129 (barge)

American whaleback barge (1891–1902) February 2021 Barge 129.jpg 129 loading coal 1895Zoss 2007 43 United States 60px Duluth, Minnesota, United States 129 Her hull number * American Steel Barge Company of Buffalo, New York (1893–1900) * Bessemer Steamship Company of Cleveland, Ohio (1900–1901) * Pittsburgh Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota (managed by Augustus B. Wolvin) (1901–1902) American Steel Barge Company of Superior, Wisconsin 129 December 5, 1892 May 13, 1893 Registry number US  53276 May 22, 1893 October 13, 1902 Sank on Lake Superior after a collision Whaleback barge * 1,310 gross tons *1,265 net tons * 306 ft m 1 LOA * 292 ft m 1 LBP 36 ft m 1 22 ft m 1 Towed by a steamship 129 (also known as Barge 129, or No.129) was an American whaleback barge in service between 1893 and 1902. She was built between December 1892 and May 1893, in Superior, Wisconsin, (or West Superior, Wisconsin), by Alexander McDougall's American Steel Barge Company, for McDougall's fleet of the same name, based in Buffalo, New York. She was one of a class of distinctive and experimental ships designed and built by McDougall. The whalebacks were designed to be more stable in high seas. They had rounded decks, and lacked the normal straight sides seen on traditional lake freighters. 129 entered service on May 22, hauling wheat from Superior. She was sold to the Bessemer Steamship Company of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1900. In 1901, she became owned by the Pittsburgh Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota, when the Bessemer fleet merged into it. On October 13, 1902, 129 was downbound, loaded with iron ore, in tow of the bulk freighter Maunaloa. The two vessels encountered rough seas while about 30 mi km 1 northwest of Vermilion Point. 129 broke away, Maunaloa turned around, and attempted to retrieve 129. However, the heavy seas pushed Maunaloa against 129; her port anchor sliced into 129s starboard side. 129 took on water and sank fast. All of her crew were rescued by Maunaloa. In October 2022, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the discovery of 129s wreck, which was found in 35 mi km 1 off Vermilion Point in 650 ft m 1 of water. History Background 150px|thumb|Stern view of 129 Whaleback 129 was a whaleback, an innovative but unpopular ship design of the late 1880s, designed by Alexander McDougall. A Scottish immigrant, Great Lakes captain, inventor and entrepreneur, McDougall developed the idea of the whaleback as a way to improve the ability of barges to follow a towing vessel in heavy seas.Ebeling 2001About the Great Lakes 2007 Whalebacks were characterized by distinctive hull shapes with rounded tops, lacking conventional vertical sides, and conoidal ends.Minnesota Historical Society 2008 Their rounded hulls enabled water to easily slide off their decks, minimising friction, and letting them sail quickly and smoothly through the water.Ebeling 2001 Their superstructure was located on turrets mounted on the main deck.Minnesota Historical Society 2008 The rounded contours of whalebacks gave them an unconventional appearance,Ebeling 2001 and McDougall's ship and barge designs were received with considerable skepticism, resistance, and derision.Ebeling 2001Croil 1998 As they had porcine-looking snouts for bows, some observers called them "pig boats".Croil 1998Duerkop 2007 After McDougall was unable to persuade existing shipbuilders to try his designs, he founded the American Steel Barge Company in Superior, Wisconsin in 1888 and built them himself. McDougall actively promoted his design and company by sending the steamer Charles W. Wetmore to London and starting another shipyard in Everett, Washington, which built the steamer City of Everett.Oakley 2005 Despite McDougall's further efforts to promote the design with the excursion liner Christopher Columbus, whalebacks never caught on, with only 44 of them being built.Ebeling 2001About the Great Lakes 2007Leonard 1983 Design and construction 150px|thumb|left|129, with the whaleback steamer Christopher Columbus visible on the right 129 (also known as Barge 129Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9 or No.129Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902) was constructed between 1892 and 1893 in Superior, Wisconsin, (or West Superior, WisconsinZoss 2007 43Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Berry 2021a), by the American Steel Barge Company.Bowling Green State University 2021Swayze 2001 Her first hull frames were laid down on December 5, 1892. She was launched on May 13, 1893.Berry 2021a 129 was the first of six identical whaleback barges launched in spring and summer of 1893. 129 and her sister ships (130,Berry 2021b 131,Berry 2021c 132,Berry 2021d 133Berry 2021e and 134Berry 2021f) were the only whalebacks built by the American Steel Barge Company in 1893.Zoss 2007 44 She had an overall length 306 ft m 1Berry 2021a (292 ft m 1 between perpendicularsBerry 2021a), a beam of 36 ft m 1 and a depth of 22 ft m 1.Bowling Green State University 2021 She had a gross tonnage of 1,310 (or 1,311Swayze 2001) tons and a net tonnage of 1,265 (or 1,266Swayze 2001) tons.Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902Berry 2021aBowling Green State University 2021 She was an unrigged barge and was towed by a steam-powered ship.Swayze 2001 Service history 129 was built by the American Steel Barge Company for the fleet of the same name based in Buffalo, New York.Bowling Green State University 2021Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library 2020 She was given a temporary enrollment in Marquette, Michigan on May 12, 1893, and was given the US official number 53276. She received a permanent enrollment on June 3 in Buffalo, her home port.Berry 2021aBowling Green State University 2021 129 entered service on May 22, carrying wheat from Superior, Wisconsin.Berry 2021a 129 had no recountable incidents during her career.Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library 2020 In 1895, management of the American Steel Barge Company fleet was taken over by Pickands Mather & Company of Cleveland, Ohio.Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9 In 1900, 129 and the entire American Steel Barge Company fleet was sold to the Bessemer Steamship Company of Cleveland. When sold, 129s home port was changed to Duluth, Minnesota.Zoss 2007 43Berry 2021aBowling Green State University 2021 129 and the Bessemer Steamship Company fleet merged into the Pittsburgh Steamship Company of Duluth, managed by Augustus B. Wolvin.Zoss 2007 43Berry 2021aBowling Green State University 2021 150px|thumb|right|Maunaloa Final voyage On October 13, 1902, while in tow of the 452 ft m 1 steel bulk freighter Maunaloa, 129 was downbound, with 2,300 tons of iron ore in her cargo hold.Zoss 2007 43Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902Berry 2021aSwayze 2001 Maunaloa and 129 encountered rough seas while about 30 mi km 1 northwest of Vermilion Point on Lake Superior.Zoss 2007 43Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902Berry 2021a In the gale, the towline between 129 and Maunaloa was severed.Zoss 2007 43Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902Berry 2021a Maunaloa turned around and attempted to retrieve 129. However, the heavy seas pushed Maunaloa against 129; her port anchor sliced into 129s starboard side.Zoss 2007 43Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Berry 2021a 129 took on water quickly and rapidly sank. There was no loss of life, as Captain Bailey and his crew were picked up by Maunaloa.Zoss 2007 43Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Berry 2021a Maunaloa sustained no major damage in the collision.Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9 129 was a total loss, being valued at $60,000, while her cargo was valued at $10,000.Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902 Her enrollment surrendered on March 25, 1903, in Duluth, Minnesota.Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 9Berry 2021a She was the fourth whaleback to be lost on the Great Lakes.Leonard 1983In total, eight whalebacks wrecked on the Great Lakes. Four of them 104, 115, Sagamore and 129 were barges, while a further four, Thomas Wilson, James B. Colgate, Clifton and Henry Cort were steam powered.Leonard 1983 Note 129 wreck 150px|thumb|Sonar image of 129s wreck On October 12, 2022, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced that after a lengthy search, they had located 129s wreck 35 mi km 1 off Vermilion Point in 650 ft m 1 of water.Durr 2022Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society 2022Marini 2022 129, one of eight wrecks located in 2021 by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society using side-scan sonar, was positively identified in August 2022.Ramirez 2022 She was the last whaleback lost on the Great Lakes to be located.Marini 2022Nelson 2022 The wreck is in four to five large pieces, with several smaller pieces of wreckage also scattered on the lake bottom.Durr 2022 129 hit the bottom with such force that her bow sheared off, while the rest of her hull folded in on itself in the middle.Nelson 2022 The tow line is still attached at the bow.Ramirez 2022 Darryl Ertel Jr., director of marine operations at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society described her wreck: "It's totally destroyed on the bottom. It's nowhere near intact. It's at least four to five big pieces and thousands of little pieces. It's just disintegrated."Durr 2022Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society 2022 129s wreck was explored during the summer of 2022 using a remotely operated vehicle.Ramirez 2022 Maritime historian and author Cris Kohl had previously described her as one of the "100 most hunted Great Lakes shipwrecks".Kohl 2005 473 See also Graveyard of the Great Lakes Notes upper-alpha References 30em Sources 30em About the Great Lakes 2007 Remember the Whaleback Steamers http://www.abouthegreatlakes.com/whale.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20071005170240/http://www.abouthegreatlakes.com/whale.htm January 25, 2021 October 5, 2007 About the Great Lakes Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library 2020 129 (1893, Barge) https://greatlakeships.org/2895578/data?n=1 February 6, 2021 Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library Alpena, Michigan Berry Sterling 2021a 129 https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/numbers/129-2 February 6, 2021 Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry Detroit, Michigan Berry Sterling 2021b 130 https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/numbers/130-2 February 6, 2021 Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry Detroit, Michigan Berry Sterling 2021c 131 https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/numbers/131-2 February 6, 2021 Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry Detroit, Michigan Berry Sterling 2021d 132 https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/numbers/132-2 February 6, 2021 Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry Detroit, Michigan Berry Sterling 2021e 133 https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/numbers/133-2 February 6, 2021 Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry Detroit, Michigan Berry Sterling 2021f 134 https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/numbers/134-2 February 6, 2021 Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry Detroit, Michigan Bowling Green State University 2021 0129 https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/441032 February 6, 2021 Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio Croil James 1998 Steam Navigation and Its Relation to the Commerce of Canada and the United States https://archive.org/details/cihm_02131 Montreal News Company Toronto, Ontario January 25, 2021 1082014 362–64 Google books has images of those pages in the chapter entitled The Turret Steamship Duerkop John 2007 Some Marine Terminology http://www.marmuseum.ca/duerkop.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080311063134/http://www.marmuseum.ca/duerkop.html January 25, 2021 March 11, 2008 Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston Research Resources (definition 65, "Whaleback" Kingston, Ontario Durr Matt 2022 'Unusual' vessel that sank in Lake Superior nearly 120 years ago discovered https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/10/unusual-vessel-that-sank-in-lake-superior-nearly-120-years-ago-discovered.html October 12, 2022 Mlive Grand Rapids, Michigan Ebeling Charles W. You Call That Damn Thing a Boat? http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2001/2/2001_2_24_print.shtml https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121045/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2001/2/2001_2_24_print.shtml January 25, 2021 September 29, 2007 American Heritage of Invention & Technology American Heritage Publishing 17 2 2001 8756-7296 11638224 2022 Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society discovers Barge 129, 120 years after accident https://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/great-lakes-shipwreck-historical-society-discovers-barge-129-120-years-after-accident/ CITEREFGreat_Lakes_Shipwreck_Historical_Society2022 October 12, 2022 Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Whitefish Township, Michigan Kohl Cris 2005 The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks – Volume II. https://archive.org/details/100bestgreatlake0000kohl/page/472/mode/2up?q=most+hunted+ January 31, 2021 Seawolf Communications West Chicago, Illinois 978-0-9679-9766-7 Leonard John 1983 A Whaleback Quiz https://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca//documents/scanner/15/06/default.asp?ID=s006 January 26, 2021 Toronto Marine Historical Society Toronto, Ontario Marini Miriam 2022 300-foot shipwreck discovered in Lake Superior nearly 120 years after sinking https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/10/12/300-foot-barge-found-in-lake-superior-after-nearly-120-years/69556137007/ October 12, 2022 Detroit Free Press Detroit, Michigan Maritime History of the Great Lakes 1902 No. 129 (Barge), U53277, sunk by collision, 13 Oct 1902 https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/56734/data?n=6 February 6, 2021 Maritime History of the Great Lakes Ontario, Canada Minnesota Historical Society 2008 Thomas Wilson – Whaleback freighters https://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/wilson/wilwf.php January 26, 2021 Minnesota Historical Society Saint Paul, Minnesota Nelson Tim 2022 Whaleback barge lost for 120 years discovered in depths of Lake Superior https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/10/13/whaleback-vessel-lost-for-120-years-discovered-in-depths-of-lake-superior October 14, 2022 Minnesota Public Radio St. Paul, Minnesota Oakley Janet 2005 Charles W. Wetmore arrives http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7362 January 25, 2021 Washington State Online History Encyclopedia Washington, United States Ramirez Charles E. 2022 Cargo ship that sank in Lake Superior 120 years ago found https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/minnesota/cargo-ship-that-sank-in-lake-superior-120-years-ago-found October 12, 2022 Duluth News Tribune Duluth, Minnesota Swayze David 2001 Great Lakes Shipwrecks – B http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/b.htm January 25, 2021 Boatnerd Port Huron, Michigan January 27, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210127233718/http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/b.htm dead Toronto Marine Historical Society 2000 Ship of the Month No.260 https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/page.asp?ID=115949&po=8 February 6, 2021 Toronto Marine Historical Society Toronto, Ontario Zoss Neel R. McDougall's Great Lakes Whalebacks https://books.google.com/books?id=snP9T7QYs1oC&q=%22Barge+129%22&pg=PA43 2007 February 6, 2021 Arcadia Publishing Charleston, South Carolina 978-0-7385-5143-2 History United States 47.086167 -85.721500 title Category:1893 ships Category:Ships built in Superior, Wisconsin Category:Maritime incidents in 1902 Category:Whaleback ships Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Superior Category:Merchant ships of the United States Category:Shipwrecks of the Michigan coast