Rensselaer

1900                                  Rensselaer                                  1946

 

Steel St. Lawrence River canal size bulk freighter

 

Steel Great Lakes bulk freighter

 

Built at Cleveland OH by Cleveland Ship Building Co., Hull 402

Launched July 26, 1900

474’ LOA, 454’ LBP, 50’ beam, 28’6” depth

1 deck, hold beams, hatches @ 24’, coal-fired boilers, quadruple expansion engine, 2000 IHP

Enrolled at Cleveland OH Aug 31, 1900 (#10)

454.0 x 50.0 x 28.5, 5113 GT, 3827 NT     US 111302     to:

American Ship Building Co., Cleveland OH (home port Cleveland OH)

Entered service 1900

Reenrolled at Duluth MN Sept 5, 1900 (#11) to:

Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Duluth MN (home port to Duluth MN)

(This fleet was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie to compete with John D. Rockefeller’s Bessemer Steamship Co.  When the United States Steel Corporation was founded in early 1901, the 99 vessels in five other fleets joined the thirteen vessels then in this fleet to become the ore-carrying arm of the Corporation, at 112 vessels the largest fleet on the Great Lakes.)

Sank str. James Gayley Aug 7, 1912 in fog off Manitou Island, Lake Superior.

Cargo hold rebuilt 1920 to arch construction at Conneaut OH

Remeasured to 24.0 depth and 4472 GT, 3411 NT

Traded in 1943 with six other vessels of the fleet to U. S. War Shipping Administration, Washington DC on the purchase price of strs. Sewell Avery, George A. Sloan and Robert C. Stanley.  Operated during World War II by Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

Laid up end of 1944 season at Erie PA

Sold for scrap 1946 to Steel Company of Canada.  Towed to Hamilton ON and scrapped there.

 

 

0005

 

3 thoughts on “Rensselaer

  1. I have a picture of my dad standing on this ship. He served 2 yrs on the Great Lakes ships before joining the army and serving in the war against Japan.. he was around 20 yrs old and captain Pat Paver may have been dads superior. William G Smith was dads name. Belleville n.y. 13611

    • Hello! My grandfather served on this ship in 1921. I would love to see the picture of it! I have been trying to gather information about all of the boats Grandpa sailed…they aren’t all available, except for private photos, like you have.

  2. Dad held a masters license until his death in 2008. He was 88 and would speak frequently of his 2 yrs on the lake freighters hauling ore. His captain let dad pilot the ship and dad was a natural.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *