sold for scrap a couple of years ago. Somehow, she’s still there. John Philbin: Probably too ripe to get USCG approval to tow her to a scrapyard. |
The grain elevator is owned by the Illinois International Port.
The Laker was built in 1942 as one of 16 war time iron ore freighters. "The ship continued to ferry bulk materials around the Great Lakes until 1980, when it was converted into a cement storage facility, a job it stopped doing in 2009." [WBEZ]
What appears to be a self-unloading boom on C-T-C #1 is rather short. Grain freighters don't need a long boom because they unload into a hopper on the side of a grain elevator. But this boat was never used for grain. Its last function was cement storage and transfer. [Boatnerd]
The freighter is getting some attention because it is supposed to be scrapped in 2020. I thought about driving there to get my own photos. But the circles of barb wire on top of the fence confirms my theory that it is not worth the drive because I won't be able to get very close to it.
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| 3D Satellite |
The Laker was built in 1942 as one of 16 war time iron ore freighters. "The ship continued to ferry bulk materials around the Great Lakes until 1980, when it was converted into a cement storage facility, a job it stopped doing in 2009." [WBEZ]
What appears to be a self-unloading boom on C-T-C #1 is rather short. Grain freighters don't need a long boom because they unload into a hopper on the side of a grain elevator. But this boat was never used for grain. Its last function was cement storage and transfer. [Boatnerd]
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| John Jacob, Oct 2019, cropped Willie Gettit posted Justin Olsen: I don’t think the engine has been removed. Richard Jenkins: Justin Olsen the engine is still in place, but heavily stripped for parts to keep some of her sisters going during the 1980s and early 90s. Bernie Phillip Lomack: 1943. Wow she’s one old gal !!! Kyle Herdman: Back in 2019, the Chicago Tribune wrote that it was supposed to be towed to scrap…never happened, obviously. Here is the article: https://www.chicagotribune.com/.../ct-port-of-chicago... Rob Boal: this was the steelton that knocked down the bridge in thorold |
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| Chicago Woodsman, Oct 2018, cropped [I question if this is the same ship. 1) I thought the freighter at the grain elevator has been there for years. 2) It doesn't have enough rust. 3) It still has quite a bit of equipment on top of the bridge.] |
The freighter is getting some attention because it is supposed to be scrapped in 2020. I thought about driving there to get my own photos. But the circles of barb wire on top of the fence confirms my theory that it is not worth the drive because I won't be able to get very close to it.
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| safe_image for NWItimes (source) |
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| Gabriel Stokes posted This is a borrowed photo, (haven't been up by here in a while, sorry!) But I just recently read the story of the Frank Purnell, aka CTC 1, the old lake ship rusting in Lake Calumet, at the Port of Chicago. I had seen it when I worked on the river, but didn't know the story until recently. Any newer pictures would be appreciated! Pete DePaoli It's to be scrapped next year, estimates say itll bring about 600k for scrap metal. Chris Nighswonger Audio interview says too much asbestos to make money on scrapping. Ronald Joseph James I have a video of it on my YouTube page @SocialWreckUrbEx |
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| Ronald Joseph James commented on Gabriel's post |
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| David Bernicky commented on a post |
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| Ronald Joseph James commented on Gabriel's post |
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| Ronald Joseph James commented on Gabriel's post |
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| Andrew Ricci posted, cropped Some of you may recognize these silos, that laker has been there since 1985, I read somewhere it is inrepairable, and plans to scrap it some day. Dennis DeBruler: That is the first time I've seen the date 1985. Thanks for the info. https://goo.gl/maps/LZUiGovHMfm6zVE28 Andrew Ricci: Dennis DeBruler just found out been mored there since 1982 Rick Drew: From what I read, it was gutted and used as basically as a barge - it was supposed to have been moved and scrapped last year [2021]. |
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| Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted Cement Transit Company's C.T.C. No. 1 seen in Lake Calumet shortly after conversion to a stationary cement storage barge. Peter Worden collection/MHSD. Association for Great Lakes Maritime History shared Launched in May 1943, what would C.T.C. No. 1 was built at Rouge River, Mich. by the Great Lakes Engineering Works for the U.S. Maritime Commission. The 621-foot vessel (LOA) was constructed as a bulk freighter. Originally named McIntyre, the ship was renamed Frank Purnell when it was delivered to the Interlake Steamship Co. of Cleveland, Ohio later in 1943. The vessel was one of three new vessels that were acquired by the shipping line by trading in seven older vessels as part of the purchase price. In 1965, the freighter was traded to Bethlehem Transportation Co. of Cleveland and renamed the Steelton (IV). The Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corp. converted its boilers from coal-fired to oil-fired at its shipyard in Manitowoc, Wis. in 1971. The vessel collided with the Welland Canal’s Bridge 12 at Port Robinson, Ont. on Aug. 25, 1974. The canal was then closed to vessel traffic for 15 days due to the collision. The ship was repaired, and its pilothouse rebuilt at Port Colborne, Ont. by Herb Fraser & Associates. In 1978, the freighter was sold to the Medusa Portland Cement Co. and renamed Hull No. 3. Plans to convert it into a self-unloading vessel were announced but never realized. In July 1979, the vessel was chartered to the Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Co. and renamed the Pioneer (III). The ship was laid up in Toledo, Ohio at the end of the 1979 sailing season and never operated again. In November 1981, it was sold to the Cement Transit Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, a subsidiary of Medusa Portland Cement. The vessel was then towed to Sturgeon Bay, Wis. where cement handling equipment was installed onboard by Bay Shipbuilding during the winter of 1981-1982. After the work was completed, it was renamed C.T.C. No. 1 and towed to South Chicago, Ill. in 1982. Once there, the C.T.C. No. 1 was used as a dockside cement transfer and storage facility. In 1999, it was sold to Southdown Inc. of Houston, Texas. The vessel was acquired by Wilmington Trust of Wilmington, Del. in 2000. After both transactions, it remained in South Chicago. In 2005, the vessel was sold to St. Marys Cement U.S. of Detroit, Mich. It was purchased by the Grand Navigation Co. of Avon Lake, Ohio, a subsidiary of Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. in 2011. In 2019, the C.T.C. No. 1 was reportedly to be soon sold for scrap but was still at South Chicago in 2022. Information Sources: https://greatlakeships.org/3704517/data https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/440145 https://greatlakesships.wordpress.com/frank-purnell-2/ https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/p/purnell-frank-1 https://apnews.com/general-news-34163b70f0e849b889609770f529dd8f |
idaillinois photo showing two ships at each elevator. A photo of just this elevator There are other 1960 photos of Port District at Lake Calumet such as a ship handling barrels. No wonder containers made the St. Lawrence Seaway obsolete.
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