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This fonds consists of the corporate records of Upper
Lakes Group Incorporated and its subsidiary corporations, specifically
Upper Lakes Shipping and ULS Marbulk Limited. ULS is currently the
second largest Canadian shipping company operating on the Great Lakes
and overseas. The material is relatively recent dating from 1951 to
1971, and 1988. As an initial accession it holds potential to be one
of among our institution's best collections documenting the history and
growth of a shipping company whose genesis is surprisingly different
from that of other Canadian shipping companies. This difference should
prove intrinsic to the fonds intellectual value due to the linkages it
can provide within the broader scope of Canadian business history -
historic linkages with the purchasers and processors of Canada' primary
staple commodity, wheat. ULS moreover, is perhaps best known within the
academic (and shipping) communities for its unique contribution to
recent labour history. As one of the largest, and oldest shippers on the
Great Lakes its records should provide a solid counterpoint for
comparative analysis with the fonds of other Great Lakes shipping
companies within our archival holdings. This fonds naturally lends
itself to the study of transportation history, marine and technology
history, and labour history: combined its antecedents within the grain
trade, it offers potential for a broad overview of Canadian business
history during its most interesting period. ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY Unlike other shipping fleets created by maritime men
who fostered, raised, and nurtured each ship like a new arrival to the
family, Upper Lakes Shipping began life very much the unplanned child:
and its putative father was the Toronto Elevator Company. The founder,
Gordon C. Leitch, had been trained in the grain forwarding business in
Manitoba and Toronto. A man of uncanny business acumen, he noticed
during the nadir of the early Depression, a unique opportunity in
Toronto to service the flour mills located there in a profitable manner.
Surprisingly this, the industrial engine of Ontario, had no grain
elevators. Prairie wheat was stored in elevators on Georgian Bay, then
hauled overland on an as need basis. It was slow and expensive. The key
to the concept was the newly expanded Welland canal which would allow
larger vessels into the lower lakes: shipping directly from the Lakehead
thereby eliminating the overland leg would substantially reduce the cost
of wheat. Leitch and his backers quickly built a state of the art
elevator on the Toronto waterfront. Situated next door to the city's
milling industry they were in the position to service their customers
faster and at a higher profit margin than those who continued to haul
from Georgian Bay. Unfortunately, the Georgain Bay elevator companies
had enough commercial leverage to discourage shipping companies from
unloading at the new Toronto Elevator Company. In order to fill his
granary Gordon Leitch was forced to the unwonted expedient of buying his
own ship, the Sarnian, and in 1931 she became the embryo of Upper Lakes
Shipping. One ship however soon proved woefully inadequate to
the task. At this juncture a longtime partnership was forged with the
established Chicago grain firm of James Norris. Norris provided the
capital to aggressively purchase more vessels and suddenly this sideline
to Leitch's grain forwarding business began to grow exponentially.
Incorporated in 1932 as the Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation
Company (later shortened to Upper Lakes Shipping), this marked the
formal beginning of the company's history. Incredibly, the unpromising
commercial climate of the mid 1930s' was no impediment to the company's
rapid growth. Leitch's original concept of building an elevator at
Toronto provided the engine while James Norris' capital provided the
fuel that generated the accelerated expansion of the ULS fleet. From
1931 to 1940 the company increased from one to thirty-four vessels - a
mix of canallers and larger bulk carriers, the largest being the 472
foot Victorious. From their outgrowth as grain merchants Leitch and
Norris had succeeded splendidly in a field relatively new to them;
creating and operating a fleet of ships. However as grain forwarders
they knew better than most the value of elevators for their ability
store grain (thereby freeing up ships to continue freighting), and they
knew how to site them strategically. The commercial elevators at the
seaports of Montreal and Quebec were annual bottlenecks for all the
competing fleets, consuming time and profits as they waited to unload
outbound wheat. In 1937 Upper Lakes Shipping sidestepped the issue by
building their own facility at the small port of Trois Rivieres. It was
a return to Leitch's original inspiration for building at Toronto; and
the company continued the practice, later purchasing an elevator at
Goderich in 1954. In 1939 Upper Lake Shipping, like most other Canadian
merchant fleets made its contribution to the war effort, sending ten
canallers to the Atlantic. The enemy sent six to the bottom. Upper Lakes Shipping's genesis was actually a
commercial decision by Toronto Elevators towards vertical integration
within the grain forwarding business. And although by 1940 the shipping
business had outgrown its commercial forebearer, Gordon Leitch was still
a grain merchant bent upon further vertical growth. Beyond shipping and
selling wheat, the next step was to process it. The Norris Grain firm
was already heavily involved in the huge conglomerate Maple Leaf Mills;
so Leitch established a modest agricultural feed mill and called it
Master Feeds - a name well known to farmers throughout Ontario. From the
beginning the grain business and the shipping business together had been
integral to the Leitch/Norris partnership in Upper Lakes Shipping. In the immediate postwar years Upper Lakes began
purchasing larger ships and disencumbering itself of its many 250 foot
canallers in anticipation of the new Seaway, which would open in 1959
and allow vessels as long as 750 feet access from the sea to the
Lakehead. In 1952 Upper Lakes commissioned its first two new vessels to
be built at Port Weller; they were aptly named the James Norris and
Gordon C. Leitch. Almost coincident with their launching of their
namesakes was the demise of the two founding partners: happily their
respective sons - both raised to the business - continued the
partnership with the same strategies of horizontal growth (more shipping
capacity) and the vertical integration into complementary industries. In
1956 the company bought Port Weller Drydocks. Then partially jettisoning
the old practice of buying older vessels and refitting, the firm began
constructing new, purpose built vessels designed to meet specific
freight and classification needs. The existing fleet was aging; plus the
new competition brought in by the Seaway, and the decision to move into
ocean shipping, were the motivating factors behind the investment in new
construction. The move towards ocean shipping in the early 1960s
was tentative. The Leitch holding company, Leitch Transport managed the
business rather than ULS directly. Cooperative efforts with foreign
shippers and off-shore Caribbean companies were set up as pilot
projects. Foreign built ocean class vessels were first tried, some
purchased, some chartered - such as the Red Wing and Elat respectively.
The creation of an ocean going merchant fleet was the next logical step
for company growth; however it was precisely at this delicate moment
that Upper Lakes met its most formidable business nemesis in the form of
the redoubtable and reckless leader of the (Canadian) Seafarers
International Union, Mr. Hal Banks. By the early 1960s the SIU
completely controlled crewing and stevedoring on both sides of the Great
Lakes, and it harboured a particular resentment against Upper Lakes
Shipping for its reluctance to cheerfully embrace the SIU when it first
entered Canadian waters. Jack Leitch, backed by loyal crews, decided to
outmanoeuvre the truculent SIU by signing his people with a rival, more
amenable union. The SIU's animosity exploded into open warfare in 1961
with broken contracts and broken heads a regular feature of the contest.
The ULS ship Howard L. Shaw was bombed in Chicago harbour. The furore
ended with a royal commission and Hal Bank's indictment for criminal
activity in 1967. For his standing toe to toe with the union bully, Jack
Leitch was acclaimed 'Great Lakes Man of the Year' by his peers in the
shipping industry in 1965. The losses incurred during the union war
however had disenchanted Leitch's longtime silent partner Bruce Norris,
who wished to divest himself of his interest in Upper Lakes Shipping.
Finally in 1974 the Leitch/Norris partnership was dissolved. In the
process Norris gained full control of the Leitch shares in the milling
business - under the umbrella of Maple Leaf Mills - in return Leitch
Transport gained full control of Upper Lakes Shipping. From 1974 on ULS
operated as a shipping and shipbuilding company solely. Its historic and
commercial links with its own roots, the grain trade, had ended. The 1970s was a decade of renewal and expansion. The
Great Lakes fleet was rejuvenated with fewer, but new, larger, and more
efficient self-unloading ships. This was a technology forged largely by
Canadians on the Great Lakes: it greatly diminished the cargo turnaround
time in harbour. Time saved in port equalled more trips and more profit.
Then in 1972 the large Papachristidis fleet was purchased, thus making
Upper Lakes the second largest Canadian fleet on the Great Lakes. In
1973 the federal Darling Report required coastal and inland freight
moving between Canadian ports to be carried in Canadian bottoms. This
stipulation would stimulate the growth of a Canadian ocean merchant
marine by guaranteeing cargo routes such as carrying coal from Cape
Breton inland. Upper Lakes' seagoing fleet had grown to seven ships by
1975. This included the company's largest vessel the 74,000 ton
Phosphore Conveyor. Ironically, with the onset of recession in the early
1980s this very fleet was the first to downsize in order to protect the
core of the company's operations on the Great Lakes. In order to carve a commercial niche in the ultra
competitive seagoing trade, company president Jack Leitch determined to
capitalize on the Canadian technology of self-unloading equipment by
servicing small foreign ports whose harbours had little or no cargo
handling facilities, and where the typical ocean bulk carrier was
handicapped. ULS Marbulk Incorporated was formally established to manage
the surviving and now rejuvenatated ocean fleet. It was composed of the
seagoing self-unloaders Ambassador, Pioneer, Citadel Hill and the new
Panamax self-unloader Nelvana, along with the bulk carriers Thornhill
and Richmond Hill (the latter two added in 1993). The 1990s are
synonymous with retrenchment, downsizing and creative management - just
keep a company afloat (if the reader will indulge the metaphor). In 1990
Upper Lakes Shipping and erstwhile competitor Algoma Central,
coordinated management of their bulk carriers under the name of 'Seaway
Bulk Carriers'. In 1993 Seaway Bulk Carriers acquired fifteen bulkers
from Canada Steamship Lines, Misener Shipping, and Pioneer Shipping. It
was a calculated risk: some of the vessels have proved capable carriers,
some not. As of 1995/96 the Upper Lakes Shipping Great Lakes fleet
comprises seven self-unloaders and nine bulk carriers. ULS Marbulk's
ocean fleet consists of four self-unloaders and two bulk carriers. Port
Weller Drydock, currently the only viable shipyard on the Canadian lakes
is coowned with Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTES Introduction The Upper Lakes Shipping fonds consists of the
records of two branch corporations of Upper Lakes Group Incorporated:
Upper Lakes Shipping, and ULS Marbulk Limited. The information noted
here is 1995 or earlier. Arrangement The collection at present consists of one accession
arranged into two subgroups, the primary division based upon medium with
manuscript material forming the first part and graphic material in the
form of ship plans comprising the second part. Within the manuscript subgroup three series were
defined: Series A Fleet Operations (Great Lakes); Series B Ocean
Shipping; and Series C Engineering. This series organization was largely
determined by the principle of preserving original order and hopefully
reflects as accurately as possible the company's operations. This
subgroup totals approximately 12.75 cubic feet of material. The overall
date range being 1951-1971, 1988. The ship plan subgroup consists of approximately 33
cubic feet of graphic material which translates into almost 2550 plans
by count. These plans are almost exclusively blueprints (folded).
Following ship register convention, the plans are primarily arranged
alphabetically, according to vessel name. At the item level, the
individual plans were often numbered by the company. They have remained
in this order, and are listed thus. Where no company number was found
the plans were assigned item level numbers from .1 onwards. Full
accession numbers have been assigned at the archivist's discretion -
each box being allotted a main tripartite number, then each item's own
number concatenates to this to form a four element accession number for
each plan. (Thus plan .23 in box 1995.26.25 is fully identified as plan
1995.26.25.23). Provenance All material was created by Upper Lakes Group
Incorporated or its antecedents. The fonds was donated to the Marine
Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston by Upper Lakes Shipping of Toronto
and St. Catharines, Ontario. Restrictions All currently received records are open. Copyright Copyright to all materials, manuscripts, drawings,
and photographs has been transferred in toto to the Marine Museum of the
Great Lakes at Kingston. Finding Aids A detailed inventory is available in bound hardcopy. The fonds can also be accessed on the Internet. Series A Fleet Operations This series represents the activities of one of the four current departments comprising Upper Lakes Shipping's Great Lakes Operations Division, to wit: Fleet Research and Development; Engineering; Marketing (Freight); and Fleet Operations. Fleet Operations is responsible for all aspects of the day to day running of the company fleet, typically: crew personnel; harbour information and liaison; trip reports or logs, recording the vessels' freight trips and their relative performance; overseas charter operational files; accident reports; pilotage and canal fees; wharfage and stevedoring; ship surveys and certifications; and general fleet correspondence. Records created by executive officers from this department may also be included in the series. Remark that the deep sea vessels belonging to the ULS shipping group are also managed by a Fleet Operations department with corresponding duties and similar records. However, the ocean fleet belongs to a distinct corporate entity, ULS Marbulk Ltd., and is therefore described in a separate series. To date, records have been received representing only a portion of this department's responsibilities. However the records in hand have been determined as belonging to specific subsets or subseries, which reflect a particular aspect of the department's activities set out above. Respect du fonds was a principle followed as far as practicable; however since a relatively small sample of this department's output has been accessioned, some archival interpretation was inevitable. Strictly speaking these are artificial subseries, exhibiting some degree of imposed order. Two subseries were created: Ports and Harbours; and Trip Reports. Subseries descriptions precede their respective unit lists within the corpus of the finding aid. This series' date range is 1959-71, and 1988. It currently comprises two cubic feet. Series A Fleet Operations Subseries I Port and Harbours This subseries is comprised of reference files on ports and harbours to which ULS operated. These ports are both national and international. The material consists of harbour charts, water lot plans, related correspondence, drawings of wharves and their cargo loading facilities, and photographs of the particulars. The units are organized alphabetically by port and the date range is 1959-71. The material comprises 1 cubic foot. Series A Fleet Operations Subseries I Ports and Harbours 1995.26.1 1965 Houston, Texas nd. Montreal, Quebec 1966 Morehead City, North Carolinea (Two files) 1964 Norfolk, Virginia 1962 Oshawa, Ontario 1962 Oswego, New York 1964 Newport News, Virginia n.d New Orleans, Louisiana 1964 Panama Canal n.d. Parry Sound - Depot Harbour, Ontario n.d. Pensacola, Florida 1960 Port au Port, Quebec 1962 Port Cartier, Quebec 1963 Port Credit, Ontario 1964 Port Hawkesbury, Port Tupper, Nova Scotia 1963 Port Hope, Ontario n.d. Presque Isle, Michigan n.d. Quebec City, Quebec 1962 Rochester, New York 1964 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1959-71 Rotterdam, Netherlands n.d. Scotland 1965 Toronto, Ontario Series A Fleet Operations Subseries II Trip Reports This subseries consists of trip reports called Speed Charts, organized according to vessel and the Seaway sections it passed through enroute. These lists were kept by each master or first mate of a ULS vessel for each trip - for which the passage of each Seaway section was timed and logged. A separate speed chart was kept for each seaway section, thus each vessel maintained a series of speed charts documenting each stage of its route and providing an analysis of its overall performance. Each file in the subseries contains reports for the whole fleet; the items are organized internally by ship name and date. All records date to 1988 and comprise one cubic foot of material. Series A Fleet Operations Subseries II Trip Reports 1995.26.2 [The speed charts for each operating ULS vessel are keyed according to its trip number. Each chart dated per diem] 1988 Speed Charts April/May 1988 Speed Charts June/July 1988 Speed Charts August/September 1988 Speed Charts October/November 1988 Speed Charts December
Series B Ocean Shipping Upper Lakes Shipping has been engaged in oceangoing shipping since the early 1960s, first on a tentative basis with ships such as the Wheat King which had an ocean going Lloyd's classification; then later on a more committed scale with the Inverewe and Elat. Ocean shipping was from the beginning run as a business entity separate from ULS's Great Lakes fleet: first via the wholly owned subsidiaries Leitch Transport and Maple Leaf Mills, which first piloted cooperative seagoing efforts with foreign shippers and then established off-shore ULS subsidiaries such as Gulf Stream Trading of Bermuda, and Technibulk Shipping of the Bahamas. These ocean going vessels often found themselves chartered to other shippers when business dictated. There were also some ULS ships in the Great Lakes fleet which had ocean going classifications - such as the Cape Breton Miner - their ocean excursions were run directly by ULS. Currently (1996) a separate corporate entity, ULS Marbulk Limited, manages the ocean going fleet of six ships. The history of ULS ocean shipping determines the establishment of two subseries which reflects the operations of the corporation on the high seas: Overseas Charters; and ULS Marbulk Shipping. Our present accessions belong to the first of these subseries as described below. The series' material dates to 1966-67 and totals 3 cubic feet. Series B Ocean Shipping Subseries I Overseas Charters Leitch Transport, a branch of ULS entered into a seagoing venture with Technibulk Shipping Ltd. of Nassau, Bahamas in 1966 -the agreement lasting until at least 1969. This small company was incorporated in Nassau in 1966 with five shareholders and one chartered seagoing ship, the Elat. (Chartered from Zim Israel Ltd.) Its charter was to operate as a deep sea international shipper; it came into partnership with Leitch Transport who would manage and operate the vessel on behalf of Technibulk. Control of a majority of shares was turned over to three officers of Leitch Transport and it became in effect a subsidiary of ULS: a branch office was opened in Toronto. (Note that this vessel, unlike Inverewe, was never owned by ULS, and thus does not show up on any fleet list). This venture had as an antecedent the seagoing operation of the Inverewe (ca 1962-68) which was also run under the auspices of an Caribbean subsidiary, the Gulf Stream Trading Company. One file documenting Voyage 2 of Inverewe is included in this subseries as well as one file for the charter trips of the Phosphate Conveyor: Note that these latter two vessels were owned directly by ULS. The following files document the establishment of Technibulk Shipping and its agreement with Leitch Transport. Included are all of the Elat's log abstracts and trip reports for 1967. Of primary importance is the Elat Itinerary for 1967 which gives a synopsis of its activities for the year. These activities are fully documented in the subsequent Voyage Files, titled according to voyage number and departure and destination ports. These files contain: copies of vessel charter from Zim Israel Ltd.; correspondence, including telexes; bills of lading; manifests; log abstracts; Port Logs and Statements of Facts; port charges including stevedoring; tug charges; demurrage documents; freight contract documents; invoices to freight customers; purchase orders and invoices ongoing for repairs and supplies; pilotage fees; debit and credit notes; canal and custom documents; accident reports and legal protests; cost account working papers; miscellaneous accounting documents; miscellaneous plans; and Voyage Result Statements (ie: financial statements for a given trip). The subseries comprises 3 cubic feet of material all dating to 1966-67.
Series B Ocean Shipping Subseries I Overseas Charters 1995.26.3 1966-69 Documents of incorporation of Technibulk Shipping, Memorandum of Agreement with Leitch Transport, Corporate Information Return 1967 Logs of Elat. Also overall sailing itinerary for 1967: both ocean going and Great Lakes trips (this elaborated in all following Trip Reports). 1967 Munch Cranes file.(Unloading equipment for Elat) 1966 Elat Voyage 1. Ordez to Mobile, iron ore (two files) 1966 Elat Voyage 1. Ballast Leg. Mobile to Tampa 1966 Elat Voyage 2. Tampa to Contrecour, Quebec. Phosphate. (two files) 1966 Elat Voyage 3. Duluth & Montreal to Rotterdam. Grain. Rotterdam to Duluth in Ballast. (Two files) 1966 Elat Voyage 4. Duluth and Baie Comeau to Amsterdam. Grain. (two files) Series B Ocean Shipping Subseries I Overseas Charters 1995.26.4 1966 Elat Voyage 5A. Duluth and Fort William to Rotterdam. Grain. (Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 5B. Dunkirk to Detroit and Chicago. Steel. (Two files) 1967 Tecknibulk Shipping Ltd. Bunkers - Elat. [Fuel and oil bunkering voyage summaries and invoices] 1967 Elat. Voyage 6A. Chicago and Montreal to Antwerp. Grain. (Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 6B. Sept Iles to Baltimore. Iron ore.(Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 7. Norfolk to Tobata. Coal. (Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 8. Newcastle to Tobata. Coal.(Two files)
Series B Ocean Shipping Subseries I Overseas Charters 1995.26.5 1967 Elat Voyage 9. Wakayama to Guayamas (Mexico) to Antwerp. Sorgham.(Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 10. Detroit and Quebec to Kawasaki (Japan). Scrap metal.(Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 11. Beaumont (Texas) to Rotterdam. Grain.(Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 12A. Antwerp to Chicago. Steel coils.(Two files) 1967 Elat Voyage 12B. Duluth and Three Rivers to Rotterdam. Grain. (Two files) 1966 Inverewe Voyage 2 Hickey Crane Claim. [re: insurance claim for damage to a crane used aboard Inverewe in 1966. 1970-72 Charter of Phosphate Conveyor via Technibulk Shipping to Celotex Corporation. Telexes documenting negotiations for charter agreement. Series C Engineering The Engineering series maintains the records of one of four main departments belonging to the company's current Operations Division. The Engineering Department was located at St. Catharines, distinct from the corporate headquarters in Toronto. It was staffed by both marine engineers and naval architects. The two disciplines were subsumed under a single department within the corporate organization of Upper Lakes Shipping, and were responsible for basically the same things: the design, building, refitting, layup, and general maintenance of the company's vessels. The department was headed variously by a "Marine Superintendent", a Vice President of Engineering and Operations, or Vice President Engineering, depending upon the seniority of the individual in charge at the time: records created by these executive officers give an overall picture of the department's operation. The engineers and naval architects also worked closely with the company's shipyard at Port Weller to actualize in steel the plans and strategies drawn up on paper in their department. Much of the documentation reflects this dialectic between the engineer and the shipyard personnel in the form of purchase orders, invoices, repair specifications, and correspondence (copies of the financial records being forwarded to the Treasurer and Accounting Division in Toronto). The current accession received from the company assumes a natural division into five subseries: Vice President Engineering, Douglas Harpell; Vice President Engineering, Gerald Stemmler; General Engineering; Shipbuilding; and Ship Repair and Maintenance. Subseries descriptions precede the file lists in this inventory. The series' date range is 1951-1968, 1972-87 and it comprises approximately 7.75 cubic feet. Series C Engineering Subseries I Vice President, Engineering, Douglas Harpell This subseries is comprised of the records of the Vice President, Engineering, Douglas Harpell whose tenure in this position lasted ca. 1971-82/83. The material is somewhat disparate in nature, reflecting not only the operations of the St. Catharines Engineering office, but as well, activities now falling within the purview of Fleet Operations. In an earlier corporate incarnation the responsibilities and records of the two departments overlapped to some extent: up to the late 1970s this particular executive officer was not only Vice President of Engineering but also Marine Superintendent. Thus, while the core of the material extends to the maintenance and updating of the fleet vessels and Port Weller drydock facilities (engineering), there are also files which deal with purchasing, personnel, and office administration such as: purchasing; separation forms; a [crew] training programme; crew vacation schedules; St. Catharines office correspondence; and St. Catharines Office Monthly Reports. These latter files are composed of per diem memoranda of the engineers' daily activities - de facto activity/productivity reports. There is also a fleet (fuel and oil) bunkering file. As well there is a small intermixture of records belonging to John Philp, a senior shore engineer who later (1982) became Manager of the Engineering department. The primary engineering files are organized annually, and then alphabetically, by vessel name. The contents include: work orders; purchase orders for parts and supplies; brochures; engineering correspondence; memoranda; working notes; marine surveys; and winter layup reports. The material dates to 1977, 1979-83 and comprises 1.75 cubic feet.
Series C Engineering Subseries I Vice President, Engineering, Douglas Harpell 1995.26.6
1977 Chief Engineers' Contracts [Ship engineers] 1977 Second Engineers' Alphabetical Certificate Number [Ship engineers] 1977 Fourth Engineers' Alphabetical Certificate Number [Ship engineers] 1979 Fire Extinguishing Equipment 1979 Gordon C. Leitch 1979 Hilda Marjanne 1979 Lloyds Register [Surveys] 1979 Memorandums sent 1979 Memorandums received 1979 Montrealais 1979 Northern Venture 1979 Ontario Power 1979 Port Weller Dry Docks 1979 Purchasing 1979 Quebecois 1979 Red Wing 1979 St. Lawrence Navigator 1979 Transport Maritime [Bunkering] 1979 Training Programme 1979 Wheat King 1979 Vacations: Engineers, 2nd Engineers 1980 Dominion Marine Association 1980 John Philp. Personal 1980 General Work Orders 1980 Phospore Conveyor 1980 Pointe Noire 1980 Port Weller Dry Docks 1980 Purchasing 1980 Quebecois 1980 Red Wing 1980 Seaway Queen 1980 Separation Forms 1980 Sandrin Brothers 1980 Frank A. Sherman 1980 Shell Oil 1980 Training Programme 1980 Transport Maritime [Bunkering] 1980 Vacations: Engineers, 2nd Engineers 1980 Wheat King 1980 Work Orders Ship Repair - Toronto Vessels 1980 Work Orders Canal Electric - Toronto Vessels 1980 Work Orders Marsh Engineering - Toronto Vessels 1980 Work Orders Fritz - Toronto Vessels 1980 Work Orders - St. Catharines Layup 1980 Work Orders Frasers - Toronto Vessels 1980 Work Orders Miscellaneous - Toronto Vessels n.d. Reference Files. Self Unloader Equipment
Series C Engineering Subseries I Vice President, Engineering, Douglas Harpell 1995.26.7 1977-82 Radioisotope Licence 1980 St. Catharines Office Correspondence 1981-82 Safety and Security 1981 St. Catharines Office Correspondence 1983 St. Catharines Office Correspondence 1981 St. Catharines Office Monthly Reports 1982 St. Catharines Office Monthly Reports 1980 St. Catharines Office Miscellaneous 1980 Salvage Association 1981-83 Salvage and Ship Breaking 1983 Security 1981 Self Unloaders 1981-82 Seminars 1981-83 Shell Canada Correspondence 1980 Shipbuilding 1980 Ship Repair Contractors [Reference file] 1981 Strategic Planning 1981 Transportation Fuel Recovery 1981 Transport Maritime du Quebec [Bunkering] 1981 Transport Maritime du Quebec Correspondence 1980 Vacation Schedule
Series C Engineering Subseries II Vice President, Engineering, Gerald Stemmler This subseries follows thematically and chronologically, Subseries I Vice President Engineering Douglas Harpell. It is consists of records from the St. Catharines engineering office of Vice President, Engineering, Gerald Stemmler, who succeeded to the post in 1983/4 and continued to ca. 1991. The material corresponds in nature and organization to the previous subseries but is much less comprehensive - for instance, there are only two vessel engineering files extant - both for the Quetico. The date range is 1986-87 and comprise approximately 0.25 feet.
Series C Engineering Subseries II Vice President, Engineering, Gerald Stemmler 1995.26.7 1986 Quetico 1987 Quetico 1986 St. Catherines (general file) 1985 Steering Gear Report 1985-86 Wages and Overtime 1986 Water Treatment [Boiler file] 1987 Water Treatment [Boiler file] 1987 Vic's Warehouse [Equipment list]
Series C Engineering Subseries III General Engineering This subseries is comprised of records from the St. Catharines Engineering office and document specifically the ongoing fleet maintenance as directed by the marine engineers of ULS. Original order has been preserved: the records are organized primarily by vessel name, and secondarily by date (with some redundancy from box to box). The records are comprised of specifications, work orders, boiler data, general engineering data, and engineering correspondence. Complementary records may be found in the two Vice President Engineering Subseries I & II. Date range is 1961,1969, 1973-1986; the subseries comprises two cubic feet of material. Series C Engineering Subseries III General Engineering 1995.26.8 [Imposed file titles in brackets] 1961 Specifications Hull 47 Canadian Hunter ex- Hamiltonian 1984 R. Bruce Angus Reading file 1984 R. Bruce Angus Work Orders 1976-81 R. Bruce Angus [General Engineering data] 1975-84 R. Bruce Angus [Boiler file] 1983 Cabot and Chimo [Chimo=stern Hilda Marjanne] Work Orders 1983 Hilda Marjanne Work Orders 1983 Hilda Marjanne Crankshaft Deflections 1973 Hilda Marjanne Dry Dock Reports 1975-83 Hilda Marjanne [Boiler file] 1981 Hilda Marjanne Work Orders 1975-80 Hilda Marjanne [Engineering Correspondence] 1982 Hilda Marjanne Work Orders 1984 Gordon C. Leitch Reading file 1976-83 Gordon C. Leitch [Boiler water file] 1978 Gordon C. Leitch [General Engineering & Survey file] 1984 Gordon C. Leitch Work Orders 1984 Gordon C. Leitch Lloyd's Register of Shipping Laid Up Notation 1979 Gordon C. Leitch Work Orders 1983 Phosphore Conveyor Conversion to a Self-Unloader 1981 Phosphore Conveyor Memorandum: Inspection, Antwerp [2 files] 1983 Phosphore Conveyor Telexes from Navios 1981 Phosphore Conveyor [Working papers for Antwerp inspection and sea trials off Rotterdam] 1982 Phosphore Conveyor Report on Sea Trials. Rotterdam 1969 Phosphore Conveyor [Electric Schematics] 1984-85 Red Wing Reading file (two files) 1975-84 Red Wing [Two boiler files] 1983 Red Wing Inventory of Mate's Department 1984 Red Wing Work Orders (Two files) 1973 Red Wing Drydock Reports 1983 Red Wing Crankshaft Deflections 1982 Red Wing Work Orders - Layup 1977-81 Red Wing Supply Purchase Orders; Work Orders 1981 Red Wing Work Orders 1985 Frank A. Sherman Reading file 1976-82 Frank A. Sherman [Boiler file] 1981 Frank A. Sherman Field Survey [of needed repairs]; Work Orders 1981 Frank A. Sherman Work Orders 1975-81 Northern Venture [Boiler file] 1978 Northern Venture Preventive Maintenance and Diagnostic Analysis; Work Orders 1985 Wheat King Reading file 1976-81 Wheat King [Boiler file] nd. Ungava Transport Dismantling the Main Engine of the Ungava Transport
Series C Engineering Subseries III General Engineering 1995.26.9 1975-77 Phosphore Conveyor Correspondence 1975-83 Phosphore Conveyor General (engineering data) n.d. Phosphore Conveyor Index for Finished Plans 1981-86 Red Wing Work Orders 1981-85 Red Wing General (engineering data) 1985 Richmond Hill Work Orders 1982 Seaway Queen Work Orders 1981 Frank A. Sherman General (engineering data) 1981 Frank A. Sherman Megger Tests n.d. Frank A. Sherman Spare Parts List 1981-86 Frank A. Sherman Work Orders 1975-81 Ontario Power General (engineering data) 1978-81 Ontario Power Miscellaneous Correspondence 1980-81 Ontario Power Work Orders 1982-83 Ontario Power Work Orders 1973 Ontario Power Ignitor Assembly 1981 Ontario Power Tampa Barge Service 1985-86 Wheat King General (engineering data) 1981 Wheat King Megger Tests 1981-82 Wheat King Miscellaneous Correspondence 1985-86 Wheat King Work Orders 1984-86 Fleet Work Orders
Series C Engineering Subseries IV Shipbuilding This subseries is comprised of files from the engineering office at St. Catharines. They document the building of new ULS vessels at Port Weller, and the purchase and conversion of vessels, both at Port Weller and other yards. Note that no distinction was made between the professions of naval architect and marine engineer at ULS: both disciplines and were merged under the umbrella of marine engineering. The material includes specifically engineering records such as; specifications, engineering correspondence, progress photographs, progress reports, machinery lists, and calculations for stability and loading. As well there are associated records such as marine surveys and vessel certificates, purchase orders for materials, and general correspondence. Original order has been observed. Organization is by vessel name (with previous names irregularly recorded); beyond that there is little apparent internal organization. The subseries currently comprises approximately 1.75 cubic feet of material. Series C Engineering Subseries IV Shipbuilding 1995.26.10 1953 R. Bruce Angus. Hull Specification for The Conversion of the Great Lakes Oil Tanker Imperial Redwater to A Great Lakes Ore and Bulk Carrier [R. Bruce Angus] at Collingwood Shipyards. 1953,58 R. Bruce Angus. Spare Propellor, Tail shaft, rudder. [List and correspondence regarding above parts] 1950 R. Bruce Angus. Anchors and Cables - Original Certificates. 1954-56 R. Bruce Angus ex Imperial Redwater. Conversion. [engineering correspondence, sketches, purchase orders for material] 1951-54 R. Bruce Angus ex Imperial Redwater. Conversion. Progress Photographs.[44 black and white photographs both bound and loose. Annotated]
Subseries IV Shipbuilding 1995.26.11 [Red Wing -ex Imperial Edmonton conversion] 1960 Red Wing. Description of: Major Conversion From T2 Tanker, Imperial Edmonton to Lake Bulk Cargo Carrier.[Working draft and final copy] 1957 Imperial Edmonton Hull Renewals Schedule/Specification 1958 Photographs of T2 Tankers at New Haven. [Eight 5x7 prints] 1959-64 Red Wing. General correspondence 1958-59 Vickers Ocean-Lake Bulk Carrier Correspondence 1961 Red Wing conversion progress photographs.[96 prints=42, 4x5" and 54, 8x10 "; bulk are black and white]
Subseries IV Shipbuilding 1995.26.11 [Wheat King ex Llandaff conversion] 1971 Thermometers.[Schematics, calculations, and 30 5x7" photographs] 1971 Bowthrusters.[Contents do not match file title; items all regarding fuel availability and modifications required for arctic operation] 1960 Wheat King ex Llandaff Estimated Stability 1960 Wheat King Loading Calculations and Stability 1960 What King ex Llandaff Preliminary Specifications. Conversion to Bulk Carrier for Service on Ocean and Great Lakes. One specification dated July 1960, three other copies datedd to October 1960. Including thirteen progress photographs. [Four files] 1975 Wheat King. Inspections. 1976 Wheat King. Machinery. 1959 Llandaff a.k.a. Wheat King. Survey Report 1960 Wheat King. Report of Survey 1975 Wheat King. Contract with Port Weller Drydocks for lengthening of hull. 1957-59 Llandaff. Certificates: Boiler; Load Line; Radiotelegraphy; Hull and Machinery; Canal Certificate; Panama Canal Certificate; Class Certiticate; Speed Trials; Compasses; Venezualan Tonnage Certificate
Series C Engineering Subseries IV Shipbuilding 1995.26.11 [Wheat King ex Llandaff] 1957 Transcript for Register. Safety Equipment Certificates. 1975 Wheat King. Purchase Orders.[1975 lengthening] 1975 Wheat King. Purchase Approvals.[1975 lengthening] 1952-57 Lllandaff. Registers of Machinery, Chains, Wire Rope, etc. 1957-61 Hull 25. Wheat King. [Miscellaneous] 1960 Llandaff.Conversion calculations and data to Wheat King. 1976 Correspondence. Wheat King. [1977-76 lengthening]
Subseries IV Shipbuilding 1995.26.11 [Canadian Olympic. New build at Port Weller] 1976 Canadian Olypic. Progress reports.
Subseries IV Shipbuilding 1995.26.12 [Ontario Power] 1965 Ontario Power. Tank Calibrations 1965 Ontario Power. Stability Book 1965 Ontario Power. Grain Loading Booklet 1965 Ontario Power. Report on the Second Trip of the Ontario Power 1965 Ontario Power. Report of Inclining Experiment 1965 Measured and Calculated Deflections of Ontario Power at Float Off [ie: launching deflections] 1967 National Research Council of Canada. Mechanical Engineering Report. Main Hull Girder Stresses. Ontario Power. 1964 Notes and Recommendations to Avoid Built in Sag in All Welded Ships
Series C Engineering Subseries V Ship Repair and Maintenance Two manners/modes of organization are to be found: in general maintenance files material is ordered primarily by vessel name, secondarily by date; for fleet repair invoices the reverse holds with material filed annually, then alphabetically by vessel name. Files typically comprised of: engineering correspondence; plan lists; refit modification schedules/lists;refit specifications; surveys; certificates; boiler data; tenders and bids from subcontractors; occasional personnel items; service reports; and copies of itemized invoices for repairs done (invoices being a direct source for refit information). Series C Engineering Subseries V Ship Repair and Maintenance 1995.25.13 [Goderich ex Pathfinder] 1964-65 Goderich [engineering correspondence re: refit] 1967-68 Goderich [engineering data and sketches re: refit including 28 5x7" black and white progress photographs] Subseries V Ship Repair and Maintenance 1995.25.13 [Goderich ex Pathfinder] 1964 Cape Breton Miner Grain Loading [Booklet] 1968 Cape Breton Miner [Correspondence re: refit 1972-76 Cape Breton Miner Lloyd's Certificates 1976 Cape Breton Miner Dry Docking and Refits 1974 Cape Breton Miner Marine Service Lubrication Chart 1976-77 cape Breton Miner Correspondence [engineering]
Series C Engineering Subseries V Ship Repair and Maintenance 1995.26.14 [Repair Invoices for Fleet] 1981 Canadian Ambassador 1981 Canadian Century 1981 Canadian Enterprise 1981 Canadian Highlander 1981 Canadian Hunter 1981 Canadian Leader 1981 Canadian Navigator 1981 Canadian Pioneer 1981 Canadian Progress 1981 Canadian Prospector 1981 Canadian Transport 1981 Cape Breton Miner 1981 Frank A. Sherman 1981 Gordon C. Leitch 1981 Hilda Marjanne 1981 James Norris 1981 Montrealais 1981 Ontario Power 1981 Quebecois 1981 Pointe Noire 1981 R. Bruce Angus 1981 Red Wing 1981 Seaway Queen 1981 Wheat King 1981 Fleet 1982 Cape Breton Miner 1982 Frank A. Sherman 1982 gordon C. Leitch 1982 Hilda Marjanne 1982 Northern Venture 1982 Ontario Power 1982 Pointe Noire 1982 R. Bruce Angus 1982 Red Wing 1982 Wheat King 1983 Cabot [later stern of Canadian Explorer] 1983 Cape Breton Miner 1983 Chimo [later stern of Canadian Ranger] 1983 Frank A. Sherman 1983 Gordon C. Leitch 1983 Hilda Marjanne 1983 Northern Venture 1983 Ontario Power 1983 Phosphore Conveyor 1983 R. Bruce Angus 1983 Red Wing 1983 Wheat King
GRAPHIC SUBGROUP The ship plan subgroup consists of approximately 33 cubic feet of graphic material which translates into almost 2550 plans by count. These plans are almost exclusively blueprints (folded). Following ship register convention, the plans are primarily arranged alphabetically, according to vessel name. At the item level, the individual plans were often numbered by the company. They have remained in this order, and are listed thus. Where no company number was found the plans were assigned item level numbers from .1 onwards. Full accession numbers have been assigned at the archivist's discretion - each box being allotted a main tripartite number, then each item's own number concatenates to this to form a four element accession number for each plan. (Thus plan .23 in box 1995.26.25 is fully identified as plan 1995.26.25.23). A fleet list from The Ships of Upper Lakes Shipping by Garnet Wilcox and Skip Gillham has been included in the introduction to this subgroup to orient the reader and facilitate identification of vessels.
UPPER LAKES SHIPPING FLEET LIST Including present and past ships (dated on or before 1995)
Ambassador Angus, R. Bruce Arctic Arctic Troll Baird, Frank B. Barge 137 Blue Cross Blue River Brown Beaver Brawn Barge Bad, Ralph Canadian Ambassador Canadian Century Canadian Enterprise Canadian Explorer Canadian Highlander Canadian Hunter Canadian Leader Canadian Mariner Canadian Navigator Canadian Olympic Canadian Pioneer Canadian Progress Canadian Prospector Canadian Ranger Canadian Transport (I) Canadian Transport (II) Cape Breton Highlander Cape Breton Miner Citadel Hill Clement, Norman P. Daniels, William H. Douglass, Edwin T. Eads, James B. Ericsson, John Federal Monarch Field, Albert C. Fritz, John Glenbogie Goderich Grey Beaver Grovedale Hamilton Energy Hart, Judge Hilda Marjanne Holley, Alexander Hollaway, John A. Houghton, Douglass Huntley, Charles R. Inverewe Kenefick, Judge Leitch, Gordon C. Maunaloa II MacPherson, Norman B. McGrath, James E. McCorquodale, L.A. Meaford Melanie Fair Montrealais Nelvana Nisbet, Watkins F. Norris, James Northern Venture Ontario Power Parkdale Phosphore Conveyor Pillsbury, John S. Pioneer Pointe Noire Pomeroy, Robert W. Port Weller Quebecois Rammacher, John H. Red Wing Richards, John H. Richmond Hill (I) Richmond Hill (II) Ridgetown Roebling, John A. St. Lawrence Navigator St. Lawrence Prospector Sarnian Seaway Queen Shaw, Howard L. Sherman, Frank A. Stewart, James Taylor, Shirley G. Thornhill (I) Thornhill (II) Thornhill (III) Torian, George L. Victorious Wallaceburg Warren, William C. Weed, Shelton Wheat King Wiarton Updated July 2007 MDS |