Traverse City, MI: Coal Dock, 1917-2008 Saginaw Bay/Diamond Alkali Freighter and PM Roundhouse

(Satellite)

Chris D Holton posted

This post is from the Traverse City Historical Society.

This shows the Diamond Alkaline unloading coal

around late 40’s or early 50’s. My Grandfather was

a piledriver / Crane operator for this project.

Sears Marine Construction,Traverse City,MI.

This topo map confirms that railroads used to serve the lakefront on the west side of town with at least one track out onto the unloading dock. C&O's Pere Marquette was on the west side of the Boardman Lake and Pennsy's Grand Rapids & Indiana (GR&I) was on the east side.

1957 Traverse City Quad @ 62,500

Since the larger scales give priority to railroads, I used this map to verify that the GR&I went along the lakefront to access the dock area.

1954 Traverse City Quad @ 1:250,000

A bulk-material dock in the photo reminded me that self-unloading bulk freighters are over a century old. It is significant that Diamond Alkaline was built in Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW). GLEW opened a new shipyard in Ecrose-Rouge River in 1905 and the first freighter it launch in 1908, SS Wyandotte (364'), was a self-unloader. So self-unloading designs would be old news by the time this freighter was launched in 1917.

shiphotos
"Built: Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Michigan - Entered service on 1917/06/19"

ShipSpotting
"Seen at Port Huron,Mi,Sept,1963. The following season, she was repowered with a Nordberg diesel, and new stack. Photo by Richard Duncan, from the Lake Huron Lore collection"
It had the name Saginaw Bay from 1978 until it was scrapped in 2008.
Gross tonnage was 8,409 tons and summer DWT was 13,717 tons.

Larry Boyd posted

Traverse City, Michigan Mid 40’s-50’s

This photo shows the old roundhouse being removed to make way for a new two stall diesel facility.  

Larry Boyd commented on his post

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