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| Street View, Oct 2011 |
The SS William A. Irvin "was the flagship of the US Steel Great Lakes fleet from 1938 until 1975. She spent her days carrying both iron ore and coal, as well US Steel guests and dignitaries, throughout the Great Lakes ports." It was built by American Ship building in Lorain, OH. It was 611'x60'x32.6' with a capacity of 14,000 tons. It was one of the first ships to use DeLaval Cross steam turbines (2000hp), and it was the first to ""all areas of the ship accessible from the interior of the ship which allowed the crew to stay inside during rough weather. (I believe that means it had a crew tunnel along the cargo bay.) "Another special feature of the William A Irvin is her 3-tiered bow cabin. Traditionally, lakers would only have 2 tiers. This extra deck of the ship has brass hand railings and is trimmed in oak paneling and walnut veneer. It features a suite of guest cabins, lounge and a dining room."[CanalPark-history]
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| decc-carousel-2168 [Now I'm left with the question of which US Steel mill had a conveyor bridge next to their Hulett unloaders.] "The Irvin set a record by unloading 13,856 tons of iron ore in two hours and 55 minutes using Hulett Unloaders. That record remains unbroken today and is unlikely to be broken, because all ships today use automatic self-unloaders in the bottom of their cargo holds." It was retired in 1975 because the industry started building freights of a 1000' or more with a capacity around 60,000 tons. And it looks like it was never converted to a self-unloader. |
The museum offers tours of the freighter.
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| decc-carousel-2713 [There are no photos of the engine room. I wonder if it is not on the tour or if the web designer thinks the public is not interested in it.] |
It appears the engine room is included in the tour.
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| Alesia Gitter [They have the cover off one of the two turbines so that you can see the blades.] |
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| David Schauer posted While Gus and I were in downtown Duluth photographing shipping activity we spotted a special NSSR charter move with 245 and the museum's new full length dome car. It made for a perfect "rail and sail" scene as the short train passed the retired ore carrier William A. Irvin, where kids are free (LOL). June 29, 2021 |
James Jorgeson posted two photos with the comment: "Some neat aerial views of the 611' ore carrier William A. Irvin (1938), which was once the flagship of US Steel's Pittsburgh Steamship Division. Retired by US Steel in 1978, she's been a popular museum ship in Duluth since 1986."
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This is another example of transporting cars on a freighter. Now we have specially designed ships called Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) for vehicle transport. But cars are now transported over the ocean instead of the Great Lakes.
Lyndon Hepokoski posted three photos with the comment: "Photos of new cars being delivered to Duluth by ship. Kathryn Martin Library UMD."
David Hallsten: this was done at least until 1955. . .
Kent Rengo shared
They are in what is now known as the Minnesota Slip where the museum ship William Irvin is moored.
Barbara J Hammerbeck: Aha. Now I understand why the Mataafa had a load of cars on her when she broke in half during the Thanksgiving storm in 1905. In the back of my mind I always wondered where they had come from and why they were on their way to Duluth. This was the ship that broke in half and was aground just off Minnesota Point while hundreds of people stood and watched as no one could get out to her to rescue the crew. It was not until the storm subsided that they were finally rescued. Seven men on the aft end died of exposure but those on the fore end were rescued. Bob Abrahamson wrote a book about the storm and the ship. I happened to see the pictures and realized we had those pictures in a box in my mother's house and we kids had been looking at them for years. My grandfather worked as Asst. Light Keeper at the Superior entry at that time so must have had an interest in the pictures of what the storm had wrought. We also have pictures of the rebuilding of the Superior entry in the next years.
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| Michael Pipia commented on the third photo Loading in Detroit |
The slip was empty in this street view because the freighter was being refurbished across the St. Louis River in the Fraser Shipyards.
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| Street View, Aug 2019 |
A "before" photo.
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| CBS3duluth |
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| SS William A Irvin posted (source) Museum Director, Steve, assessing the Irvin before repairs! ⚓ The Irvin hasn't been out of the water in over 30 years! This work is really going to help preserve the Irvin for years to come! Thank you to everyone being so supportive and understanding during our time away! Carl Falkner Are those zebra mussels on it? Dan Smith Carl Falkner quite possibly. There’s reports showing zebra mussels having been found the lake area of Duluth dating back to the 80’s. [A comment on a share confirms they are zebra mussels.] |
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| David Schauer posted Fleetmates at one time, the William A. Irvin on the blocks as the Cason J. Callaway has belt work done at Fraser Shipyards in Superior. Members of the once-mighty Pittsburgh Steamship Company. 8/21/19 |
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| DuluthNewsTribune Crews at Fraser Shipyards in Superior moved the William A. Irvin museum ship into dry dock in August to repair and service areas of the ship that are below the waterline. (News Tribune file photo) [It was moved to the shipyard in September 2018 and is expected to be moved back to its berth in Minnesota Slip in October,2019.] "The transit will require meticulous planning, particularly when the ship reaches the Minnesota Slip pedestrian lift bridge, where it faces a tight squeeze with a mere 7 inches of clearance on either side. A pair of winches attached to the Irvin's bow and stern will be used to maneuver the 611-foot-long laker into place at the slow-crawl pace of 1 foot for every four seconds. The Irvin is expected to reopen to the public next year [2020]. The floating museum has been sidelined for two consecutive seasons now, as crews worked to shore up Minnesota Slip's failing seawalls and to cap off contaminated underwater sediments that have accumulated there over years of marine traffic.With the Irvin temporarily displaced, the DECC took advantage of the opportunity to repair the ship and give it a new coat of paint. That work at Fraser was funded with the help of a $504,000 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society." |
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| Michael Koncazk posted William A. Irvin in dry dock at Fraser Shipyards, August, 2019. Photo by Michael Konczak |
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| David Schauer posted At first I wasn't sure where this image was made, but when looking close and seeing elevator row on the far right and the scrap yard, this must be at the slip where the Duluth Arena-Auditorium was built a few years after this (known as the DECC today). The then-new Northern Venture being picketed in July 1961. Basgen Photography David Szymanski: Is this the same slip where the Irvin is now?? |
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| David Schauer replied to David's question No, there was one just to the west of that slip. |
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| Dennis DeBruler replied to Szymanski's question It looks like that slip was adjacent to some team tracks. 1953 Duluth Quad @ 24,000 |
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| Cedric Woodard posted I haven’t taken many pictures of the Irvin this year. The engine room. James Torgeson shared The immaculate engine room of the 610’ Str. William A. Irvin (1938), the former flagship of the USS Great Lakes Fleet. She had two coal-fired boilers that fed steam to her DeLaval turbines in the foreground, which developed 2000 hp. Retired in 1978, she’s now a popular attraction on the Duluth waterfront that is open during the warm weather months. |
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