Self-unloading Ore Carrier James R. Barker

Description:

The James R. Barker was built in 1976 by the American Shipbuilding Co. at Lorain, OH for the Interlake Steamship Co. It was named after the head of the Moore-McCormack Steamship Company, which owned Interlake. Costing over $43 million, Barker was the third 1000-footer to sail the Great Lakes, and the first built entirely on the Lakes. These big bulk coal and ore carriers were constructed to fit the largest locks connecting the Great Lakes.

Barker's two big 8,000-hp engines turn two 17-1/2-foot propellers, pushing the vessel at a speed of 15.75 knots (18 mph). The ship can transport 59,000 tons of iron ore pellets or 52,000 tons of coal. The self-unloading rig has a 250-foot-long boom that can unload 10,000 tons of ore or 6,000 net tons of coal per hour. By contrast, Interlake’s first bulk carrier, the 1874 wooden-hulled steamer V.H. Ketchum, could carry only 1,700 tons of ore and took nearly twelve days to unload using manual wheelbarrows.

The Barker was still in service in 2009.

Date Made: 1978Year The James R. Barker Was Built: 1976

Built James R. Barker: American Shipbuilding Co.Bought The James R. Barker: Interlake Steamship Co.Maker: Boucher-Lewis Precision Models, Inc.

Associated Place: Great Lakes

Related Event: Contemporary United States

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Maritime, Work, Energy & Power, Industry & Manufacturing, Transportation, On the Water exhibit

Exhibition: On the Water

Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater

Related Publication: On the Water online exhibition

Credit Line: Gift of Lake Carriers' Association (through Vice Adm. Paul E. Trimble, USCG Ret.)

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: TR.336153Catalog Number: 336153Accession Number: 1978.0374

Object Name: carrierObject Type: CarrierOther Terms: carrier; Maritime; Ore

Measurements: overall: 8 in x 63 in x 6 in; 20.32 cm x 160.02 cm x 15.24 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-91ee-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_844251

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.