The Great Lakes (off topic a bit)

interurban

Active Member
Railways over the years have brought products to these ships and collected goods also,
I never gave much thought to the Men who sail these mighty vessels on these lakes.
Here is what a friend sent me.


Ever wonder why the Edmund Fitzgerald didn't make it?

A little taste of the seafaring life on the Inland Seas!

These photographs were taken in November aboard Misener Steamships MV Selkirk Settler as she crossed Lake Superior in typical November weather.
 

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Jim Krause

Active Member
Great photograpy. Who took the photo's? I've always heard that the Great Lakes were more dangerous than the ocean.
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
That last photo is frightening! Its amazing to think of those large freighters being tossed about and washed over like that but the Great Lakes can offer some serious challenges. It was thrill enough for me one day to stand at Canal Park in Duluth MN during a gale and nearly have my glasses blown off my face!

There are plenty of theroies regarding the loss of the Fitz including inadequately secured hatches...which as the photos attest would be disasterous for water intake. Others think it was simply overwhelmed by a wave making it plunge bow first to the depths. Still others believe the hull bottomed out on a shoal (they were off course and uncertain of their exact location) and allwed water to soak into the taconite load.....

Even though such tragic incidents are rare, it takes brave folks to work those boats.

From a modleing perpective the freghters are great sources for railroad movements. One would need lots of space to complely model one. The Army Corp of Engineers museum at Canal Park has an HO scene of a taconite unloading dock with several ore cars next to a model ship. The whole thig sis something like seven feet long. The model railroad at the Green Bay National Railroad Musum has a harbor scene with only the stern of the ship modeled against a wall. It effectively conveys the size of the craft and allows for a loading scene without requiring as much room.

Ralph
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Torpedo said:
Anyone else notice something odd about the last photo?
Those were my thoughts too in this day and age where pictures can be doctored to achieve really any effect you want. I'm not sure on this one though. Something definitely looks strange. At first, i thought the perspective lines did not match up from in the foreground to the bow. It looked to me as if the bow was crooked. But, when I put a straight edge to the screen and followed the lines, they do indeed line up. I guess that monstrous wave coming over the side is messing with the perspective lines and giving the illusion that the bow is crooked from the mid section forward. Regarding that wave, it is an awful pretty color blue and it is a little large to believe, however, there are some lighter colors of the ship underneath coming through which could give it that color and there have been reported some gargantuous waves out there. I'm still unsure but I think it could be legit!
 

CRed

Member
Nice photos!

I know all to well how scary ol' Gitchi Gummi can get in November.It's kind of fun when your on shore at Canal Park,but I'd hate to be out there on a Ore Boat no matter what size.The Fitz tragedy is still fresh in my mind even though I was eight at the time.

Those photos remind me of my time in the Navy when we did manuevers in the North Atlantic and watching Frigates and Destroyers completely disappearing in the swells.Luckily for me(at the time anyways) I was stationed on the USS Iowa BB-61 so we just rolled a bit.

Chris
 

ozzy

Active Member
what kind of ship is the USS IOWA?


CRed said:
Nice photos!

I know all to well how scary ol' Gitchi Gummi can get in November.It's kind of fun when your on shore at Canal Park,but I'd hate to be out there on a Ore Boat no matter what size.The Fitz tragedy is still fresh in my mind even though I was eight at the time.

Those photos remind me of my time in the Navy when we did manuevers in the North Atlantic and watching Frigates and Destroyers completely disappearing in the swells.Luckily for me(at the time anyways) I was stationed on the USS Iowa BB-61 so we just rolled a bit.

Chris
 

bigsteel

Call me Mr.Tinkertrain
WOW Cred you were on the famous uss iowa!im a big time war machine buff.oh and ozzy the uss iowa is a battle ship of immense size.it was known for the farthest shot from her 18in guns of im pretty sure more than 30 miles!that next to the uss carl vinson (older sis's ship) the iowa is my favorite.the 9 18in guns were massive!..ahh good times....
 

CRed

Member
ozzy said:
what kind of ship is the USS IOWA?

BB designates Battleship:thumb:.

It's been decomissioned for quite awhile now,since the terrible accident that killed 45 guys in Apr. of 1989.I just happened to have some leave saved up and left a couple of months before it happened.

I don't know what has happened to it now,either scrapped or a museum i guess.

USSIowaInAction08.JPG


USSIowaInAction04.JPG


Chris
 

CRed

Member
bigsteel said:
WOW Cred you were on the famous uss iowa!im a big time war machine buff.oh and ozzy the uss iowa is a battle ship of immense size.it was known for the farthest shot from her 18in guns of im pretty sure more than 30 miles!that next to the uss carl vinson (older sis's ship) the iowa is my favorite.the 9 18in guns were massive!..ahh good times....


Actually they're 16" guns,I believe the Yamato had 18" guns.The Iowa could lob 2700 pound shells as you say about 30 miles.It also carried Tomahawk and Harpoon missles,which could have(or not) been equipped with nuclear warheads.They never actually told us,but we assumed we carried them because of the secrecy when we loaded them.It also had 12 5" guns,which seem insignificant in comparison.

Chris
 

CRed

Member
ozzy said:
http://www.ussiowa.org/turret2/turret2_memorial.htm

here tells what the plans are for the uss iowa.

Thanks Ozzy!

Seeing those names gave me goosebumps and made me teary eyed(I know I'm a wuss).I knew most of those guys having gone out partying with them or just hanging out playing cards with them.

It was terrible the way the Navy treated the incident after it happened,trying to lay the blame on the crew members and discrediting them like they did.

Chris
 

brakie

Active Member
From the song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon lightfoot.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
============================
Listen to the song with pictures.This includes the list of the crew..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO0ksppBgT8


Heres the time line..A very good read.
http://www.ssefo.com/info/timeline.html
 

ozzy

Active Member
i guess i did not know anything about what happened, and i did not dig that far when i googled it.


CRed said:
Thanks Ozzy!

Seeing those names gave me goosebumps and made me teary eyed(I know I'm a wuss).I knew most of those guys having gone out partying with them or just hanging out playing cards with them.

It was terrible the way the Navy treated the incident after it happened,trying to lay the blame on the crew members and discrediting them like they did.

Chris
 

CRed

Member
No worries.It's not like I had forgotten about it,but seeing the names of guys I knew again was strange.
 

CRed

Member
brakie said:
From the song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon lightfoot.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
============================
Listen to the song with pictures.This includes the list of the crew..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO0ksppBgT8


Heres the time line..A very good read.
http://www.ssefo.com/info/timeline.html

Great video,I recognized the North Shore and the entrance to the port of Duluth/Superior at Canal Park.

I think the correct spelling is Gitchi Gummi though,that's how we spell it here anyways.

Chris
 
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