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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!.

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you like them!

These were very interesting designs for freighters on the great lakes

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

I think so too!

I really love the aesthetic of those old Lakes steamers.

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

I know... they have great lines.

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

2 жыл бұрын

Couldn't agree more!

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it!

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.

@authorwes

Жыл бұрын

That is awesome!

Great presentation and information-- many many thanks

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, will do!

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!

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

LOL a lesson in history.

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

I am honored to have a class named for me.

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

@rodneywalat8956

2 жыл бұрын

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.

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

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info!

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

Great video ,thanks for sharing 👍

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the visit

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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

2 жыл бұрын

@@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.

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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.

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

Beautifully done Wes!

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks!

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

You and me both!

@georgepayne3231

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

@carllafrance5510

2 жыл бұрын

@@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

2 жыл бұрын

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.

Wonderful video. Thank you!

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

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

2 жыл бұрын

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.

Great video, Wes! Thanks!

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

@TimCan144

Жыл бұрын

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

I'll have to check it out.

Interesting to know that there were different Classes of Lakeboats on the Great Lakes. There is the L6-S-B1 class of LakeBoats, the AAA class of Lake Boats, and the Bessemer class of OreBoats. How many classes of Lake Boat is there, and what is the histories of each of the different classes?

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

2 жыл бұрын

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. ;)

Wes, my man!!!

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Right on.

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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.

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

None that I could really nail down.

how do you find these prints they look facinating

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Watch this and you'll find out... kzread.info/dash/bejne/aX6np8qFl8-Tl7w.html

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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.

Why do they have two funnels?

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Better draft for the boilers

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

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

@chrisschanbacher9061

2 жыл бұрын

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

@eltoro6688

2 жыл бұрын

@@authorwes , Ola-Shevskee

Really a rock bottom price? 😉

@authorwes

2 жыл бұрын

Pun intended- glad you got it.