The origins of the Bessemer Class Great Lakes ore boats and a clever trick by John D. Rockefeller

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  • Опубликовано: 20 дек 2024

Комментарии • 99

  • @shanepatrick4534
    @shanepatrick4534 2 года назад +8

    What a wonderful bit of history on a very cold night.

  • @leehanna4929
    @leehanna4929 2 года назад +12

    You certainly make the history of Great Lakes boats interesting! Thanks for another good lesson!

  • @steamandsmoke97
    @steamandsmoke97 2 года назад +7

    I love how all of the Vessels were named after very Prominent Men in the Engineering & Development of Steam Power, The Iron & Steel Industry, Electricity, and Telegraphy. And all owned by the World's Largest Oil Tycoon of the day. God I love Industrial History!

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Yep- I found that really cool. Marine Review named them all in 1896 and listed for what they were famed.

  • @scottyb68
    @scottyb68 2 года назад +1

    I am honored to have a class named for me.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Rockefeller just knew you'd be coming along and said, "We must name our fleet after him," and so the did.

  • @robertmccracken72
    @robertmccracken72 2 года назад +3

    Great video!!! I love the turn of the century steel industry. Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Cleveland contributed so much to the development of the entire world!!!

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Couldn't agree more!

  • @historyduck4402
    @historyduck4402 2 года назад +3

    These were very interesting designs for freighters on the great lakes

  • @jackrabbit5047
    @jackrabbit5047 2 года назад +2

    I really love the aesthetic of those old Lakes steamers.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      I know... they have great lines.

  • @aspiceronni4462
    @aspiceronni4462 2 года назад +6

    Another great history lesson I didn't know I needed, but I'm grateful I got. Thanks, Wes.

  • @antonfarquar8799
    @antonfarquar8799 2 года назад +2

    superb presentation - would be interesting to know the fates of these ships.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Hummm... since I could tell folks every singe one, that may be another video.

  • @tomcook5813
    @tomcook5813 2 года назад +2

    I met Samuel F B Morse III, he was quite elderly and that was around 1990, he was an amateur radio operator in our local radio club in Yucaipa Ca.
    Very nice gent, was fun to meet the grandson of the inventor of the Morse alphabet 😃.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      That's a cool story!
      BTW- I have looked at everything that I have and I cannot find an accurate height for the Anderson" pilothouse or cabins. So your guess is as good as mine- perhaps better. Sorry.

    • @tomcook5813
      @tomcook5813 2 года назад

      @@authorwes That’s ok Wes, It means a lot you looked.
      You keep makin em, I’ll keep watching em!
      Howdy from Oklahoma!

  • @Calcite_II
    @Calcite_II 2 года назад +1

    Great videos Wes, love watching them! I’ve been watching them whenever I can!

  • @randyclyde4939
    @randyclyde4939 2 года назад +2

    Many thanks, Wes! A marvellous story and one with great history! I always enjoy your in-depth work and look forward to the next one!

  • @davidkalbacker6033
    @davidkalbacker6033 2 года назад +4

    Great presentation and information-- many many thanks

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @frankz5864
    @frankz5864 2 года назад +2

    Thanks for another excellent History lesson and keep up the great work!!!

  • @paulmore4118
    @paulmore4118 Год назад

    I have painted a picture of one of the Bessemer vessels, I just loved that style with the twin stacks and side boards. I still have it.

  • @georgepayne3231
    @georgepayne3231 2 года назад +1

    Great video. Would like to see one on the Corrigan fleet.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      You and me both!

    • @georgepayne3231
      @georgepayne3231 2 года назад +1

      @@authorwes i am a shirt tail relative of a Corrigan sister. I have a cousin working on a book.

  • @thomasm195
    @thomasm195 2 года назад +1

    Great video ,thanks for sharing 👍

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Thanks for the visit

  • @daviddavid5880
    @daviddavid5880 2 года назад +1

    Wait... the guy who bit off way more than he could chew had labor problems? Imagine everyone's shock. Nice vid. Keep 'em coming.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      LOL a lesson in history.

  • @kellybreen5526
    @kellybreen5526 2 года назад +2

    Your videos have a lot of depth to them.
    I am glad I subscribed and look forward to your latest.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Thank you this one took more than a week of research alone, then it took 3 days to produce. The process is very similar to writing a chapter in on my books.

    • @kellybreen5526
      @kellybreen5526 2 года назад

      @@authorwes I think my father had every one of your books. Like I told you, he gives the Yankcanuck in the 50's. Two of his 3 older brothers fired on salt water in the 30's and in the Merchant Marine. His oldest brother was killed by U510 in the Point Pleasant Park I February 1945.
      I grew up with Sailors and appreciate your work.

  • @andrewostrelczuk406
    @andrewostrelczuk406 2 года назад

    Beautifully done Wes!

  • @rodneywalat8956
    @rodneywalat8956 2 года назад +1

    If only Ken Burns would get together with Wes and collaborate on a historic project about Great Lakes history like this (I'm talking mini-series here since 1hour would not be enough), I'll bet it would out class his Civil War series and any other series that he has ever made. I could see it becoming required viewing in U.S. History classes throughout the country. Wes has a way of taking us back through time in a time machine.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Fell free to contact him... his agent will say, "...who? What? How'd you get my number!? CLICK!"

  • @Vector_QF8
    @Vector_QF8 2 года назад +6

    What a great story! This was really well told, and I was completely engaged. I would love a “now the rest of the story” i.e. what happened to the vast fleet over the years. Thanks Wes! BTW - I got the Witch of November and really enjoyed the read!

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Glad you enjoyed it! The publisher is OUT of them right now, and the printer is having supply chain issues. So, I'm glad that you got yours.

    • @BigLisaFan
      @BigLisaFan 2 года назад +1

      Douglass Houghton ended up in Toronto, Canada as part of the breakwater wall at Ontario Place along with the Howard L. Shaw and Victorious. Nice to see what it looked like in the heyday of operation.

    • @-Cece
      @-Cece 2 года назад +3

      I agree. Wes you are amazing in voice and content. Sounds like something I would enjoy on PBS on wintry afternoon.

    • @rodneywalat8956
      @rodneywalat8956 2 года назад +1

      If only Ken Burns would get together with Wes and collaborate on a historic project about Great Lakes history like this (I'm talking mini-series here), I'll bet it would out class his Civil War series and any other series that he has ever made.

  • @jamesthompson8008
    @jamesthompson8008 2 года назад +2

    Very cool video, thanks for putting in all the research here. I had to grin as you revealed the bidding results, as that was clearly a Rockefeller move! Though I have no idea how anyone would find the information, it'd be interesting to learn how much money he then made from the vessels thru his ownership.
    Thanks again, Wes!

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      I tried to figure that up... but my calculator just displayed, "YOU WANT WHAT?"

  • @tdave1234
    @tdave1234 2 года назад

    Wonderful video. Thank you!

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @mellissadalby1402
    @mellissadalby1402 2 года назад +4

    This is a really good story, thanks for posting it. Got any more lake boat books in the works?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Not yet! We're sort of in the selling year after "Witch of November" was released. However, I have the feeling that my publisher will be asking for another fairly soon.

  • @carllafrance5510
    @carllafrance5510 2 года назад +1

    Excellent Wess!
    Very well done !
    You really know your stuff !
    You should be on discovery channel history channel
    Or PBS !
    Have a great day !

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Naaa... those production companies gave up calling me 20 years ago... because I wanted to be paid.

    • @carllafrance5510
      @carllafrance5510 2 года назад +1

      @@authorwes
      Good point you should be paid
      The quality you put into your
      Productions
      You tube is going main stream
      And will be the new history channel.
      Have a great day

    • @andrewostrelczuk406
      @andrewostrelczuk406 2 года назад

      Wes you’re not the first and probably not the Last to get your work all inspected and talked about with some Big Wigs (In their own minds) and offered Peanuts for pay or worse! I’m glad that you resisted that temptation for your reward you may not even know it, you got to keep your sanity.
      I’ve heard about the Burn out experience from a few souls who once had it all and as if overnight had been reduced to ruined dreams.

  • @benskoning
    @benskoning 2 года назад +2

    Thanks for the lesson! Not sure if you are aware, but Bessemer himself tried to do some ship building in the 1870s. Look up the SS Bessemer for a good read/laugh.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Thanks for the info!

  • @haroldadelman1130
    @haroldadelman1130 2 года назад

    Great video, Wes! Thanks!

  • @pipebender2522
    @pipebender2522 2 года назад +2

    Not being from Bay City, I guess that Frank Wheelers West Bay City shipyard is now Wheelers Landing; now a marina. That makes it across the Saginaw River from the former Defoe shipyard. Am I correct? Thanks for all this great history Mr. Oleszewski.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Correct. It was just east of the railroad bridge and is now "Wheeler's Landing" marina.

  • @vincentfontana7915
    @vincentfontana7915 2 года назад +1

    Question what are the long beams that hang from deck to just above water line on early steam ships ?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Fenders. Or some may say bumpers. They protect the hull plates from dents when locking, rafting or docking. You may ask why not pull them up on deck when not doing those things? Well, the best place to store them, is just to leave them hanging.

  • @TimCan144
    @TimCan144 2 года назад +1

    never heard of these ships before, it's weird to see these kinds of lake boats with two funnels, also I am very happy that you actually show the general arrangement plans for these ships as they are hard to find online, I have found the plans to the Carl D Bradley but they are unfortunately low quality and hard to make a model off of, do you plan on going over her in the future?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Perhaps- but I normally work in the more obscure wrecks.

    • @TimCan144
      @TimCan144 2 года назад

      @@authorwes Good news, I found high quality cutaway plan of Carl D Bradley

  • @JeffersonMartinSynfluent
    @JeffersonMartinSynfluent 2 года назад +1

    Interesting that Rockefeller named one of the ore carriers after Alexander Holley who is the undisputed engineer and creator of the layout of the modern steelmaking facility as we now know it.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Actually, all of the Bessemer steamers and some of the barges were named for famous inventors or engineering pioneers.

  • @484berkshire
    @484berkshire 2 года назад +1

    Was there any reason for deciding to keep the pilothouse so far back, besides the carryover from package freighter design?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +2

      None that I could really nail down.

  • @StephenMortimer
    @StephenMortimer 2 года назад

    I just read the "Panic of 1819" (Browning) very informative

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      I'll have to check it out.

  • @stevenflebbe
    @stevenflebbe 2 года назад +3

    I hope you won't mind a correction. Sir Henry Bessemer wasn't the father of the blast furnace, which was first used in the 14th century. Blast furnaces convert iron ore to almost pure iron, which is then refined into steel. Until the 19th century, this was a long process that produced relatively small amounts of steel at a time. Bessemer's contribution was to invent a new, faster steel making process using the Bessemer converter, which blew air through molten iron, converting it very quickly into steel, allowing larger amounts of steel to be produced in much less time.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +6

      Oh I don't mind... if you don't mind... his innovation was to blow oxygen through the molten iron... "air" has too many impurities and is more than 70 % nitrogen. Now we're even.

  • @LakeOgi1228
    @LakeOgi1228 2 года назад

    how do you find these prints they look facinating

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Watch this and you'll find out... ruclips.net/video/7JsEhLgl-gY/видео.html

  • @zeusapollo8688
    @zeusapollo8688 2 года назад

    What is the distinction between barge and freighter in this instance?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      It was blurred in the early days of wooden shipping on the lakes, as some of the small steam propellers were deemed "Steam Barge" but by the 1890s the term began to fade. Technically, and barge is a vessel without the ability to move under it's own power.

  • @elijahbey3366
    @elijahbey3366 2 года назад

    Wes, my man!!!

  • @mikeoswald8053
    @mikeoswald8053 2 года назад

    A great way to end the day. By the by, will my hero Klyde Morris be soon seen in the wheelhouse of a lake boat?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      I did that once way back about 30 years ago. Someone looked at the image and said, "Great freight image... what's that standing there?" Thus, I never try and wear both hats at the same time. ;)

  • @velezdragon3574
    @velezdragon3574 2 года назад

    Why do they have two funnels?

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад

      Better draft for the boilers

  • @markbaker3639
    @markbaker3639 2 года назад

    Really a rock bottom price? 😉

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +1

      Pun intended- glad you got it.

  • @chrisschanbacher9061
    @chrisschanbacher9061 2 года назад +2

    Oh and it's pronounced like "redding" as in the past tense of read.

    • @authorwes
      @authorwes  2 года назад +2

      Oh! Okay... and now you have 3 tries at pronouncing my last name... on video... for everyone to see... and me to correct you... ready set go....

    • @chrisschanbacher9061
      @chrisschanbacher9061 2 года назад

      @@authorwes I'm not going to try it, I'll strike out lol.

    • @chrisschanbacher9061
      @chrisschanbacher9061 2 года назад

      @@authorwes What the heck I'll give it a try, is it pronounced "smith"? Keep up the good work, enjoy your videos.

    • @eltoro6688
      @eltoro6688 2 года назад

      @@authorwes , Ola-Shevskee