When one sees this one realizes its limitations right away. It is as if someone designed the terminal to replicate a child in a sandbox loading containers merely by scooping sand with his hand…kind of anthropomorphic technology.
Of course, the constraint on design at the time was the technology of the ships (lakers) themselves which would open the hatch covers and say, “Come and get it” rather than employ onboard unloading technology.
Nevertheless, these behemoths are very impressive, and particularly the job of the operator who sits in a cab down by the bucket (5:55 min mark).
[edit: and here is a video of a modeler/programmer who built a model of the unloader…can’t see if he is a railroad modeller. Just looks like a tech college project or something.]
It’s easy to say something has limitations when new technology comes along to replace it. But rather than limitations, these things were marvels of their time. A technology that had a much longer useful life than most technologies out today. We should think in terms of those who lived in that era, with the tools available to them and marvel at what they did.
Google is pretty good about compensating for words spelled wrong, but since the unloader is named for a person (George Hulett of Ohio), we should try to spell it right - Hulett, not Huelett
Among the “related videos” to the right margin of that one I found this great vid of an ore boat being turned. Most midwestern railfans I know also are interested in lake boats, so this is not entirely OT
See the insignia on the ship. That is the Algoma Corporation or Algoma Marine insignia. You may not be familiar with the Algoma Central Railway, but it is [was] a division of Algoma Corporation so your post is very nearly about trains!
The Algoma Central Marine fleet was once owned by the Algoma Central Railway. In fact, in the 1970s and '80s the logo on the ships actually said “Algoma Central Railway” not Marine.
In the 1980s or early 1990s the corporate structure was re-organized, with a new parent company, and the Marine and Railway operations (and also some trucking and real estate subsidiaries) all made into the divisions of the new parent company rather than subsidiaries of the railway.
The railway division was sold off to Wisconsin Central with the transfer taking effect Feb.1 1995.
The parent company and marine fleet still survive, although the railway which started it all and was the original parent company is now all but gone. (The Algoma Central Railway name lives on for the passenger operations including the famous Agawa Canyon Tour Train.)