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Flour Power: 1911
The Buffalo River, city ship canal and flour mill elevators circa 1911. "A busy section of the canal -- Buffalo, N.Y." 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. ... two years later. The Schuylkill was halved at Buffalo and reassembled at Quebec. On its first voyage on saltwater the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2014 - 10:50am -

The Buffalo River, city ship canal and flour mill elevators circa 1911. "A busy section of the canal -- Buffalo, N.Y." 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Freighters' FateToward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th a handful of Eastern railroads established steamboat lines as extensions of their services that carried freight westward and mostly grain eastward. The Bethlehem, launched 29 February 1888 as the E. P. Wilbur by the Globe Iron Works at Cleveland, ran for the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, a subsidiary of that railroad. The Schuylkill, launched 2 July 1892 also by Globe, ran for the Erie & Western Transportation Company, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, to connect with the Northern Pacific at Duluth. The railroads were forced to divest these steamship lines by the Panama Canal Act of 1912. Aside from their builder and similar service, both vessels shared a common experience of lake package freighters upon the advent of the United States' entry into the Great War: Requisition or outright sale for wartime service on saltwater. The Bethlehem was cut in half at Ashtabula in 1917 and reassembled at Montreal and slightly enlarged. It survived the war and entered British registry in 1921, and was dismantled two years later. The Schuylkill was halved at Buffalo and reassembled at Quebec. On its first voyage on saltwater the Schuylkill was torpedoed by German submarine U-39 on its delivery voyage to Greece, 21 November 1917, becoming one of the 157 vessels sunk by the U-39 during the war, second largest total among Germany's U-boat fleet. The Blue PeterThe flag on the foremast of the ship on the left is the flag for the letter "P". When it was raised in port it indicated that the ship would be sailing soon and all passengers and crew should make haste to get on board. The flag was called the Blue Peter as it had a white square in the center of a blue flag. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC)
St. Clair Tunnel: 1905
... completed, the tunnel will shorten the distance between Buffalo and the cities of Detroit and Chicago. It will be over a mile in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 12:01pm -

Port Huron, Michigan, circa 1905. "St. Clair Tunnel." Oh, and please note: "No Admittance." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Signaled block systemDoing just a little research, I discovered traffic through the tunnel was controlled by a signaled block system. The train dispatcher shared quarters with the block system equipment on the Sarnia side, and the building in the picture housed the equipment on the Port Huron side. It appears to be that the switch was an early dual control, subject to remote operation by a control operator, and also to hand operation by train crews as circumstances warranted. Great snippet of railroad history. Tempting Yeah, fer sure, I wanna be in that tunnel when a train comes through. Not likely! The first one !According to Wikipedia, electrification of the St.Clair tunnel was completed in 1908. Maybe some astute railfan could verify this? Also this was the first full-sized underwater railroad tunnel built. Who do you believe?Interesting discrepancy. The year of this photo is 1905 but some detailed historical research indicates that electric trains didn't start running until 1908. The contract to electrify the tunnel wasn't awarded to Westinghouse until 1906. http://loc.gov/pictures/item/mi0363/ (relevant bit about electrifying the tunnel is on page 32 of the report. Click the Data Pages link) [The "year of the photo" is not 1905 but, as noted in the caption, "circa 1905." Meaning around, in the general vicinity of. - Dave] AdvertisingCould it be that the lettering on the lawn is an early form of advertising to be seen from the air? [I don't think so. - Dave] 102 years laterThis is how it looked in September 2007. Sometimes a Tunnel is just a TunnelCould this BE more Freudian? Long and LastingThis tunnel was over 6000 feet long and was in use from 1891 through 1994. It was replaced by a tunnel with the same name in 1995. Life imitates artThis makes me think of Alfred Hitchcock. See the movieGo to the following link to see an Edison-Biograph film made between 1896 and about 1905: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQzXCoQRbas At 4:01-4:51 the camera is mounted on the front of a locomotive going through St. Clair Tunnel. The film was made before the above photo, because the railroad is not yet electrified. [You actually go through the entire tunnel; the film negative is reversed to see the interior of the bore.] The rest of film is full of some neat eastern railroading too. Sort of like seeing some of Dave's old photos starting to move... Sometimes a tunnel is just a tunnel.Sir Alfred Hitchcock liked these shots bunches! And he used them too. Hey, Sleepy!Welcome to Shorpy. But wake up and pay attention. In particular r-e-a-d the captions. Dave let you off light. This time. Freudian SlipTrain + Tunnel = SYMBOLISM!! The lawn letteringTo be viewed by passengers on the other rail alignment, visible to the upper right. St. Clair River Tunnel The Railroad and Engineering Journal, Volume 62, 1888. The St. Clair River Tunnel. — After a long period of waiting, work on the proposed tunnel under the St. Clair at Port Huron is again actively under way. The developments so far are most satisfactory, the measurement showing more than the required thickness of clay everywhere, with no fault or break discoverable. The shoe on the American side was successfully put in place recently, and the shaft is now being excavated. On the Canadian side good progress is being made, and the brick lining has been lowered by successive drops of from 4 to 8 ft. each, until it is now half way or so to bed-rock. A blower for forcing air down the shaft and the electric light plant of the machinery will soon be in place. The tunnel is to be built by a separate company, but will be used by the Grand Trunk Railway trains. Encyclopædia Britannica, 1891. River Tunnels. — Small tunnels under navigable streams are quite frequent in the United States. In Chicago a number have been bored under the Chicago River in order to connect the several parts of the city without bridges. The project of a tunnel under the Detroit River, through which railroad traffic should be carried without interfering with navigation, has long been discussed. Various towns have, from time to time, been selected as sites for the beginning of operations. At Port Huron, some miles above Detroit, the River St. Clair is now being tunnelled in order to avoid the carrying of cars upon railroad ferry-boats. When completed, the tunnel will shorten the distance between Buffalo and the cities of Detroit and Chicago. It will be over a mile in length, 2310 feet being under the river, 1810 feet under dry ground south of the city limits of Port Huron, and 1160 feet on the Canadian side; 1500 feet of the portion under the river will be almost level, falling eastward only enough to cause the water that leaks into the tunnel to run to the Canadian side. The total length of the ascent on the American side will be 4900 feet, and on the Canadian side 4970 feet. The length of the open cutting or approach at the Port Huron end of the tunnel will be 2820 feet, and at the Canadian end 3270 feet. The depth of the lowest part of the tunnel below the surface of the water will be 81 feet, which is 15 feet higher than had been at first expected, on account of anticipated quicksands and water-pockets. The minimum depth of the top below the bed of the river will be 15 feet. The tunnel has a clear internal diameter of 20 feet, and is intended for a single track. A double-track tunnel was at first proposed, but it was found that two single-track tunnels could be built at less expense than one doubletrack. Should this tunnel prove successful and profitable, the company intends to build a second one. The cost of the tunnel is estimated at $1,500,000. Souvenir History of Port Huron, Michigan, 1906. … the most notable and absorbing sight are the great St. Clair Tunnel engines, which were built expressly for taking heavily loaded trains through the great underground international railway thoroughfare. You enter a well-appointed car and take a seat the bell rings, and the great train soon begins to trundle away toward the approach to the largest submarine tunnel in the world. Broad banks of blue clay rise on each side, abutted with heavy stone masonry. The train increases its speed, and if you can get near the rear car door of the last coach when the train plunges into the tunnel and a moment after daylight is changed for darkness, the opening which you have entered as it recedes looks like a beautiful landscape placque hung upon a wall of inky darkness. The train thunders on, and in less time than you can describe the trip the express commences to climb the grade on the Canadian side and has stopped at the Sarnia depot, and you have ridden through a tunnel measuring 6,025 feet from portal to portal. and under the greatest water highway of the world. FirstThe St. Clair Tunnel was the world's first underwater tunnel between two nations. The Michigan Central Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor was the second and the Detroit-Windsor automobile tunnel was third. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)
American Gothic: 1905
... daily service during the navigation season between Buffalo and Detroit, and Cleveland and Detroit. At the time of his death two ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:06pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1905. "Residence of W.C. McMillan." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The AddamsesCharles Addams supposedly modeled the Addams Family Home after College Hall at The University of Pennsylvania. This one was tricky to findThe house was at the corner of East Jefferson and Russell, says the Detroit News ("the former home of U.S. Senator James McMillan, which had been built during the 1870's.") It eventually became the home of the University Club. In 1931 another University Club, now a YWCA, was built on the site. View Larger Map It's a Mickey Mouse MomentIsn't that the Applegate Mansion? (Think of F.W. Dixon) The Success/Failure of Black & WhiteWhat makes this house spooky - the epithet used by so many posters on this topic is the fact that it is in black & white. The look of the house is dark & foreboding and even the ivy can't soften it. Now imagine this house in colour. Dark red brick with the green ivy in contrast. The areas around the windows in either sandstone or terra cotta. The Victorians and Edwardians loved colour and paint technology was giving them an affordable rainbow of shades. Trim, like the railings around the porch in one colour, the sashes for the windows in a different one. The big oak door would be in contrast to the stone around it, and the whole thing would be topped with a slate roof. Suddenly it ceases to be sinister and becomes just another Victorian home, which if it was kept up would be no more sinister than a lot of newer buildings. Fire BreathingI wonder if Spot still lives under the stairs. Don't go in the tower, you fool!Ah, but who--or what--lives in the upper tower room? Erie guyWilliam (W.C.) McMillan, eldest son of three-term Republican U.S. Senator James McMillan of Michigan, was then the president and general manager of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company, which provided daily service during the navigation season between Buffalo and Detroit, and Cleveland and Detroit. At the time of his death two years later ("at home" in February 1907), he was also president of several iron or steel companies and shipbuilding companies, and one of three co-owners of the Detroit Free Press. In 1902 he declined to be a candidate for election to the Senate vacancy created by his father's death. Update: A Marshall, Michigan, newspaper's report of his death gave his address as 452 Jefferson Ave. Based on turn-of-the-century economic segregation patterns, it's probably East, not West, Jefferson. 452 E. Jefferson (under the pre-1920 building numbering system) would be on the north side of the corner of E. Jefferson and Rivard St. (near the Palm Apartment site); 452 W. Jefferson would be between 10th Street and Rosa Parks Blvd, where a truck terminal is now located. The Adams FamilyRight? [You're close. It's "Addams." - Dave] Electricity?Did Detroit have power poles in 1905? [Yes. And telephone poles, too. - Dave] Dare you to go inGosh, when I was a kid there were a bunch of these vintage places about town all deserted and creepy. Naturally we all had to find a way in and explore. A few of these adventures ended at the police station but as we were not vandals we got off with a good scary official tongue lashing. Some places were left with everything still inside as if the people just one day vanished, never to return. It sure was interesting! 1313 Mockingbird LaneWith or without Halloween decorations this would be the scariest house on any block. ChillingI can't get enough of gothic architecture. So eloquent and emotional while still wholly austere. McMillan & DadWilliam C. McMillan was a son of of Michigan Sen. James McMillan, who was chairman of the Senate Park Improvement Commission of D.C., better known as the McMillan Commission. Sen. McMillan died in 1902, two years after the commission was formed. The "McMillan Plan" resulted in removal of many of the slums that surrounded the Capitol, replacing them with new monuments and government buildings that now form D.C.'s "monumental core," as well and the National Mall and Union Station. As for W.C. McMillan himself, he was general manager of the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Co. HousesI am referring to the 7th picture in the article that Cnik70 linked to in the Detroit News ("Where Detroit's elite met to eat," August 9, 1996) http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=155 - the one labeled "The James McMillan Mansion on Jefferson was an early home of the University Club." I am not referring to the picture he posted, which shows the same location today. The picture in the Detroit News shows a house that belonged to James McMillan, not to his son William C. McMillan. At first I thought that it was the same house, passed from father to son, but looking at the architecture closely, I say it's not. If you can figure out how to post that picture here (I'm sorry I can't), the others may see what I mean. Thanks! Housing styleFYI, there is nothing Gothic about this house. It is an Italianate villa, which is a type of Romanesque revival popular in the middle to late Victorian period. Notice the semi-circular arches in the windows, and the tall square tower, typical of the style. Gothic arches are pointed, and the Gothic revival would have some sort of spire, if anything, not a tower like this. The more extreme Gothic revival buildings even have 'superfluous excrescences' [I love that term, not my creation.] like gargoyles spires, cornices, etc., to dress it up. The Romanesque revival is, overall, simpler and cleaner, with more straight lines. The lines in Gothic revival tend to be more broken up. The tower is where you would lock up an insane or mentally handicapped relative, or perhaps a wayward, unmarried female relative who had managed to get herself pregnant. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Television Screen: 1950
... quality brings about absence of "snow," all before Buffalo Bob and Howdy appeared. Did everyone have a ship and brass baby ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/16/2013 - 9:26am -

July 12, 1950. "Hilda Kassell, East 53rd Street, New York City. Father reading newspaper, two children viewing television." The test-pattern tone is especially hypnotic this morning. Photo by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Multiple photosOther Gottscho-Schleisner photos relating to Hilda Kassell can be found online. There's one from about this same time showing her nursing her baby in front of this window, one from 1948 of what I would presume was her former residence at 50 East 10th Street, and an undated interior view of what may be her country house in Croton, New York. As there also are some references to photos by her, my best guess is that she worked for Gottscho-Schleisner or at least was associated with the company in some way. Hence their interest in her domestic life. [Hilda Kassell was the designer whose business commissioned these photos. The people in them are models; the grander homes are those of her clients. -Dave] Test Pattern IndianWe got our first TV in 1951 when I was 3 or 4 years old. I remember spending a lot of time staring at the Test Pattern Indian, and even at that early age wondering what the hell an Indian was doing in our TV, and when was he going to DO something. Maybe I really WAS hypnotized by the tone. I Would Title This "Waiting for Howdy Doody" It's all relativeCompared to nothing-zip-nada, a test pattern was interesting, if only because it indicated that the set was ready to erupt into entertainment when programming began (usually, late afternoon). And it was our technological friend, enabling the painstaking setting of horizontal and vertical hold, contrast, brightness, and whatever quality brings about absence of "snow," all before Buffalo Bob and Howdy appeared. Did everyonehave a ship and brass baby shoes on top of the TV in the early 50's? I know we did. Good QuestionWonder why the Indian head shot was used. It seems fairly universal, but why? [A story about the original artwork and its survival is here. -tterrace] Thanks, wonder why the fellow in '38 made that choice. Just because? Line definition quality? Thanks again. Attention SpanAnd so it begins. The dumbing down of our children. There really is nothing on TVIn this case, not only are the kids staring at a test pattern, they're staring at a fuzzy test pattern. At first I thought this was because WJZ is a Baltimore station, but in 1950, it was the ABC flagship station in New York. Blank StaresThere's nothing quite like pretending to read the morning paper while the kids pretend to watch TV. $419.95Looks like a Zenith, Lexington model without cabinet doors. Cost is four weeks pay for the average factory worker in 1950. [It's an Olympic. -tterrace] Olympic Radio & Televisionwas a trademark of Hamilton Radio Corp., established NYC 1941. Hamilton purchased the Olympic trademark from American Bosch Radio the same year. In 1956 Olympic Radio & Television was still operating as a division of Unitronics Corp. of Long Island City. It probably disappeared the following year when Unitronics was absorbed by Siegler, which then merged with Lear Inc. Step UpOlympic was a recognized radio brand in the 1960s. Its TV line was strictly promotional. The attached ad shows a Radio/TV/Phono combo that probably sold in the $300-$400 price range. A comparable Magnavox unit sold for 2 to 3 times as much. Sitting that CloseI was a child in the late 1960s. Whenever I would watch television my parents always supervised me because they wanted to ensure that I didn't sit too close to the set. They were convinced sitting too close to the television would cause me to develope leukemia or it would ruin my eyesight. The first thought I had, when I looked at this photograph was the sound of my mother's voice "Don't sit so close to the TV!" By the time I was 16 years old, I did have to start wearing glasses which gave my parents an "I told you so." moment. They were convinced that my lazy eye was a result of sitting too close to the tv when I watched Captain Kangaroo as a four year old. The Ultimate Home Theatre!It's got both a small screen AND a big screen (for Dad to hide behind)! Subway foldDad - or the model playing dad - is probably a regular subway rider. That's the NY subway fold that I learned from my father. When you're on a crowded train, there isn't room to open the paper all the way. So you fold the pages in half lengthwise. PatternI hated daytime TV in the '50s. You'd be home sick from school and all that was on would be soaps and Queen for a Day. You'd be lying there bored to death with onions that your Mom put in your socks, I have no idea what they were supposed to cure but Mom must have known. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Kids, NYC, TV)
Workshop: 1916
... and the small pedestal grinder just past it is, I think, a Buffalo Forge- the work rests are sitting on the crate in front of it. I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 3:09pm -

Circa 1916. "Hackett Motor Car Co., Jackson, Michigan." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Another view here. Old iron!Let's see ... Two W.H. & J. Barnes Drilling Machines (or possibly Rockfords, but they don't have back gears) and one of a different model that may be an earlier or smaller version, or a different brand entirely. The near machine is a Rockford (no relation) No. 3 hand miller, and the small pedestal grinder just past it is, I think, a Buffalo Forge- the work rests are sitting on the crate in front of it. I think the shaper is a Gould & Eberhard 16", but I'm probably wrong. Can't see enough of either lathe for an ID, but the horizontal mill toward the back right is almost certainly a small Brown & Sharpe. All that and some gas lamps, too! Mind your fingersShops like this one are engineering marvels. The big belts and shafts, the gaslights and machinery all on a safe oil soaked wood floor littered with stock, fascinate me. Drive beltsIt must have been a job keeping those belts from spinning right of their pulleys. Alignment must have been critical. I imagine that there was a trade devoted to that task. And when a belt snaps and flies off there were whoops and hollers! All right, all right. Get back to work. Wow! OSHA would have a stroke!Riveted water heater tank, overhead belts, no guards on grinders, parts all over the floor, overhead gas lighting and, I'm sure, open containers of solvents somewhere in the mix. Yassir, 'nuf stuff in there to keep the OSHA inspector busy for days! The Winner OfThe Poor Housekeeping Seal. Thoroughly Modern PulleyThis appears to be a very modern shop for its time, with the gaslight and the power-driven machines. When I was young we used flat belts like these to power our buzz saw -- we attached it to our John Deere Model A tractor. When those belts broke the result was sometimes tragic. Alignment not-so-criticalAT wrote: "It must have been a job keeping those belts from spinning right of their pulleys. Alignment must have been critical." Actually, with flat leather belts, the pulley alignment is not a critical factor in their performance. Usually the flat pulley has a slight crown on the surface which helps to keep the belt centered on the pulley. The torque delivered comes strictly from the friction between the flat surface of the belt and the pulley face. The more modern v-belt requires precisely aligned pulleys because the friction occurs between the edges of the belt and the walls of the pulley grooves into which the belt is forced by drive tension. More on Drive BeltsDrive belts were not prone to come off their pulleys. One of the things we studied in engineering when I went to school was how they worked. The pulleys have a slight crown on them. As the moving belt starts to move sideways off a pulley, the crown causes it to move back. We analyzed the mathematics of the process. The belts are self-centering. Re: Belts and shafts...Actually, you'd be surprised how easily those line shafts could be set up. Typically the shaft supports had some method of adjustment- quadrant screws, slots, etc. That mad it as simple as bolting the bracket to the board or joist, run the shaft through it, and tweak the screws 'til it's straight. You can see the adjusters fairly clearly on the left-hand post-mounted shafting, and on the nearest-right ceiling shaft that powers the pedestal grinder. The pulleys are almost as easy. Yes, they need to be somewhat closely aligned, but they're slightly crowned and typically wider than the belt itself. That and the distance allow them to be misaligned by quite a bit and still work reliably. Setting the tension was reasonably easy too- cut the belt to length, press in new clips. pin back together, done. If/when the belt stretches or breaks, just cut and add another clip. It was actually surprisingly efficient for the time. Overhead Drive BeltsMy father used to work in the Erie RR maintenance shops as a teenager back before WWII. He was telling me one day about all the overhead belt drive machinery. The belts are all leather and apparently making, fitting and adjusting new belts was a skilled trade in those days. He remembers a company that would come in about once a year to inspect, adjust and, if necessary, replace worn belts. This was all tied up with getting the drive gear ratios adjusted properly for each piece of equipment, and the drive wheels placed properly. According to Dad it was not a task you took lightly because an improperly adjusted belt or worse, a broken belt, would have serious consequences. Under PressureThat's an an air tank, not a water heater. The compressor is to the right. Dad's old shopFor many years my dad was a machinist for the NYC Department of Sanitation. I'd visit him at his job in Bed-Stuy. It always had a smell of grease and oil. I loved that smell. Back in those days the they would burn the trash right on site in these huge furnaces. I remember the shop always being nice and toasty in the winter and hot as hell in the summer. I always thought it was the neatest place to be. Electricity isn't far behindMaury Klein has a great book called The Power Makers which describes the race to industrialize using the power of steam (which clearly was the driving force of this shop), the rate at which steam depleted forests and then led to widespread use of anthracite coal, and finally to Edison and Westinghouse's battles to electrify the country. Highly recommended, a very engaging study of the key decisionmaking and makers behind the US industrial revolution. His description of the mighty Corliss steam engine will make you weep. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Natl Photo)
Flatcar Follies: 1920
... The name plate at top front says "F&T", with a buffalo in between, as the company was located in Buffalo, NY. The article below notes the company's connection with the NY ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/21/2018 - 11:40am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Washington Times -- Oil Co." is all it says on this glass negative showing a rusty coal-fired boiler, a crate on skids and a guy holding a beer bottle. National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Boiler TypeI'm at a loss on this one. My guess is that it is a water-tube stationary boiler perhaps for marine use or heating a building. It is certainly not a locomotive fire-tube boiler; the massive steam dome rules that out. F&TThis is a Farrar & Trefts boiler used to power an oil pump. The name plate at top front says "F&T", with a buffalo in between, as the company was located in Buffalo, NY. The article below notes the company's connection with the NY Central RR -- the same company whose logo is on this freight car. Better picture of a similar boiler, and some oil field usage history here: https://scvhistory.com/gif/galleries/lw2762/ F&T history and view of the Buffalo plant here: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=2258 Excerpt: " Chilion M. Farrar , inventor of a reversible steam engine, much used in boring oil and artesian wells, formed a partnership, in 1864, with John Trefts, and Theodore C. Knight, and the firm established a modest plant that year, on Perry Street, for the manufacture of engines and boilers and for general machine work. Mr. Knight retired from the firm in 1869, and the business, grown large with the years, has continued ever since under the name of Farrar & Trefts. In conjunction with Rood & Brown, manufacturers of car wheels, the firm established also the general foundry business of the East Buffalo Iron Works, on the New York Central Belt Line, near Broadway. In 1869 Knight left the company at which time it became known as Farrar & Trefts. They had seen great potential in the oil business and wanted to build a superior steam engine that would run for 25 years with very little care for the engine. During the course of the buisness many patents were aquired including a patent for the palm link. In 1900, the company was taken over by the Erie Pump & Engine Co. At some point in time a boiler shop was opened to supply boilers for their engines. They were able to produce any European or American boiler design and they were of utmost quality. According to The Derrick's Handbook of Petroleum published in 1898 over 25,000 engines and boilers had been produced, sold, and delivered. An account of Chilion Farrar's life states that he was born in Detroit, MI in 1829. He married Almira Siver of Buffalo in 1845. At the age of seventeen he moved to Buffalo and started to work as a machinist at the Shepard Iron Works later known as the King Iron Works. He later became a Superintendent. After the death of both the partners, George M. Trefts , John Trefts son, has carried on the business." F and TThe plate on the boiler reads F&T, which stands for Farrar & Trefts. The company manufactured stationary boilers and steam engines for the oil industry. "Locomotive Style" Boiler for Stationary UseThis is a "Locomotive Style" firetube boiler designed for stationary use. The large steam dome over the firebox is consistent with this identification. In use, it would be mounted on a brickwork "setting." I don't think it's "rusty", rather it looks to be brand new with a "shop coat" of red lead paint which is now peeling in some places. The maker's plate says "F&T", which a correspondent identifies as "Farrar & Trefts" There are parts visible on that flat car which may be components of a steam-powered cable-driven oil well drill. The crane hook is said to have something written on it, but I can't see it. There is also lettering on a part resting on the flat car to the left of the firebox. There are two horse drawn freight wagons on the other side of the flatcar. In one case, the feet of the horse are visible. BoilerFor what little I know, this is what's called a donkey boiler that is usually mounted on a wheeled frame. They are used to steam winches, drills and other portable equipment on docks, mine sites and the like. The examples I've seen like this were at the Quincy Mine museum in Hancock, MI. Morgan EngineeringThe hook block is marked: Morgan Engineering Alliance Ohio -- still very much in business in Alliance, building newer versions of this crane. There are quite a few Farrar & Trefts engines, and at least one F&T boiler, on display in various places in the Pennsylvania oil country. There are several F&T engines at Coolspring Power Museum, including one that runs, powering an oil pump jack. Long life was partly due to a tapered rotary valve that was easily adjusted for wear. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
City of Cleveland: 1905
... used for? Nightly Adventure Departing Cleveland for Buffalo every night on the C&B Line while Lake Erie was ice free at 7:45 with a 7:30 a.m. arrival in Buffalo. If you were off to Detroit from "The Forest City" you left at 10 p.m. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 11:13pm -

Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1905. "Cuyahoga River from the Viaduct." The sidewheeler City of Cleveland. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing. View full size. A city on the moveTwas a bright time in Cleveland's history; it was then America's seventh-largest city (it would peak at fifth place in the 1920s) in the midst of a whole civic-building boom downtown. I have a soft spot for my hometown, and am always glad to hear the good news about its renaissance. From DetroitIf you look on the back of the boat you can see that "The City of Cleveland" is from Detroit. I wonder what Cleveland residents thought of that. Pollution TestI never knew rivers could burn. The old joke around here is that someone once dipped an exposed film plate in the East River and it developed. FlammableThe Cuyahoga is notable for having been so polluted that it has caught on fire. According to Wikipedia there have been at least 13 river fires, with the earliest being in 1852. A fire in 1969 was an impetus for the environmental movement. SafetyFour lifeboats for a vessel of that size? Is it owned by White Star Line? Interesting photoI helped refinish the walls and floors of the warehouse building on the right (the one with the word "Ship") in 1978. It was at that time being used as a furniture showroom and warehouse. It is nice to see the old place standing more than 70 years before that! LifeboatsUntil the wreck of the Titanic rules regarding lifeboats were significantly out of date. The British regulations were based on the ship's tonnage. The Titanic actually carried a more lifeboats than the regulations required her to have; vessels over 10,000 tons were required to have boats for 1060 passengers and the Titanic had boats for 1178. The fact that she had a tonnage of 46,000 tons and a maximum capacity of 3,000 people wasn't covered by the regulations. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the City of Cleveland met and exceeded American regulations at the time - seven years before the Titanic. We've Got Gas!The two round brick building to the right are gas holders for coal gas manufactured at a gasworks. Coal gas was used for lighting and for cooking, and, sometimes, to power coal gas internal combustion engines similar to liquid gasoline engines. The circular framework next to the two brick gas holders is a rising and falling gas holder where steel tank sections telescope together and rise and fall with the volume and pressure of gas within. The framework holds the sections true where they slide up and down in guides on rails on framework similar to guides on elevators. Only the top rising section has a 'lid', against which the gas presses from below, raising the other round segments which are similar to a tin can with the top and bottom removed. The sections interlock so the top rising sections pick up the next going up, releases it going down in sequence. Coal gas and their gas works were replaced in the Fifties and Sixties by natural gas. Thank You. Round buildingsDoes anyone know what the two large round buildings in the back right were used for? Nightly AdventureDeparting Cleveland for Buffalo every night on the C&B Line while Lake Erie was ice free at 7:45 with a 7:30 a.m. arrival in Buffalo. If you were off to Detroit from "The Forest City" you left at 10 p.m. (after arrival of all trains of the Erie and of the Bee Line) with a 5:30 a.m. arrival in the not yet "Motor City." Name confusionThis is the 3rd of 4 D+C boats named "City Of Cleveland", plus another early one named simply "Cleveland". This one was built in 1886. Like most of the early D+C boats, she had twin stacks athwartships, and a walking beam engine. When the 4th one was built in 1907, this boat became City Of St. Ignace, and later Keystone. The Great Lakes are a researcher's nightmare (or dream), with most boats having had multiple names during their lives, and many names recycled repeatedly to new boats. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC)
Shenango of Fairport: 1909
... scaffold collapse happen? Ready to launch From the Buffalo Evening News, May 1, 1909. LARGEST FREIGHTER ON THE GREAT LAKES. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 2:05pm -

Ecorse, Michigan, circa 1909. "Freighter Shenango on the ways." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Is it the angle?From this view, the ship looks like it's missing a rudder! [That's because there's no rudder! - Dave] What yeardid the catastrophic scaffold collapse happen? Ready to launchFrom the Buffalo Evening News, May 1, 1909. LARGEST FREIGHTER ON THE GREAT LAKES. The largest freighter on the lakes was scheduled for launching today at the Ecorse yards of the Great Lakes Engineering Works. It is the SHENANGO for the Shenango Steamship Company, a 607-footer. The new boat has a beam of 58 feet and a depth of 32 feet. Her cost completed will be $475,000. Capt. Henry Peterson will bring out the SHENANGO in June. That scaffolding is wild!`No way you would catch ME up there! Fearless duoIf I were one of the two guys standing there, I'd be afraid to cough! Fearless duoIf I were one of these two guys, I'd be afraid to clear my throat! HistoryApparently it was renamed five times and finally rested-in-peace in 1984. http://www.sea-corps.com/retired.htm A Familiar HullSome of the straight decked bulk freighters from this period have remained in service until the present day, since the freshwater of the Great Lakes is a lot easier on steel hulls than saltwater. The E M Ford, launched in 1898, was just decommissioned and scrapped in 2008. The Willis B. Boyer, formerly the Col. Schoonmaker, is moored at Toledo as a museum ship. It was launched in 1911, and taken out of service in 1980. The Boyer was also a product of the yards at Ecorse Michigan, and has a remarkably similar stern. Up or under?I'd take the scaffolding rather than be under the ship on the port side any day of the week! Great picLove this image, I used to work in a historical photo library refiling in their 200,000 print file print collection and this image is the exactly the sort of image that used and still does catch my eye. It has it all, fascinating. Side LaunchingThe hydrodynamic loading in a side launch is huge. It is likely the rudder was routinely left ashore until after the big event or it would be damaged. In stern-first launchings (more common on the ocean coasts) rudders were often fixed in position with temporary reinforcement to help them survive the still-substantial impact with the water. There is a picture of this in the recent book "Live Yankees" by W. H. Bunting. How Did They Do It?The collective historical knowledge of Shorpies never ceases to amaze me. Okay, so the rudder wasn't fitted until after launch, but then how did they do it? With the ship in the water, fitting a big old rudder on her stern would present quite an engineering challenge. [They did it by putting the rudder on before the launch. - Dave] Fairport serendipityInteresting to see the side launch ways - would the ship be launched using hydraulic rams? The "Great Eastern" which was the largest ship in the world at the time (1850s) was launched into the Thames this way, but needed three or four attempts. I was highly amused to see this lovely photo posted in mid August, as I have just attended the annual 3 day Fairport Shenango (or at least, shindig) in Cropredy near Oxford in the UK. This is a big music festival started by the band Fairport Convention, who named themselves after the North London house belonging to the father of a founder member. Cropredy village should really twin with Fairport Harbor! Prop MadnessThis propeller looks to be made of steel not bronze. Each blade is attached to the hub separately and has a hole near the tip possible for a shackle. This makes it easer to change an ice damaged blade by the crew instead of being towed to a shipyard. My instructors would tell stories of changing the prop at dockside and having to carry any moveable object forward in order to get the stern high enough out of the water to get to the propeller nut. Shipwrights weIt took me forever to count all the people in this one. Mr. Gangplank was obvious, but I see at least a dozen others. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)
Superior Panorama: 1908
... Anchor Lines and hauled passengers (500) and cargo from Buffalo, NY to Duluth, MI. Stops were made at Cleveland, Detroit, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2012 - 4:18pm -

Lake Superior circa 1908. "The harbor and ore docks, Marquette, Michigan." Note the tiny parade at left. Panorama of three 8x10 glass plates. View full size. The DrummerSo much to see that I'm surprised that the first thing I noticed was the drummer (with attendant kids) in the corner. Is that a recruiter behind him? Are they at the flank of a parade? Surviving structuresAwesome photo The 2-storey brick building with the boarded up windows, next to the building labelled COAL is still standing! The loading dock in the background is still standing, but the one on the right is gone. I'm surprised that rock at the end of the dock wasn't blasted away as a hazard to navigation, it's still there today! TodayYou can see in the attached picture, what is left of the docks above. Some of the ore docks still stand, though no longer connected to any rail road. TIONESTA in portTied up at the Anchor Line Dock is the TIONESTA, she was built at the Wyandotte, MI shipyards in 1903 and is 361 feet long. She and her identical sister-ships JUNIATA and OCTORARA were owned by the Anchor Lines and hauled passengers (500) and cargo from Buffalo, NY to Duluth, MI. Stops were made at Cleveland, Detroit, Mackinac Island, Sault Ste. Marie and Houghton, MI. Later the 3 ships were sold to the Great Lakes Line. TIONESTA was broken up in 1940 in Hamilton, Ontario JUNIATA survives today, known as the S.S. Clipper and is berthed at Navy Pier in Chicago. She is the oldest Great Lakes steamer still afloat. By the way, the parade may be the remnants of the band to see the other ship leave the pier. SuperiorIt certainly is! ParumpatumtumNothing to see here folks. I'm just marching along to the beat of my different drum. FantasticWhat a great photo. Love the triple turnout, the camber on the trestle. All sorts of nice details. Such serendipity1. The SS Juniata was built in 1904 for the Anchor Line, the marine division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. (There was an earlier SS Juniata as far back as 1874.) 2. The main facilities of the largest railroad shops in the world, in Altoona, Pa., were the Juniata Shops. 3. In 1923, my Dad was offered a full athletic scholarship to Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.(image below; note how casually things were done back then). "In recognition of your athletic ability we will carry you free of expense, except your books, during the period of every sport in which you make the squad. You know you can do this in baseball. I believe you can in football and basketball too." 4. He retired from the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1970s, having spent his entire career in the Juniata Shops. Here's more on the Juniata: http://www.milwaukeeclipper.com/ (Panoramas, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)
Postal Bestiary: 1905
Buffalo, New York, circa 1905. "Post Office on Ellicott Street." Note the ... 244 foot stone structure hold up after 119 years of Buffalo weather? A great article can be found below by a company that ... College. Thank you for showing. (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2020 - 4:03pm -

Buffalo, New York, circa 1905. "Post Office on Ellicott Street." Note the numerous gargoyles. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The view from the top.How does an intricate, 244 foot stone structure hold up after 119 years of Buffalo weather? A great article can be found below by a company that specializes in such questions and gets to the hard-to-reach places in order to find out. https://vertical-access.com/projects/erie-community-college-tower/ Magnificent!What a beautiful building! I am so glad to see that this one has been preserved and repurposed, unlike so many of our late, lamented architectural treasures. Memories are in thereAt least for me, as I used to take my promotional exams in that building every few years, after it became the downtown campus for the local Community College. Thank you for showing. (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, DPC)
Garbage In: 1943
... widow, is crane operator at Pratt & Letchworth, Buffalo, New York." Photo by Marjory Collins, Office of War Information. View ... quickly replaced thereafter. Geezer (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, Kids, Kitchens etc., Marjory Collins) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2017 - 8:44am -

May 1943. "Mary Grimm, 8, doing the housework (in the kitchen also seen here). Her mother, a 26-year-old widow, is crane operator at Pratt & Letchworth, Buffalo, New York." Photo by Marjory Collins, Office of War Information. View full size. RecyclingGrowing up in Philadelphia in the 1940s, we had three trash cans during the winter months. One for food scraps, one for general trash and one for coal dust. Food scraps went to pig farms and the coal dust went to the Street Department to put on icy roads. Family under stressThis and the other photo of the Grimm family show how hard it was for this young family to get by. In the photo above, the wallpaper is stained, the floor needs sweeping and the little girl has a nasty bruise on her leg. She's holding a Hall Jewel bowl (as Beachy has pointed out), probably a remnant of more affluent times. Jewel TeaThat beautiful bowl is from the Autumn Leaf pattern by Hall China. It was sold by the Jewel Tea man. Jewel Tea mixing bowlShe's holding a Jewel Tea mixing bowl. They came in sets of three. I still have one that I kept from my mom. The Jewel Tea man used to come door to door selling all kinds of stuff. This Hall mixing bowl set was first made in the 1930s and only sold by the Jewel Tea man. I see this pattern of bowls, and I always think of potato salad. Mom always used the largest of our Jewel Tea bowls for her famous potato salad. Easy Duz itA little more than 20 years after this I can remember my mom washing dishes in Duz Detergent. You got a free drinking glass in every box, and as a small kid I thought that was just the Bees' Knees. "Duz does everything!"That was the old ad line used by the makers of Duz soap powder. My mother had most of the standard soap powders on hand. I recall Rinso and Ivory Snow powder and Ivory Flakes detergent. The liquid products came later for dishes and laundry and the powder and flake soaps were quickly replaced thereafter. Geezer (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, Kids, Kitchens etc., Marjory Collins)
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western: 1900
... shot is "Bridge 60", where the main line continues west to Buffalo, and the Bloomsburg Branch turns south for Northumberland. [And yes, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2012 - 4:36pm -

Scranton, Pennsylvania, circa 1900. "Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad yards." Panorama of two 8x10 inch glass negatives. We've seen the left half of this view before; the right side, with someone's laundry billowing bravely amid the the soot, is new. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The RampI think that the ramp that the left hand photographer is standing on is now the pedestrian ramp to the walkway between Steamtown National Historic Site and The Mall at Steamtown. Advertising to the contraryI doubt that Miss Phoebe Snow's gown would have remained spotless if she had had to change trains here! Dad-burned, no good, blankety blank!The wash on the line reminds me of my early years when our family lived in an old three story railroad station that the RR leased to us since it was no longer needed. There were still a couple of trains per day that went right by our picture window (formerly station master's window). The dirt raised and produced by the trains would blow over on my mother's laundry hanging on the yard line (before there were dryers). Inside the house, the thundering trains would shake down dust to drift onto newly wiped and polished tables, etc. Looking back, I believe this was about the period that my mother honed her "cursing like a sailor" skills to world class levels. Dad kept his face in the newpaper at these times. Graffiti in 1900?Boxcars on the left. Kids were "tagging" even back then? [Chalk marking of cars by switchmen was an essential part of railroad yard operations.] CamelbacksThose locomotives, like the 808 in the foreground, had much larger coal grates in them to facilitate burning the anthracite coal in the region. The wider firebox, known as a Wootten, necessitated moving the cab for the engineer and brakeman forward since there was no room over the firebox. Hence this type of engine was known as a camelback. There have been cases where a broken side rod had completely sheared the cab, along with the engineer, clean off. It must have been miserable for the fireman on rainy or snowy days for the only protection afforded was that little hood over the back of the boiler. Those beautiful steam locomotives are known as Camelbacks or Mother Hubbards, as the engineer sat in the middle of the locomotive astride the boiler, the firebox was wider than a conventional locomotive and would not allow a forward view, the poor fireman was open to the elements at the rear of the locomotive. I don't want to hear it Dutch!I live across the street from the UP line. Two sets of rails, all hours of the day AND night. I'll try your dad's newspaper trick sometime. Re: CamelbacksGoats of Venus: The proverb about camelbacks was "in the summer the engineer roasted; in the winter the fireman froze." Exposed to the elementsIn Britain and some other countries closed or even partly closed cabs were not favoured for some time after railways were invented because of the idea that the engine crew needed to be wide awake and would doze off if coddled by a bit of shelter. DL&W(I think I've posted this before, but what the heck.) My grandmother, who often rode the DL&W over a century ago, told me that they used to joke that the initals DL& W stood for Delay, Linger and Wait. A quick tour of DL&W's downtown yardJust left of the lady's wash is DL&W's Scranton depot, with the long covered platform. It was built in the 1870's at the end of Lackawanna Ave. and was replaced by the palatial Lackawanna station, now a hotel, in 1908. The camelbacks seen here were known as "Hogs" on the DL&W. This batch was numbered 801-815, and were a fairly rare 4-8-0 wheel arrangement. This group of locos was built by the Brooks Locomotive Works in 1899. They were actually too powerful, and so were slippery. Too slippery for road work, they were used on mine runs and in helper service from Scranton to Nay Aug and Gouldsboro, and from Scranton to Clark Summit. They were all retired in 1923. In the distance to the left is some of DL&W's shop facilities and also the plant of Dickson Locomotive and Machine Works. Dickson built a lot of locos for DL&W and other roads in the 1800's, but was rolled into the new American Locomotive Company and was closed. Just beyond the distant middle of this shot is "Bridge 60", where the main line continues west to Buffalo, and the Bloomsburg Branch turns south for Northumberland. [And yes, this is the location of Steamtown today.] Steamtown, USAThis is the yard that is now known as the Steamtown National Historic site. The rampled to the top of the coaling station. Full coal cars were dumped there into hoppers which in turn filled the bunker on the tenders. The ramp from Steantown Mall is in the same place and I think uses some of the same foundation. Steamtown is a great place to visit! (Panoramas, DPC, Railroads, Scranton)
Tailgate Gourmet: 1960
... between tailgating now and tailgating in 1960: No Buffalo wings. Preferred Parking It looks like they are about on the 50 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/14/2013 - 11:58am -

Fall 1960. A Kodachrome by our old friend Arthur Rothstein, taken for the Look magazine assignment "Tailgate Gourmets." "Food for tailgate picnics displayed in the backs of station wagons, including a Ford Country Squire, a Dodge Lancer, and a Pontiac Bonneville Safari parked in a football stadium. Also images of a couple wearing raccoon coats standing next to their Dodge Lancer." View full size. University of MichiganBased on the Maize (yellow) and Blue scoreboard! UMichSure looks like Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor to me. The Great PumpkinApparently he missed Linus' pumpkin patch because he was busy attending a football game. Only explanation I can think of for a giant pumpkin at a tailgate party. King of BeersDon't know how they would serve some of that stuff, but at least they remembered the Bud. ClassicTailgate configuration where the transom glass goes down into the tailgate proper. Great for driving in the summer when not really hot enough for A/C, assuming your car even had A/C. But it could suck every shred of loose paper out that window. And real cars had operable vent windows. The good old days. Then and nowDifference between tailgating now and tailgating in 1960: No Buffalo wings. Preferred ParkingIt looks like they are about on the 50 yard line. Those Look Magazine folks have some real pull with the University. STEEL cans?So are those cans of Budweiser, but made of steel? With Xs on the bottom? Nicely equippedThe '61 Bonneville even has a power antenna. Daw GoneNow I'm hungry. A rarityIt's been many years since you could set a football on a car's fender and it would not roll off. 1961 Ford Country Squire.My dad owned of these without the fake wood on the sides and it was known as a "Ranch Wagon." LOOK at 1960My parents had a 1960 Olds wagon, the kind with miles of flat fin like an arcraft carrier - power antenna and power tuning and power windows and those cool auto headlight dimmers. Made a big impression on me at 10 years old. The thing about LOOK mag for me is how staged it all was - they look hyper-real, not at all real the way LIFE was. For example, nobody would have a real tailgate party on the 50 yard line - it would be out in the parking lot with crowds of people wallking and driving by! On the other hand, all that food looks marvelous, and I'll bet the photo crew had a great meal after the shoot! Photo crew feastI wouldn't be too sure about the feast. There are a lot of things done to food being photographed to keep it looking 'fresh' during a long photoshoot, up to, and including, varnish. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Cars, Trucks, Buses, LOOK, Sports)
Tire, Iron: 1942
May 1942. "Kearney, Buffalo County, Nebraska. Farm boy with flat tire, which happened while he was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/21/2022 - 1:54pm -

May 1942. "Kearney, Buffalo County, Nebraska. Farm boy with flat tire, which happened while he was bringing a load of scrap iron to town." (Does that include the car?) Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. 1942's scrap.would be 2022's collectibles. Time honored tradeWe have a scrappy young friend (in his early 20s now) who for years -- ever since he could drive -- has had a local scrap metal recycling business. He operates out of a beat-up truck and faithfully collects and hauls the scrap to wherever it is that they buy it from him. He's no farmer's son, though; his daddy is a lawyer. Always parked indoors... in the barn under where the pigeons roost. RecycledThe wagon itself looks like a box riding on the running gear of a Model T. That car ain't scrap!It's my workin' hoss! And you can pass me when I get this gol durn tire fixed. 1928 ChevroletAssuming that's just spattered mud on his car, a wash job would help it's its looks considerably. And how fortunate he is to have a running car (or access to one) at his tender age. I had a car at sixteen and it broadened my horizons considerably. First LessonsThe first lesson my two younger sisters learned when they arrived in this country in the early '70s was how to change a tire. They didn't even know how to drive, but they knew how to change a tire. Lucky for them, it was a much more modern car. I can see clearly now ...Stalwart Chevy has been wisely modified/updated in its night-time illumination abilities. Installing a pair of recently introduced "sealed-beam" headlight bulbs would have vastly improved the driver's vision. The other noticeable modifications are the larger, replacement cowl lamps, possibly from a later model Chevy. The original, smaller cowl-lamp units have been relocated to function as fender-top clearance lights. I have a feeling the car was the young man's very precious friend, an emotion I can genuinely identify with! A Lost ArtA year or two back, a younger (under 40) friend posted an ordinary stuck-in-traffic photo to Facebook, vaguely hinting that there was something unusual about it. Someone asked what the big deal was, and they had been surprised by the novelty of someone making a wrecked pickup into a cargo trailer. I replied that maybe I'm showing my age by saying that that used to be the most common thing in the world. It wasn't merely a relic of the Depression, either. People were still doing those conversions well into the 1980s, and now almost no one does it, they just buy manufactured trailers on credit. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, John Vachon, Rural America, WW2)
Savannah: 1905
... but the end is really nasty like using the grain legs in Buffalo, NY. I can't decide if I like the ships more or the mishmash of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 1:19pm -

Circa 1905. "The docks at Savannah." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Is something amiss?Looks like there has been a derailment in the middle of the street. FinallyA Pepsi-Cola sign. Interesting shipCabins all around, but the way it is riding high in the water it seems to wait for bulk cargo as well. I wonder what it was and how it got stowed on board. No big conspicuous cargo hatches I could see. Re: Interesting shipI posted a link to the photo on the Southern Railway Historical Society Yahoo group, and one of the members, Bob Hanson, a resident of Georgia, posted the following comment: "The ship on the left taking coal appears to be either the City of Atlanta or the second City of Columbus (sister ships) of the Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah, a subsidiary of the Central of Georgia Railway." Steam and Sail.Looks like the need to get that coal onboard to stop the listing to port! Not too much cargo goes on board this ship, only one noticeable cargo hatch forward towards the bow and only one crane to service it. And yes this ship does have sails as well. You can see a furled sail on the aft mast. Back in those days sails were breakdown insurance and used to help supplement steam power. Savannah Docks, Detroit's finished productA 1904 postcard from the Detroit Photographic Company, titled, "Ocean Steamship Co's Docks, Savannah, Ga." from the New York Public Library Collection. The faded message is dated March 30, 1906, and reads: "Margaret & Irene, Arrived here this morning, we had a fine trip, been doing Savannah all day. We found it a lovely place and the weather like July in New York. Oh, it is just lovely. We take train to Atlanta tonight. Marie & John" Potential Disaster In Savannah?I should have gone into a little more detail in my earlier comment. I really wish that smoke/steam was not obscuring the view of the locomotive as much as it is. The tender appears to have derailed in the middle of the street. It looks as though it might have become detached from the engine. If so, and the water supply to the engine was interrupted, then everybody in the area should be running for their lives. I've posted some photos to my Flickr site of a 1948 boiler explosion that illustrates what happens when a steam locomotive runs out of water while the firebox is hot: www.flickr.com/photos/michaeljy/3514234654 Also, notice that something has happened to the boxcar on the left side of the street, causing its load to shift and push its door out at the bottom. It looks like it might be loaded with bales of cotton. This poses a great dilemma for the railroad, since the door is barely hanging on and could fall off at any time. Those things are heavy. The car is half blocking the street, and it can only be moved with the greatest care, perhaps it can't be moved at all until the problem is fixed. Meanwhile, all of this has blocked the rail access to this entire area, meaning that until these problems are solved, these extremely busy docks cannot be serviced. Sleek That passenger/packet freighter sure has the sleek lines of that time. I like that architecture! It must have taken a long time to shovel all that coal from the barges into the bunkers of the ship. [Coaling was accomplished with a mechanical conveyor, seen here in its raised position. - Dave] I didn't notice the conveyer. That will speed things up a lot but the end is really nasty like using the grain legs in Buffalo, NY. I can't decide if I like the ships more or the mishmash of rooflines in this photo! Coaling at SavannahAs one always interested in the early 20th century coal economy (e.g. Berwind's Eureka Coal), any chance for an application of ShorpyZoom™ on the coal barges in this photo? Gone To HistoryI tried finding this location, but the port of Savannah has changed so much that it is impossible. This area is likely under where the Talmadge Bridge now is. Re: Coaling at SavannahWhat a dirty and labor-intensive job that was! Looks like there might be as many as a dozen or so men on that barge next to the ship, including one at the bottom of the ladder. There is no sign of any motorized vessel in the area, so I guess they had to use a combination of wenches and lines from the ship, along with sheer manpower, to maneuver the barges around as they were emptied. The mechanical bucket, scuttle, collier, or whatever it was called, looks as though it had to be filled manually in the barge (as opposed to a clamshell-type contraption). Even with that many hands working, moving that much coal had to be a back-breaking task. But I guess people back then were accustomed to such. [If any wenches were used, it wasn't for coaling. - Dave] Steady as she goesThe sails on the ship to the left were probably only used as a staysail to stop the boat from badly rolling in swells, as there seems to be lots of rigging and substantial shrouds to get in the way of efficiently using wind power as a backup if the engine conked out -- you wouldn't want all your passengers too seasick. The Cadsbyis the vessel in the center of the picture opposite the liner in the foreground. In the Cadsby photo, the vessel seen in the background may be the same as in the original, not sure. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads, Savannah)
Bill Mack: 1908
Buffalo, New York, circa 1908. "Unloading ore from Hulett machine." 8x10 inch ... door of that building. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/23/2013 - 11:40am -

Buffalo, New York, circa 1908. "Unloading ore from Hulett machine." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Terrified !As a kid I remember watching these machines work on a trip to visit family in the Cleveland area. I was so afraid of them I would not let go of my dad's leg! 56 years later I'm still amazed at how these machines work. William S. Mack 1901-1963Launched 1901 by American Ship Building Co. at Lorain, Ohio. Steel-hulled, propeller-driven bulk carrier 346 feet long. Displacement 3720 tons, load capacity of 2785 tons. Owned by Lake Erie Transportation Co. (William S. Mack, Mgr.) of Cleveland. Renamed Home Smith 1918; renamed Algorail 1936. Removed from service and scrapped at Toronto in 1963. Needle in a haystackSearched for people after looking at this pic. I found at least one for sure. He is betweeen the wheels on the crane track. Believe that there may be two more here. Think I see a man at the third docking post on the left. Directly above him, at what looks like the control house for the crane, another person standing at the door of that building. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC, Railroads)
Life in Wartime: 1862
... is the man in the door holding? I've seen some huge buffalo rifles, but this one beats them all! The cannon... is typical of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/04/2008 - 12:28pm -

June 1862. Fair Oaks, Virginia. "Frame house on Fair Oaks battlefield used by Hooker's division as a hospital." Wet plate glass negative, right half of stereo pair. Photograph by James F. Gibson. View full size. Closeups of the windows. Life and DeathMaybe the guy in the window is looking out at the grave thankful he didn't end up there. By the way, I love these older photographs from the war. TK http://unidentifiedfamilyobjects.blogspot.com/ Fair Oaks Faces Outpatient Clinic?Under the tree. Life in WartimeThey look more like Haints! Send in the Ghostbusters! Time TravelAmazing photographs. Truly amazing. As close as we may get to going back in time. The gunWhat sort of cannon is the man in the door holding? I've seen some huge buffalo rifles, but this one beats them all! The cannon...is typical of the three banded rifle muskets carried during the war. The bayonet is fixed so it looks even longer (and since the sentry moved - it appears to have two blades) The RifleThe rifle is most likely either and 1855 or 1861 Springfield Rifled Musket. Considering the date, I'd hazard a guess that it's more likely an 1855. Both models threw a .58 cal soft lead, conical ball, as did the British made Enfield Rifle that was imported by the Confederacy. The weapon's low muzzle velocity caused the ball to flatten out, which in turn caused horrible wounds. (The Gallery, Civil War, James Gibson, Medicine)
Chess, Checkers & Whist: 1903
... for a number of years. A Dentist For Bovines The Buffalo dentist (right of the photo above the Offner's store) must have to use ... getting skewered by the horns. So then having a Buffalo Dentist above a China Shop is not a good thing? Boys Beware ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2017 - 2:31pm -

        According to the charter of the social club, founded in 1880, "the purposes and objects of the corporation are to promote the knowledge and encourage the development of the scientific games of Chess, Checkers, and Whist." New Orleans circa 1903. "Chess, Checkers and Whist Club, Canal and Baronne streets." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size. Paul MorphyIt seems likely that this chess club had some connection with Paul Morphy (1837-1884), a lifelong New Orleans resident, who was a self-taught chess prodigy (and eccentric) and unofficial world chess champion for a number of years. A Dentist For BovinesThe Buffalo dentist (right of the photo above the Offner's store) must have to use pretty big tools to get at those teeth, not to mention getting skewered by the horns. So then having a Buffalo Dentist above a China Shop is not a good thing? Boys BewareOffner's was the kind of store my mother kept me out of, for good reason! BollardsThere are two bollards in the street. Each appears to have a tilt and a ball on the top. Any idea what they were for? (The Gallery, New Orleans, Stores & Markets)
Overnight Parking: 1936
... decades, the major east-west connection between Albany and Buffalo. The sometimes two day trip in old rattletraps with stiff suspension ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2012 - 5:05pm -

March 1936, somewhere in Georgia. "Tourist cabins." Medium-format nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. An outdated solutionto a problem that superhighways and faster, more reliable autos has pretty much taken care of. Route 20, was, for many decades, the major east-west connection between Albany and Buffalo. The sometimes two day trip in old rattletraps with stiff suspension often made these roadside cabins a much welcome sight, and provided a livelihood for many a rural family. The crumbling remains of several such rest stops are still evident; a few are even being restored to service the modern travelers looking for a more laid back, and cheap, vacation. Capacity 2...or you don't get a rocking chair. It Happened One NightStraight out of my forever favorite movie! Tourist CabinsOr, as they were known to bluestockings everywhere, places of potential illicit assignation. The flowers are a nice touchI like the flower box attached to the front porch, but why are the windows tilted? I've never seen that before. My guess is so you can open the window during a summer storm and not get the floor wet. [Because it's cheaper than casement windows. - Dave] Windows '36You are correct, bellaruth. Those are "hopper-sash" windows and often had a chain-hook open/stop arrangement so that one could control ventilation and, to a certain extent, keep out rain. AKA: Housekeeping cottagesThey're still prevalent in many tourist areas of Maine. CabinsThe last tourist cabin business in our county closed some 20 years ago. It was right next to a pretty rough road house and rented out the cabins by the half hour. Precursor of motelsThese cabins still existed in the late 1950s and early 1960. I remember staying in one such in Front Royal Virginia, during a trip to the Skyline Drive. I've even seen a couple making a comeback in the past few years on "blue route" (backroad) trips in the rural areas. They were always clean, private and usually had access to a good diner for a meal. North GeorgiaThe rolling hills and small mountains in the distance can be seen in north Georgia. Possibly state road 441 that tourists would use coming in from the north. A HudsonThe car is a mid to late '20s Hudson Super Six sedan. Hudson CoachThe car shown is a Hudson, and although at first it might seem that the exact year is hard to pin down, there are some specific model year clues shown in the photo. The multi-tiered fenders were not used before June 16, 1924 and drum style headlights were not used after December 31, 1926. Hudson's March 1925 changes to this model included updating the windshield glass to follow the curve of the cowl at the base (instead of rectangular shaped windshield glass) and thinner windshield pillars. Therefore the car was built between June 16, 1924 (1924 second series) to sometime in March 1925 when the Coach body style was updated to the second series. The body syle is what Hudson called a Coach. Although it looks like there are doors behind the driver's door, there is no door handle. The body style is a two door. Cost of the Coach was $1,500 in June 1924, $1,395 in October, and later (probably January) to $1,345. The weight of the Coach was 3,385 pounds, and it used 33 x 6.20 balloon tires until January 1925 when the size was changed to 33 x 6.00. When the second series 1925 Coach was introduced the price fell to $1,250, and it was dropped to $1,195 in August and $1,165 in October. This was one of Hudson's best years with the company reaching 3rd place in the industry (behind Ford and Chevrolet). A second series 1924 Coach and a second series 1925 Coach are shown below for comparison. The 1924 has optional cowl lights. The 1925 has accessory white wall tires that look too wide. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Walker Evans)
Frankenstein Jeweler: 1907
... NOT Happy-Sappy bank Co.) The family was a big name in Buffalo, NY business (his grandson was the first owner of the Buffalo Sabres) and would live another eight years after this photo was taken. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/26/2015 - 2:27pm -

Cincinnati circa 1907. "Fifth Street north from Race." Golden age of the Painless Dental Parlor and electric-bulb signage. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Frankenstein JewelerA great source for those 14k gold neck bolts. Mabley & CarewCarew Tower was built by and named for Joseph Carew. One of the chain's stores was previously on the tower site. +101Below is almost the same view from August of 2008 (I positioned myself slightly off when I took the current view). Dentists and Shoe StoresThey got you covered from head to toe. 5th St. east from Race, not northThis is actually the view looking east along 5th St. from Race St. to Vine St. Derr Bros 5&10 was on 5th just east of Race, Potter's shoes was at 32 34 & 36 5th St., and Mabley & Carew was on the NE corner of 5th and Vine (now Fountain Square). On Google maps today you will see the Netherland Plaza hotel on the right and Macy's on the left. Streetcar Track 101The streetcar trackage in front of the well dressed young bibliophile illustrates why streetcar trackage a) should be built with welded, not bolted, rail, b) should not have joints placed side by side, and c) should have a firm subgrade. Hitting that sag at anything over 5 mph could just about knock standees off their feet! Which way to the Hat District?Someone is doing a brisk business in derby hats. Can't be too far away. S.H. KnoxThe S.H. Knox on the 5&10 sign was Seymour Horace Knox I, who helped found what became Woolworth's 5&10 chain. He also had an interest in the Marine Trust Co., which became Marine Midland Banks and is now owned by HSBC (Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Co., NOT Happy-Sappy bank Co.) The family was a big name in Buffalo, NY business (his grandson was the first owner of the Buffalo Sabres) and would live another eight years after this photo was taken. Sign placement must have workedThe Mabley & Carew name survived into the 1980s with other such innovations as full-page newspaper ads, elaborate Christmas performances, Arbor Day commemorations and a sign with 10,000 electric lights. I wonder what happened to the "Glass and Paints" guys? East is correctBarbara is correct below, the roof line of the US Custom House and Post Office three blocks away on the left side of the street is a sure giveaway this is looking east along 5th Street from Race. The US Courthouse is still located on the same site, though the building was replaced in 1936. You can also just barely make out some of the trees on Fountain Square, on the right side of the street - Fountain Square has since been expanded and relocated to the right side of 5th Street. Much has changed since this photo was taken. (The Gallery, Cincinnati Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Cuyahoga Bridges: 1912
... screw-driven steamship Phillip G. Schaefer was built in Buffalo in 1903 and home ported in Cleveland. Her hull dimensions were 64.4 ... was interesting. I went online and found this . Buffalo is just a few miles down the lake and I wonder if the boat is related ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/24/2012 - 10:53am -

Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1912. "Cuyahoga River. The Lift Bridge and Superior Avenue viaduct." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Moving bridgesNot being able to judge the depth of field in the photo, I'm led to wonder if the swing bridge and the bascule bridge were able to collide if someone was not paying attention. RE: Drying racksFor drying fishing nets. Before they were made of nylon, they were made from natural fibers and would rot if they weren't dried between uses. Wonderful photoFull of steam, smoke, reflections, bridges, and industrial buildings. One of Shorpy's best ever! And that's not all...it even relieves fatigue! Phoenix Ice Machine Co.Alternative Shorpy view of this stretch of river at Cuyahoga: 1910. Drying racks? Does anyone know what those racks on the far right are? Some appear to have patterned material stretched across them, as if for drying. Replaced by the Detroit-Superior Bridge in 1918"The Superior Viaduct was closed to traffic in 1918 after the Detroit-Superior Bridge opened. The viaduct was condemned in 1920 and two years later, the central river span was demolished with 150 pounds of dynamite." Source: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/cuyahoga-river/superior-viaduct/ If you zoom into about the middle on the right side, in one of the building doorways, you can see a little girl in white with a bonnet on. So tiny and almost invisible within the vast surroundings. It makes me wonder what type of building that is and what she happened to be doing there. Relieves FatigueOn the right side of the photo, I believe I see the freshly painted left side of a "Chas H Fletcher Castoria" sign. The ubiquitous laxative claimed curing or lessening many of the discomforts of the 19th and 20th century. Phillip G. SchaeferAccording to various online editions of the U.S. Bureau of Navigation's "Merchant Vessels of the United States," the screw-driven steamship Phillip G. Schaefer was built in Buffalo in 1903 and home ported in Cleveland. Her hull dimensions were 64.4 feet in length, 14.3 feet in breadth, and 5.0 feet in depth. She displaced 29 gross tons and was operated by a crew of three. Surprisingly, given her appearance, the Schaefer was listed as a fishing boat in every reference I found, which would explain her presence at the Case Fish Company's wharf. The Schaefer remained in service until she burned in 1931, having been renamed the Maumee in 1930. Merwin AvenueStanton Square's reminder of the previously posted 1910 view enabled me to locate these companies in the online 1912 Cleveland City Directory. The Phoenix Ice Machine Company was at 1566-1568 Merwin Avenue, and the Case Fish Company was next door at 1574 Merwin Avenue. As I look down on that address from low earth orbit in Google Earth, the building there now might still be the old Case warehouse, but the Phoenix building is long gone. Not Fletcher's CastoriaThe sign that is partially visible in this picture, with the slogan "Relieves Fatigue" is actually for a product that is still very common. in fact, i just had some with my lunch: Coca-Cola. There is another sign in the middle background, of which only the word "HONEST" is legible. Not sure what that was advertising. More Phillip G ShaeferI too thought the little steamboat was interesting. I went online and found this. Buffalo is just a few miles down the lake and I wonder if the boat is related to him. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC)
Orchard Park: 1943
May 1943. "Buffalo, New York. Peter Grimm, age 10 (last seen here ), delivers for ... The Pratt brothers and William Letchworth formed the Buffalo Malleable Iron Works in 1836. Their iron formula produced durable ... and firemen's arms on Christmas Day. (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, Marjory Collins, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2016 - 10:27pm -

May 1943. "Buffalo, New York. Peter Grimm, age 10 (last seen here), delivers for Loblaw's grocery store with his wagon. This was a rainy day with few customers. Sometimes Peter makes as much as $3 on a Saturday. He pays for all his school supplies and much of his clothing. His mother, a 26-year-old widow, is a crane operator at Pratt & Letchworth." Medium format negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. Peter was quite the mover and groover.This is the first job my friend Peggy and I did in the 60's, in Montreal, Canada. We were also 10 yrs old and on a good day we could make 2$ between us. Peter must have had better patter in order to loosen those purse strings. And Toys for BoysThe Pratt brothers and William Letchworth formed the Buffalo Malleable Iron Works in 1836. Their iron formula produced durable products for carriages, saddlery, farm equipment and later railroad steam engine wheels and running gear. In 1889 they hired George Crosby to design cast iron toys to promote their malleable iron's flexibility. Now they are most remembered for the finely detailed and painted "malleable iron" indestructible horse drawn toys that are at top of toy collectors' lists. From the complete fireman sets with all the apparatus and even an operating burning building to save a fair maiden, their iron formula greatly reduced the brittleness of cast iron that was a problem for the broken legs on horses and firemen's arms on Christmas Day. (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, Marjory Collins, Stores & Markets)
Bedded Wheat: 1906
... Stops Here As I recall from my school days in suburban Buffalo, it was milling that made Buffalo a "big" city. Grain could easily be transported on large ships from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 11:06am -

Niagara Falls, New York, circa 1906. "Natural Food Conservatory. The whole wheat cleaned and ready for use." Incipient Shredded Wheat. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. MeowKitty's dream come true! Shredded FarkFarked again! The Wheat Stops HereAs I recall from my school days in suburban Buffalo, it was milling that made Buffalo a "big" city. Grain could easily be transported on large ships from the upper Midwest to the Buffalo/Niagara area on large freighters, but to get to the Eastern Seaboard communities it had to go by Erie Canal barge. It made sense to mill it in Buffalo so it could be packed more efficiently on the barges. Eventually railroads replaced the canal and the milling centers moved farther west. (The Gallery, DPC, Factories, Farked)
Kitchen Nightmare: 1940
... and that included her bath. This was also 30 miles from Buffalo, NY, mind you, so things could get chilly. That said, her farm ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2017 - 7:37pm -

August 1940. "Dolls in crib next to icebox of kitchen in Provincetown, Massachusetts." Medium format negative by Edwin Rosskam. View full size. Golden DaysSeeing this photo did not ring the “creepy bell” for me. Dolls don’t spook you out unless you’ve seen a lot of those films with scary dolls in them. That’s a baby buggy full of dolls- that’s all. There’s a Charlie McCarthy doll and a black baby doll among them. As for the Dundee marmalade jar, I also have two of them to keep my pens in. Back in the 1940’s a lot of people still used iceboxes (boxes with a block of ice in them). In rural areas, such as Provincetown was then, a hand pump in the kitchen might not have seemed strange. Provincetown was probably still mostly a fishing village, with a lot of summer folks and artists in season. So I thought that photo had some charm and some nostalgia. Just another take on this photo of a bygone era. What's in a nameThat big doll in the back isn't called "Chucky" is it? Ask for it by name. If you can pronounce it. Disturbing in many waysIt is not just the variety and expressions of the creepy dolls but the artwork on the wall puzzles me too. The knocked-over carton of Coke bottles and what looks like a discarded lollipop stick on the floor also lends suspense. I would be hesitant to open the icebox and the freezer. Charlie McCarthyCharlie's hiding in among the dolls! Growing upGrowing up in the fifties we had refrigerators, but everyone including me called them Ice Boxes. Pump Your OwnI'm 55. In the late '60's, my grandmother still had a hand-pump just like that at her kitchen sink. The sink was large and very deep, big enough for the needed bucket. She boiled her water when she needed hot water, and that included her bath. This was also 30 miles from Buffalo, NY, mind you, so things could get chilly. That said, her farm kitchen was spiffy, it merely had no upgrades since 1925. Back in the good old daysWhen sugary soft drinks had the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Weird PaintingWhat's with that artwork on the wall? Looks like Edvard Munch visited the place. It's pronounced "Keeler"and Keiller's was the only orange marmalade my mother would buy when I was a wee tyke in Britain. I suspect it was because in the fifties it still came in stoneware crocks that she could reuse to hold bacon "drippings", to make dripping toast. I'm sure the housewife here was using it for storage as well. Dundee marmaladeWe have had a few of those marmalade jars holding pencils as long as I've been alive. My parents did as well. There's even a "Dundee Society." Sadly, Keiller's is no more, absorbed into the "Hain Celestial Group", whatever that is, and the product now appears to be made in England, and comes in a boring glass jar. sic transit... (I still have two crockery jars, and treasure them) Dundee pencil jarI use a treasured Dundee jar, inherited from my Dad, as a pencil holder as well. Kitchen Tool CaddyOne more Keiller marmalade jar, mine, in service as my easy access stovetop caddy since at least 1968 and still essential, unlike its sidekick match holder, long since reassigned to objet d'art duty. Love that Chair!Splat Tapered Back Windsor Chair - reminds me a little of a Bavarian farm chair. (The Gallery, Edwin Rosskam, Kitchens etc.)
Slider: 1910
... Company and she was operated by Boland & Cornelius, Buffalo. Retired from service late in 1970 season and sold October 30, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 4:21pm -

May 14, 1910. "Detroit Shipbuilding Co. yards at Wyandotte, Michigan. Launch of bulk steel carrier E.H. Utley." 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. ViolentIt has always struck me as sort of odd how violent the launching of a hull is. Such a massive construction in free fall just seems so counterintuitive, especially considering the mass and momentum. A hard workerThe Utley was renamed the Cambria 3 in 1925, then sold off the Lakes in 1973, used as a transfer ship in Milwaukee from 1971 to 1973. The vessel in 1995 in use as a crane ship. Look out!Note that the ship is moving toward the crowd as it slides off the ways in the background. Must have been somewhat scary, as evidenced by the people running away from the water. ObliviousThis must have been quite a sight to see and look how many people turned up! There are women, children, and men. Only two young lads are oblivious to what is happening, happily playing on the wooden planks (far right) and running with a stick (bottom edge). Wet FeetI love how almost everyone is standing on rails or planks anticipating the mini-tsunami. And there's the kid looking in the complete opposite direction, probably at something tiny, which makes this all the more ironic. 1910 to WhenE. H. UTLEY (25), (b) CAMBRIA, (U.S. 207568). Steel bulk carrier built 1910 at Wyandotte by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company (Hull 184). 504.0 x 54.2 x 31.0; Gross 6287, Net 4861. Built for the Frankl Steamship Company (Oakes), Cleveland, but transferred 1916 to the Beaver Steamship Company (also Oakes), Cleveland. Ownership taken over 1924 by the Bethlehem Steamship Company and in 1925 by the Bethlehem Transportation Corp. Transferred 1942 to a Bethlehem subsidiary, Iron Mines Company of Venezuela, but no change in management. Transferred prior to 1949 to yet another subsidiary, the Gasparillo Dock Company. Rebuilt 1955-56 as a craneship by the American Shipbuilding Company at Lorain, Gross 6393, Net 4966. Although registered thereafter to the Bethlehem Steel Corp., management was transferred at the time of the rebuild to the Ore Steamship Company and she was operated by Boland & Cornelius, Buffalo. Retired from service late in 1970 season and sold October 30, 1970, to the Miller Compressing Company for use as a storage and transfer barge at Milwaukee. Sold 1973 to the Elizabeth River Terminal Company and taken to Norfolk, Va., for further use as a transfer barge. GreatReally great picture. Back then it must have been very hard work to build such ships. Oh what a rideI'd gladly give up a day pass for Disney World just to be riding aboard that vessel as it gets its first taste of water. Ship DesignBy 1910 the design of GL ore carriers had stabilized into a form that would hold true for the next 60 years. Not until the 70's did they start to get rid of the forward wheelhouse and stick the bridge on the aft superstructure. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)
Pop Start: 1925
... Bills for repairs were to be sent to 745 William St., Buffalo, NY. Cincinnati + Weights + Belts + Hangers + Bulb + Sprinklers ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:58pm -

Circa 1925. "Whistle Bottling Works." A peek behind the scenes at the Washington, D.C., bottling plant for Whistle orange soda. View full size. FlexoThis would appear to be some sort of cleaning solvent. The company (Flexo) is still in business today. Flexo Cleaning Products - Cleaning Chemicals, Equipment and Paper Products to Hospitality, Institutional and Industrial Customers. The company has been in business since 1918 and based in Canada. Kiefer bottling machinesSome info: I did find a listing: "KIEFER (KARL) MACHINE COMPANY Karl Kiefer Machine Co. (Cincinnati, Ohio). There is a Leader in Everything - Standing Out in its Field with Spectacular Splendor of Quality and Performance. Cincinnati: The Company, 1939. (This Item is available at the Cincinnati Historical Society Library) Karl Kiefer Machine Co. (Cincinnati, Ohio). Jar and Bottle Washing Machines. Cincinnati: The Company, 1910s-1920s. (This Item is available at the Cincinnati Historical Society Library) Karl Kiefer Machine Co. (Cincinnati, Ohio). Pressure Filling Machines. Cincinnati: The Company, 1910s-1920s. (This Item is available at the Cincinnati Historical Society Library)" From. He seems to be a dead guy "Karl 16 Apr 1931, Cincinnati, Hamilton Birth: 28 Jul 1868, Worms, Germany Age: 62 years 8 months 19 days Male- Married Address: 920 Lexington Ave Occupation: Manufacturer Cemetery: Cremetory Spouse: Adele W. Kieger Parents: S. Kiefer, Babette Rheinsteim"From. Such a nice clean placeit's making me thirsty, for something that's not Whistle orange soda. Clean as a whistleWhistle is still being produced...I just hope they've mopped the floor a few times since this photo was taken. Whistle stop.OK,that's it for me. I am swearing off Whistle right here right now! Board of HealthConsidering that this factory turned out something that the public ingested, today it wouldn't pass a third world health inspection. Not exactly hygenicLooks more like a machine shop than a food-processing facility. Laissez-faire capitalism at its best! Plenty of Ingredientsparked outside, for such a small bottling machine -- even if there were ten more of them outside the frame. Shortening? Maybe it's to lube the machinery. Can anybody id the tank car with "Capitol" on it? Oh?Note the machine on right from Cincinnati O. Not Ohio, not OH, just O. CaprecoThe tank car belonged to the Capitol Refining Company. The full reporting mark was CRWX. A photo of the company and its fleet of tank cars appeared on Shorpy here. Capitol Oil CompanyI hope washed out those oil tank cars before shipping ingredients for making orange soda pop. More Capitol RefiningThe Equipment Register of Oct.,1919 lists Capitol Refining Company, reporting marks "CRWX" with tank cars of 8,000 gals. capacity numbered 201-295 inclusive. Bills for repairs were to be sent to 745 William St., Buffalo, NY. Cincinnati + Weights + Belts + Hangers + Bulb + SprinklersAccording to the Geographic Names Information System, there are not any geographic places in Oklahoma named Cincinnati, and the only one that ever existed in Oregon was a community from 1844 - 1856 (renamed Eola). The scale on the hand built table would seem to be for sampling the weight of filled bottles. There is a different scale to the right. It may be for determining the weight of a liquid that comes out of the spout above the small platform on the left side of the scale. The Karl Kiefer Company machine is missing a drive belt on the right hand side. It's amazing how little ceiling hangers for pipes have changed in the last 90 years. I see only one small light bulb. It looks like there might have been a sprinkler system installed in the factory. See the photo below for what looks like a sprinkler head. There are at least two of these visible coming off the large pipe near the ceiling. Now I'm thirstyThere are some beautiful Whistle ads out there, this is just one. (The Gallery, D.C., Factories, Natl Photo, Railroads)
Gypsy Camp: 1901
... Civil War, serving for 180 days. Later he did a stint with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Where's the Electricity? After ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2019 - 11:23pm -

March 28, 1901. "Happy Hollow -- Hot Springs, Arkansas." You can see more of Happy Hollow here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Amusement ParkIn the making. Fortune tellers, Shooting Gallery, McLeod's show. In a hundred years or so, slots and space invaders. Edison's latest productionsIt is 1901. All I can see in the street are horses, and Edison managed to distribute moving pictures into Hot Springs, Arkansas. Cool! Shocking Portraits?What is the gizmatron with the dual (triple?) clock faces outside of the portrait studio? Your local movie theaterLooks like it was one of the earliest movie theaters. Edison, I believe, was the at the center of movie making at the time. Fringe elementsIf you were going to Oklahoma, I wonder if you could get a surrey with a fringe on top. Where are the horses.All I see are saddled mules or burro's burros. Actually only 77 years from hereSpace Invaders was released in 1978. What a Great time I had pumping quarters into that machine. This town seems like it was set up as a "Set". I realize it was not, but a grocery store may have been a better option for travelers. Weather station?Temperature, humidity, wind speed? The Shooting BogardusThat "shooting school" was an enterprise of Adam Henry Bogardus (1834-1913), who popularized the sport of trap shooting. He got to be "Captain" by organizing his own volunteer company during the Civil War, serving for 180 days. Later he did a stint with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Where's the Electricity?After carefully studying this photo I cannot find any semblance of a source of electric power in the entire area. No lights, no wires, no power poles, etc. So my question is what powers the movie projector? I notice there are no windows in the theater either, so it must have been quite dark in there and likely very hot in the summertime. [Clocks, candles and early film projectors ("cinematographs") didn't use electricity. - Dave] Burrows not horsesThere are only two horses in this picture. They're over by the livery stable. Across the street at the hitching rack are a bunch of burrows. The popular conveyance of people wanting to go down into the Grand Canyon. Probably here for the same reason, to be rented and ridden thru the country side. The machine on the photographers front porch is a weight scale. Probably cost a penny and it would give you a fortune to boot. [Psst. Burros, not "burrows." - Dave] Herd of DonkeysI count 2 horses and a herd of about 14 donkeys. I wonder why there are so many donkeys there. McCleod’s FREE ShowThe huddle of men look as if they are peering through a peep hole at a peep show. The building looks weird too, like it's temporary of some sort. A lot of men. No women. A lot of mules, not horses. It almost looks like a gold mining town. Did they cry “gold” in Arkansas? (The Gallery, DPC, Frontier Life, Hot Springs)
Titans of Industry: 1908
Circa 1908. "Hulett machine unloading ore at Buffalo, N.Y." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. ... the 50's and 60's. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/23/2013 - 11:48am -

Circa 1908. "Hulett machine unloading ore at Buffalo, N.Y." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. William S. MackThe William S. Mack was launched on Sept.21, 1901. This traditional styled steel bulk freighter was built by American Shipbuilding Co. of Lorain, OH for the Lake Erie Transportation Company. Her dimensions were 366' (loa) x 48' x 28', 3720 GRT and her power derived from a coal fired triple expansion steam engine. The William S. Mack was acquired by the Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway Co., Sault Ste. Marie, ON late in 1917. She was renamed Home Smith in 1918 when she was painted the Algoma colors. After a rebuild, the vessel was renamed Algorail (1) in 1936. The Algorail (1) remained a part of the Algoma fleet until she was retired at the close of the 1962 season. She was scrapped in Toronto, ON in 1963. Source: boatnerd.com LoaderThese loaders (usually called car loaders) continued in service well into the 50's and 60's. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC, Railroads)
Great Northern: 1900
Buffalo, New York, circa 1900. "Great Northern elevator and shipping." The ... with a tug helping. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/28/2017 - 3:02pm -

Buffalo, New York, circa 1900. "Great Northern elevator and shipping." The freighters Andaste of Ishpeming, I.W. Nicholas and B.L. Pennington. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Whaleback!Nice photo. Vessel on the left looks like a whaleback, and unusual Great Lakes type of freighter. [Click the link in the caption. —Dave] Schooner barge PenningtonHere's some history and a photograph of her under tow. Schooner or Schooner Barge?B.L. Pennington is rigged as a 3-masted schooner but the rig looks somewhat small for the size of the ship. No sails, booms, or gaffs are in evidence, but there's a funnel, forward of the foremast. It's too small to feed a propulsion engine and in the wrong part of the ship so I think it's a "Donkey boiler" driving auxiliary systems. These were common on oceangoing sailing ships of the period as a means of reducing crew size and cost by doing some of the heavy work like hoisting sails and anchors. Hull form is bluff and quite ugly -- I doubt this ship could move much under sail, which brings up the possibility that it could be a "Schooner barge" designed to be towed most of the time by a tug, using sail as an auxiliary power source to save fuel in favorable conditions. This was a common arrangement on the East Coast but dates to a slightly later period there. I'm not sure if it was used on the Lakes at all. Chapelle's "American Sailing Ships" does not have a specific chapter on the Lakes but he does include a few sentences on Great Lakes schooners in the schooner chapter. This discussion is too short and general to help much in this case; it says Lakes schooners rarely had masts all the same size but could have up to 5 masts. It is hard to imagine Pennington coming all the way up the St. Lawrence and through the locks, even with a tug helping. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC)
Tifft House: 1900
Buffalo, New York, circa 1900. "Tifft House, Main Street." Demolished 1902; ... A little Bio and more (The Gallery, Bicycles, Buffalo NY, DPC, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2016 - 1:08pm -

Buffalo, New York, circa 1900. "Tifft House, Main Street." Demolished 1902; home to Minehan's Hair Store (offering "a full line of switches, waves, fringes and wigs"). 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Billboard off to the leftIs for the Gerhard Lang Brewery, which was going strong until 1949 when it folded. During its time, it was the largest brewery in upstate New York. Thanks for the photo! The Rest Of The Story Mr George Washington Tifft A little Bio and more (The Gallery, Bicycles, Buffalo NY, DPC, Stores & Markets)
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