LEADER 05002oam 22006374a 450 001 9910810812403321 005 20180419143900.0 010 $a0-8143-4477-1 035 $a(CKB)4100000004838115 035 $a(OCoLC)1031869698 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse66223 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC5406019 035 $a(EXLCZ)994100000004838115 100 $a20180104d2018 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|||||||nn|n 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aWhaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company$fC. Roger Pellett 210 1$aDetroit, MI :$cWayne state university press,$d2018. 210 3$aBaltimore, Md. :$cProject MUSE, $d2018 210 4$dİ2018. 215 $a1 online resource 225 0 $aGreat lakes books series 311 $a0-8143-4476-3 327 $aPreface; Acknowledgments; One: The Life and Times of Alexander McDougall; Two: Inventing the Whaleback Ship; Three: The American Steel Barge Company; Four: Early Whaleback Ships; Five: The New Shipyard; Six: The Operating Department; Seven: Saltwater Ventures; Eight: Heyday; Nine: The Rockefeller Era; Ten: The Final Ships; Conclusion; Epilogue; Appendix A. Whaleback Vessel Dimension Conventions; Appendix B. A Brief Explanation of Relevant Shipping Terminology; Appendix C. Whaleback Barges and Steamships with Principal Dimensions; Notes; Bibliography. 330 $a"The whaleback ship reflected the experiences of its inventor, Captain Alexander McDougall, who decided in the 1880s that he could build an improved and easily towed barge cheaply by using the relatively unskilled labor force available in his adopted hometown of Duluth, Minnesota. Captain McDougall's dream resulted in the creation of the American Steel Barge Company. From 1888 to 1898, the American Steel Barge Company built and operated a fleet of forty-four barges and steamships on the Great Lakes and in international trade. These new ships were considered revolutionary by some and nautical curiosities by others. Built from what was then a high tech material (steel) and powered by state-of-the-art steam machinery, their creation in the remote north was a sign of industrial accomplishment. In Whaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company, Roger C. Pellett explains that the construction of these ships and the industrial infrastructure required to build them was financed by a syndicate that included some of the major players active in the Golden Age of American capitalism. The American Steel Barge Company operated profitably from 1889 through 1892, each year adding new vessels to its growing fleet. By 1893, it had run out of cash. The cash crisis worsened with the onset of the Panic of 1893, which plunged the country into a depression that mostly halted the ship-building industry. Only one shareholder, John D. Rockefeller, was willing and able to invest in the company to keep it afloat, and by doing so he gained control. When prosperity returned in 1896, the interest in huge iron ore deposits on the Mesabe Range required larger, more efficient vessels. In an attempt to meet this need, the company built another vessel that incorporated many whaleback features but included a conventional Great Lakes steamship bow. Although this new steamship compared favorably with vessels of conventional design, it was the last vessel of whaleback design to be built. Whaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company objectively examines the design of these ships using the original design drawings, notes the successes and failures of the company's business strategy, and highlights the men at the operating level that attempted to make this strategy work. Readers interested in the maritime history of the Great Lakes and the industries that developed around them will find this book fascinating."--Amazon.com 410 0$aGreat Lakes books. 606 $aWhalebacks 606 $aShip captains$zUnited States$vBiography 606 $aShipbuilding$zGreat Lakes (North America)$xHistory 606 $aCapitaines de navire$zE?tats-Unis$vBiographies 606 $aConstruction navale$zGrands Lacs (Ame?rique du Nord)$xHistoire 606 $aShip captains$2fast$3(OCoLC)fst01116147 606 $aShipbuilding$2fast$3(OCoLC)fst01116224 606 $aWhalebacks$2fast$3(OCoLC)fst01174251 607 $aGreat Lakes$2fast 607 $aUnited States$2fast 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aWhalebacks. 615 0$aShip captains 615 0$aShipbuilding$xHistory. 615 6$aCapitaines de navire 615 6$aConstruction navale$xHistoire. 615 7$aShip captains. 615 7$aShipbuilding. 615 7$aWhalebacks. 676 $a359.0092273 700 $aPellett$b C. Roger$01668708 801 0$bMdBmJHUP 801 1$bMdBmJHUP 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910810812403321 996 $aWhaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company$94029467 997 $aUNINA