The SS ''Thomas F. Cole'' was a long

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

built in 1907 for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company by the

Great Lakes Engineering Works The Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) was a leading shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan, that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships ...

Ecorse, Michigan Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

. The boat was named after mining mogul Thomas F. Cole. She was launched as hull #27 on January 26, 1907. She was powered by a 2,000 horsepower

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

which was attached to a single fixed pitch

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. She was powered by two coal-fired

scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a squat horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boile ...

s. She had a top speed of ten knots. She entered service on May 26, 1907 (homeport

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

). She arrived for her first load of iron ore on May 29, 1907. On August 24, 1910 the ''Cole'' suffered severe damage when she ran aground in the St. Marys River. The ''Cole'' collided with the barge ''Iron City'' on May 13, 1913, on

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

cutting her in two and sinking her. In April 1946 the ''Cole'' had new hopper side tanks installed. In 1947 the ''Cole'' had two new coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers.

Transfer to U.S. Steel

In 1952 the ''Cole'' was transferred to

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

of Cleveland, Ohio. In April 1957 the ''Cole'' had a new tank top installed. On November 24, 1964 the ''Cole'' had a collision with the British vessel MV ''Inverewe'' in foggy conditions off the south end of Pipe Island, on the lower St. Marys River. The ''Cole'' suffered severe damage to her bow. She later arrived at the

American Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to th ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of ...

for repairs.

Scrapping

In 1974 the ''Cole'' was laid up in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

never to sail again. In 1980 the ''Cole'' was sold to the Western Metals Corp. of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populatio ...

for scrap. She arrived in Thunder Bay on July 31, 1980 towed by the tugs ''Daryl C. Hannah'' and ''Malcolm''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas F. Cole, SS Great Lakes freighters 1907 ships Maritime incidents in 1910 Maritime incidents in 1913 Maritime incidents in 1964 Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan Merchant ships of the United States Ships powered by a triple expansion steam engine