These are notes I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
Ellen Foy Mruk posted five photos with the comment: "For those of you that never get a chance to experience the inside of a grain silo, here are some pictures of the Perot Silos at Silo City. I am so fortunate as I get to climb this magnificent structure 1 to 3 times a week. Thanks to owner and good friend Rick Smith for allowing us to do this. Pictures taken by Penny and Rachel, great job. Buffalo is beautiful find it. Larry Mruk"
Renae Zawislak Ribbeck: The Silo City Vertical Tour is amazing and worth every penny! It takes you in the silos and across the catwalk!
I recently learned that the Navy shipyard in Long Beach, CA, was closed. And I already knew that two shipyards in San Francisco were closed (Pier 70 and Hunters Point), so I was glad to learn we still have one on the West Coast that can handle aircraft carriers.
Puget Sound Navy Museum posted Mailed from Bremerton on July 26, 1911, this postcard features the empty drydock at the Puget Sound Navy Yard (PSNS & IMF on the Waterfront). This is dry dock 1, completed in 1896. It is 650 feet long and 130 feet wide. The sides are wooden, except the last 70 feet, made of granite. The shipyard’s second drydock would not open for another year.
Puget Sound Navy Museum posted In this photo from our collection, the submarine USS H-4 is in Drydock 1 at Bremerton’s Puget Sound Navy Yard. It was taken on November 15, 1918, two weeks after the boat’s commissioning. USS H-4 was one of a handful of submarines built here in the World War I era.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility celebrates its 132nd anniversary today. On this day in 1891, the Navy formally established Naval Station Puget Sound.
Can you imagine standing along the shoreline of Naval Station Puget Sound when it was founded in 1891, and then returning to see PSNS & IMF today? Today, PSNS & IMF is the largest Shipyard on the West Coast and one of Washington State's largest industrial facilities. Happy birthday, PSNS & IMF on the Waterfront!
Photo: aerial view of shipyard in 1924.
MilitaryPhotoDepot posted View of the Puget Sound Navy Shipyard in 1940.USS Lexington (CV 2) is shown 2 battleships maybe Oklahoma and Nevada at the middle pier. Looks like a Brooklyn Class cruiser top right and maybe the cruisers near the Lexington and the one at the upper pier look like a New Orleans Class heavy cruisers .You guys can add any ship names or class of ships you can identify.Will edit with corrections as we find out info. Nara Image
MilitaryPhotoDepot posted (6/24/1945) USS New Jersey BB-62 Looking forward, turret III trained to starboard at time of inclining experiment at Puget Sound .Nara Image Rand Barthel: That is a great picture. Note the quad 40mm mounting on the back end of the big turret. Anything to increase the volume of AA fire.
I see that the satellite caught two aircraft carriers in dock.
This fascinating photograph shows a busy day at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington around August 1955. No fewer than 6 aircraft carriers are being serviced.
On the far left, on Pier 6 is the USS Lexington (CVA-16) at the end of her two-year modernization period which saw her receive the SCB-27C and SCB-125 upgrades in one hit. Among the modifications were an angled deck, hurricane bow, and steam catapults. She had been in storage at Bremerton since 1947 and was about to rejoin the fleet. She was recommissioned on 15 August 1955.
Next along and to the left of Pier 5 is the USS Shangri La (CVA-38) which also received the same double upgrade as Lexington. She recommissioned the previous January and is seemingly still in the area for post-modernization trials.
To the right of the Shangri La is the USS Midway (CVA-41), which has just pulled into the yard to begin her two-year SCB-110 which will give her an angled deck, steam catapults, and hurricane bow among other things.
Ahead of Midway in Dry Dock #2 is probably the USS Toledo (CA-133) undergoing an overhaul that lasted from July to October 1955.
To the right of Baltimore is the USS Essex (CVA-9) in Dry Dock #4. Having been one of the first of the Essex class carriers to receive the SCB-27A upgrade which allowed her to operate jets, she is now getting the SCB-125 upgrade for an angled deck and enclosed bow. She has only recently entered the dock (August) her axial deck can still be seen. Essex will rejoin the fleet the following January.
Astern of Essex is the USS Yorktown (CVA-10) alongside Pier 3. She is completing her angled deck upgrade (SCB-125) and will recommission in the coming October.
Finally in Dry Dock #5 is the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt receiving a $48m SCB-110 upgrade. She will recommission the following April 6. Too big to fit through the Panama Canal, she will have to round Cape Horn to reach her homeport of Mayport.
Thanks to Tim McCann for eliminating Baltimore as the cruiser in Dry Dock #2.
Caption: The Warshipologist
Randy Cohen: Now we can't build more than 2 Destroyers at a time and are years behind in maintenance on our fleets. It's time to bring back the tenders so much of what now requires a ship yard used to be done pier side by the tender. We need to get our acts together our enemies are!
Steve Westover: The USS Theodore Roosevelt left Bremerton earlier this year [2023]. It’s the first time that I can remember that there wasn’t a carrier docked in Bremerton. I wonder if this breaks a sting since before WWII?
"Uncle Sam’s $100,000,000 sisters pose for their first picture together. The giant new airplane carriers Lexington (left), and Saratoga, tide up at the
Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Wash., where they are undergoing engine readjustments to bring their speed up to the specified figure. This is
the first time since they were launched that the big ships have been close enough to be photographed together."
Evening Star (Washington DC), September 24, 1928
Note that Saratoga doesn't have her distinctive black stripe on the funnel. This was added after their first Fleet Problem participation in Jan 1929.
James McNeil: I believe that these carriers were built up from a cruiser hull.
Anant Rajagopal: James McNeil Converted from battlecruiser hulls, Sir. Lexington and Saratoga were to be two of six Lexington-class battlecruisers, but the two ships were converted to carriers as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty.
Dave Creighton: The finest looking warships ever built. Hoody fans cringe at the fact that these two were longer, wider, heavier at deep load, faster and had more powerful machinery than their beloved glass jawed battlecruiser.
Bill Burnham: Where was Saratoga built? I know Lexington was built at Fore River Shipyard, Quincy Mass.. my home state..
Matthew Weiner: NY Shipbuilding in Camden NJ
MilitaryPhotoDepot posted (10/17/1945) USS Iowa (BB-61) at Pier #91, Seattle, Washington. USS Maryland (BB-46) is across the pier. NNAM Image. [By "Seattle," did they really man Bremerton? Or did the Navy have another shipyard in this area?] Sydney Evans: It's amazing to see how over only 23 years, the design, construction, and intent of the Battleship evolved. The USS Maryland, laid down in 1917, and the Iowa, laid down in 1940, could hardly be more different. What a great photo. Bob Koh: Iowa just turned turret #3 for the first time in decades.
Jim Leach commented on the above post BB-61 Missouri at Pier 91, 1954.
MilitaryPhotoDepot posted (Circa July 1974 )View of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, including USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Saint Paul (CA-73), USS Hornet (CVS-12), USS Rochester (CA-124), USS Bennington (CVS-20), and USS New Jersey (BB-62), Bremerton, Washington.. DoD Image
Chamroeun Khmer posted 18-05-2023 ex USS Independence (L) and USS Kitty Hawk (R) awaiting scrapping at Bremerton WA. Richard Tameris: Kitty Hawk was towed to Texas and is being scrapped. Ken Dorries: Steven Martinez vf33 uss america 80 84 thank you for your service. John T. Van Warrebey: This is a old picture. Both are gone to scrap yard in Texas. Henry Jackson: A little late. Indy is gone and kitty close to being gone. Daniel Currie: How did they get there? Did they go through the panama canal or the long way round? Michael Harrison: Daniel Currie around the horn. Too wide for the canal. Attack Helicopters posted
Military Tactics posted An aerial stern view of the decommissioned battleship New Jersey (BB-62) and seven decommissioned Knox class frigates tied up at the Ship Intermediate Maintenance Facility at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, WA., on 17 May 1993. MilitaryPhotoDepot posted (5/17/1993) Aerial stern view of the decommissioned battleship New Jersey (BB-62) and seven decommissioned Knox class frigates tied up at the Ship Intermediate Maintenance Facility at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, WA (DoD Image)
Alan Staton commented on Chamreoum's post last week [May 2023]
Aircraft carriers LEXINGTON (CV-2) and SARATOGA (CV-3) at the yard, 8 June 1932. Also present is an old collier at left. USS ASTORIA (CA-34) is under construction in drydock, upper right. Photographed from a USAAC plane.USN Image/Nhhc
Research Library, USS Midway Museum posted 10 March 2009, 15 years ago today: This aerial view was taken of the decomissioned conventionally-powered U.S. Navy aircraft carriers USS Independence (CV-62; Forrestal-class), USS Constellation (CV-64; Kitty Hawk-class), and USS Ranger (CV-61; Forrestal-class) berthed at the Bremerton Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Washington. A pair of unidentified possibly Spruance- or Kidd-class guided missile destroyers (DDGs) and an unidentified Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser (CG) are also visible in this photo. Public domain photo by Jelson25 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jelson25)
The Warshipologist posted USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in Dry Dock 6 after dewatering at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., March 5, 2018. Photo: Thiep Van Nguyen II/US Navy
Battle Stations Naval Warfare posted PUGET SOUND NAVAL SHIPYARD, Wash. (March 1,2018) PSNS & IMF on the Waterfront personnel bring USS Nimitz (CVN 68) into Drydock 6 March 1, 2018, in Bremerton, Washington. PSNS & IMF personnel will work side by side with ship’s force teams to get the ship back in fighting condition and back out to sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Thiep Van Nguyen II, PSNS & IMF photographer)
Sam Hale commented on the above post I just saw her docked at Pearl Harbor on Wednesday! Beautiful ship!
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in Dry Dock 6 post dewatering at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., March 5, 2018. Three of her 4 propellers are visible in this image.
The Nimitz's two A4W Westinghouse nuclear reactors can generate 260,000 shp and propel the ship at 31 knots (officially!).
PSNS & IMF photo by Thiep Van Nguyen II
[Several comments think propellers should be called screws when they are on a ship.]
David E. Clifton: A ship is notably a ocean going vessel, vessels that travel intercoastal or inland waterways are commonly called boats, on a ship and submarines the propellers are called screws, on a boat it is referred to as a prop. [And another comment says an ocean vessel is longer than 150' to be a ship.]
Tony Chamberlain: Do the port / starboard screws counter rotate?
Chuck Jones: Tony Chamberlain Yes
Jake Purches: What is screw RPM for 30 knots?
Chuck Jones: Jake Purches 125ish
David Filar: Did they have to hook up water during drydock to cool nuclear reactors even if they were in non-reactive operation?
David Bridges: David Filar Yes. By the time they get into drydock, the reactors have been shut down long enough that the amount of heat still being produced (called decay heat) can be removed by running a reactor coolant pump to circulate the water through the reactor and through a heat exchanger cooled by an off-hull source.
Former navy MM/shipyard outside machinist/fuel handler, current commercial nuclear operator here.
Art Ramsey: First, I doubt its the Nimitz. The forklift in the background is as big as the screw, which in reality would be far, far bigger.
But secondly, I highly doubt the Navy/DOD would allow anyone to publish pics of the screws, much less take them to begin with.
Tim Morris: Art Ramsey those are not forklifts. Those are heavy lifting shaft lifts called El-Pars. These heavy lift vehicles lift, move and maneuver the shafts for removal and install. As for showing the screws to the public, per DoD only naval submarines screws are classified NOFORN material due to their identification signature of the submarine
Tim Morris commented on the above post Picture of our shafting crew from 1998. Same Dock different CVN class carrier.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in Dry Dock 6 post dewatering at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility on March 5, 2018.
This is the beginning of a nine-month dry dock portion of the Nimitz’s Docking Planned Incremental Availability maintenance period.
PSNS & IMF photo by Thiep Van Nguyen II
Randy Studer commented on the above post Another View!!
Naval Sea Systems Command posted After three months of interim seismic mitigation efforts, Dry Dock 5 is re-certified and USS Connecticut (SSN 22) has been docked for its Extended Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) July 12. Great work to the PSNS & IMF on the Waterfront team! https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/Article-View/Article/3464313/connecticut-docks-in-newly-upgraded-dry-dock-5/ "PSNS & IMF remains the primary provider for the maintenance, repair, modernization, inactivation and disposal of ships, submarines, and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the Pacific Fleet." [Does that effectively mean the only provider?]
Jim Yasinski posted four photos with the comment: "Gillespie, Illinois Coal Mines."
Justin West: How late in the 20th C did the mines last around Gillespie?
1
2
3
4
Dennis DeBruler replied to Justin's question 1954, https://wikiimage.isgs.illinois.edu/ilmines/webfiles/topo-mines/gillespie-south.pdf Justin West: Dennis DeBruler TY...do you happen to know if the coal supply were exhausted or if cheaper or less sulphurous supplies put much of central and south central IL mines on ice? Mid-1950s saw a lot of residential use of coal decline in favor of natural gas and demand for railroad use was quickly disappearing with the switch to diesel engines, so they probably helped accelerate the closures of many mines at that time, much like the EPA has effected on mines today as they have pressed for closures of coal-fired powerplants.😕
Dennis DeBruler commented on Justin's comment I think your theory about natural gas and diesel engines causing the 1950s closures make sense. High sulfur didn't close Illinois mines until the 1970s when the Clean Air Act was passed and the EPA took aim at sulfuric acid pollution. Another issue in the 1950s may have been seam thickness. Note that the Shay mine north of Gillespie made it into the 21st Century.
Dennis DeBruler commented on Jim's post Research is a lot easier when the cartographer labels the mines. 1912 Gillespie Quad @ 62,500
Dennis DeBruler commented on Jim's post I was surprised when a couple of maps labeled the C&NW/LM route as NS. So I further investigated that fact. NS now owns the LM route from their former-Wabash route north to a spur to the Monterey/Shay mine, https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1895506,-89.7988918,1089m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu UP and NS own the spur and UP owns the LM route north of the wye.
Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted Another Paterson vessel, the Prescodoc (2) unloading grain at the Victory Mills elevator in Toronto. Unknown, but pre-1963 date. Capt. William Taylor photo/MHSD collection. Dennis DeBruler: It is nice to see what a marine leg looked like when it is in use. Self-unloading freighters made them obsolete.
The silos on the right is what is left of Victory Mills. It used to have more silos and several buildings. I included the scene on the left because it is going to be changing because of the Villers Island project. The red and white arch bridge is the new Cherry Street Bridge.
The silos in the middle are owned by Essroc Cement and were used to hold cement. [heritage, p32, Figure 29]
I wonder how long the powerplant in the left background of the above view is going to last. Because that land has a view of the marina and lake, I'll bet it is going to become condos.
[heritage, p32. This reference contains a lot of maps starting with 1793 that illustrate how the harbor area grew. Like Chicago, a lot of what we see today is landfill.]
Victory Mills
trainweb, this page has photos of more grain elevators in the vicinity Pic River, Quebec & Ontario Transportation Co.Ltd. 1959 R.L.Kennedy "When Victory Mills opened in December 1944, as Sunsoy Products, it was the largest soybean extraction and processing plant in Canada. Soy meal is animal feed and pet food products. It became Victory Mills in March 1946 and was owned by Canadian Breweries Ltd. until 1954 when it was acquired by Procter & Gamble becoming Victoria Soya Mills Ltd. until 1985 when it was acquired by Central Soya and was closed by new owners in March 1992 with operations being carried on at a Hamilton harbour location. Central Soya was acquired by CanAmera Foods which in turn were acquired by Bunge in 2002."
The facility had two grain elevators. The west elevator with the marine leg and mill buidings was the original one. The extant silos were part of the eastern elevator.
Canada Malting is now a global compnay, but their operations have moved further west in Canada. [CanadaMalting_about]
Another photo with an active marine leg.
March 2015: blogTO, cropped What's happening with Toronto's waterfront silos? 1928-87 [Not much] Also acotoronto, credit Metroneome Canada
acotoronto "Canada Malting silos shortly after construction in 1928. Notice the now-demolished original Toronto Star building in the background. (Image courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.)"
acotoronto, photo by Jarold Dumouchel. This is one of several photos on this page [As with the Victory Mills, the support buildings have been torn down.]
acotoronto "1988. (Image courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.)"
The city owns this property. The 2019 plans to make it an art center died. Now they are at least repairing the silos and landscaping the property so that the public can enjoy the waterfront. But I see the idea of putting an observation deck on top of the silos seems to have also died.
