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

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the ...

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 9,305 at the 2020 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroi ...

. 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 heat ...

which was attached to a single fixed pitch

propeller A propeller (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 a working flu ...

. 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 short horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

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

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

). 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 () 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 they first saw the lake. ...

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 The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. 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 World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio, in 1898. It chan ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

for repairs.

Scrapping

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

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 population i ...

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