The old Ford Motor Co. Fleet
Jeffrey Birch
What ever happened to the Ford fleet of the late 70's? (WILLIAM CLAY FORD
(the AAA), ERNEST R. BREECH, JOHN DYKSTRA, HENY FORD II) I know that the
large Cleveland-Cliffs boats (GREENE, STIRLING) went to Ford after the
demise of that company.
Jeff
N. Schultheiss
Hi Jeff,
This comes from the new book by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit
- Ahoy & Farewell II.
(just one of the sample pages available on-line)
http://www.acs.oakland.edu/~ncschult/mhsd.htm
WILLIAM CLAY FORD (1), US.266029 Lake Bulk Freighter built in 1953 =
by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, MI as Hull #300. Her
keel =
was laid April 10, 1952. Launched May 5, 1953 as a) WILLIAM CLAY FORD
(1) =
for the Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, MI. 647'loa, 629=923"lbp x 70'x 36=92;
11,590 =
GRT, 8590 NRT, 20,300 dwt. Powered by a 7,700 shp double reduction
geared
cross-compound steam turbine built in 1953 by Westinghouse Electric Co.,
Philadelphia, PA, and two oil-fired water tube boilers, with a total
heating =
surface of 15,466 sq.ft., built in 1953 by the Foster--Wheeler Co. This
ship
was the last of the "Pittsburgh" or "AAA" class, similar to the
ANDERSON, =
RESERVE, CALLAWAY and CLARKE, built (at a cost of $5.3 million) on the =
Great Lakes. The WILLIAM CLAY loaded her first cargo of iron ore on
August =
6, 1953 to be delivered to her home port at the Ford Rouge Plant south
of =
Detroit, MI. A 800 hp Liaaen bow thruster, built by the Avondale
Shipyard =
in New Orleans, LA, was installed during the summer of 1963 by the
Fraser-Nelson Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Superior, WI. During the
winter of 1965-66, her =
boiler controls were automated at Detroit. Between the 1967-68 seasons
the Ford =
fleet stacks were changed from buff colored with a black band to Ford
Blue with =
the elliptical Ford logo. A self-contained sanitary system was installed
on board =
over the winter of 1970-71 at the Ford Rouge slip. The work was
accomplished by =
both Ford and Nicholson Terminal & Dock personnel. This was done in
compliance =
with the Michigan Pollution Act of 1970, which became effective January
1, 1971, prohibiting the discharge of untreated sewage into the Great
Lakes. A pump-out
station was installed at the Rouge to service the Ford boats. The night =
the EDMUND FITZGERALD disappeared on November 10, 1975 during a
gale-force
storm the crew of the WILLIAM CLAY FORD did an extraordinary act.
Because =
of the bravery and valor demonstrated that night by Captain Don Erickson
and =
his crew, they were presented with many accolades including a plaque
bestowed =
upon them by the Great Lakes Maritime Institute recognizing her role in
the =
search for the EDMUND FITZGERALD. It read "On the night of November
10-11,
1975, these men voluntarily left a safe harbor to face the dangers of
gale =
force winds and vicious seas, in the blackness of a storm which had
already =
claimed as a victim the steamer EDMUND FITZGERALD, to search for
possible =
survivors of that disaster, exemplifying the finest traditions of the
maritime profession." The WILLIAM CLAY=92s hull was lengthened 120 feet i=
n
1979 by =
Fraser Shipyards at Superior, WI, the ninth stretching done at Fraser. =
New dimensions: 767'loa, 749=923"lbp x 70'x 36=92; 14,630 GRT, 11,629 NRT=
=2E
A stern thruster was also installed at this time. This lengthening,
which increased her mid-summer carrying capacity from 21,000 to 26,500
tons, was completed in May, 1979 and she returned to service on June 2,
1979. =
Her ownership was transferred to the Rouge Steel Corp., Dearborn in
1984. =
The WILLIAM CLAY FORD (1) loaded her last cargo at Duluth, MN. December
11, 1984. =
She passed by Detroit and into the Rouge Basin on her final trip and
lay-up =
December 14th. In 1985 she was renamed b)US.266029 her U.S. official
number. =
This became necessary due to the purchase of two Cleveland-Cliffs boats,
the =
WALTER A. STERLING which became the WILLIAM CLAY FORD (2) and the =
EDWARD B. GREENE, which became the BENSON FORD (3). The US.266029
departed =
her lay-up berth at the Rouge slip on August 20, 1986 in tow of Gaelic
tugs =
and she was taken to Detroit Marine Terminals on the Rouge River, where
her =
pilothouse was removed to be displayed at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum
on =
Detroit=92s Belle Isle. The hull was moved to Nicholson's River Rouge
dock on =
August 27th. Then she was towed from there November 6, 1986 by tugs
TUSKER and =
GLENADA to Port Maitland, Ont. for scrapping there in 1987. On April 3,
1991 the pilothouse was moved by barge towed by Gaelic tug's CAROLYN
HOEY and placed on a specially built foundation at the Dossin Museum for
display facing the Detroit =
River as a fully equipped pilot house.
> Jeffrey Birch (neu...@prodigy.net) wrote:
> : What ever happened to the Ford fleet of the late 70's? (WILLIAM CLAY =
FORD
> : (the AAA), ERNEST R. BREECH, JOHN DYKSTRA, HENY FORD II) I know that =
the
> : large Cleveland-Cliffs boats (GREENE, STIRLING) went to Ford after th=
e
> : demise of that company.
> : Jeff
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
N. Schultheiss
ncsc...@oakland.edu
Detroit, Michigan, USA
http://www.acs.oakland.edu/~ncschult/boatnerd.html
_Great Lakes Vessel Passage Web Page_
Vessel passages updated every Monday and Thursday,
extensive Photo Gallery, Facts and Figures, News & Rumor,
Where to Buy, Calendar of Events, and much more
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Paul Wiening
Jeffrey Birch (neu...@prodigy.net) wrote:
: What ever happened to the Ford fleet of the late 70's? (WILLIAM CLAY FORD
: (the AAA), ERNEST R. BREECH, JOHN DYKSTRA, HENY FORD II) I know that the
: large Cleveland-Cliffs boats (GREENE, STIRLING) went to Ford after the
: demise of that company.
: Jeff
remains on display in Detroit. The BREECH is still sailing as the KINSMAN
INDEPENDENT (III) for Kinsman.
HENRY FORD II, has been unofficially renamed SAMUEL MATHER, and awaits her
fate in Toledo. The JOHN DYKSTRA (I) was renamed BENSON FORD (II), but was
sold for scrap when the fleet was disbanded. JOHN DYKSTRA (II) was the
original BENSON FORD. It was also scrapped, although the forward cabins
were saved.
Paul W.
Jody L. Aho
Jeffrey Birch <neu...@prodigy.net> wrote in article
<01bbfece$f16ea920$16caedcc@NEUTRON>...
> What ever happened to the Ford fleet of the late 70's? (WILLIAM CLAY FORD
> (the AAA), ERNEST R. BREECH, JOHN DYKSTRA, HENY FORD II) I know that the
> large Cleveland-Cliffs boats (GREENE, STIRLING) went to Ford after the
> demise of that company.
> Jeff
>
The original WILLIAM CLAY FORD was retired at the end of the 1984 season
when Ford acquired the EDWARD B. GREENE and WALTER A. STERLING from
Cleveland-Cliffs. Since the STERLING was to take the name WILLIAM CLAY
FORD, the original WILLIAM CLAY FORD was renamed 266029, which was its
official number. The 266029 never sailed under that name. It was scrapped
in 1987, but the pilothouse was saved and is now open at the Dossin Great
Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit.
The ERNEST R. BREECH continued to sail in the Ford Fleet through the 1987
season, mainly hauling grain cargoes in the later years with Ford. In
1988, the BREECH was purchased by George Steinbrenner and is now sailing as
the KINSMAN INDEPENDENT.
The JOHN DYKSTRA was renamed BENSON FORD early in 1983, and the original
(1924-built, Diesel powered) BENSON FORD took the name JOHN DYKSTRA. The
BENSON FORD was also laid up at the end of the 1984, and the EDWARD B.
GREENE carried the name BENSON FORD beginning in 1985. The second BENSON
FORD then became 265808, its official number. It was scrapped in 1987
having never sailed under its last name. As far as the original (1924)
BENSON FORD, it was sold for scrap in 1987. Its forward cabins were
purchased and are being used as a summer home on an island in Lake Erie.
The HENRY FORD II continued to sail for the Ford Fleet through the 1988
season when the fleet was sold to Interlake Steamship Company. The HENRY
FORD II never sailed in Interlake colors. It was renamed SAMUEL MATHER in
1989. It was towed from its original lay-up port of Detroit to Toledo on
June 23, 1989, and it was finally sold for scrap in 1995.
The third BENSON FORD (ex-EDWARD B. GREENE) sailed for Ford through the
1988 season. When the fleet was sold to Interlake in 1989 (actually an
Interlake subsidiary named Lakes Shipping Company, though the Interlake
colors were used), the vessel was named KAYE E. BARKER, named after the
wife of James R. Barker.
The second WILLIAM CLAY FORD (ex-WALTER A. STERLING) also sailed for Ford
through the end of 1988, and when it was sold to Lakes Shipping in 1989, it
was renamed LEE A. TREGURTHA after the wife of Paul R. Tregurtha. Both of
the vessels are still sailing, though their trade patterns are different
than they used to be in the pre-Interlake years. Both are no longer
frequent visitors to Duluth-Superior (the LEE A. TREGURTHA is a more
frequent visitor here than the KAYE E. BARKER), and both vessels are making
more Marquette to Rouge Steel (in Dearborn) trips than before.
Jody Aho
ja...@cp.duluth.mn.us
Author of the book, "The Steamer WILLIAM A. IRVIN: The Queen of the Silver
Stackers"
Jeffrey Birch
My thanks to Jody and Paul for clearing up the Ford fleet question for me.
I have recently renewed my intrest in lakes shipping, and that was one
string that I could not seem to follow. Thanks again.
Jeff