The freighter Algosoo waits before passing under the Portage Lift Bridge.
At 730 feet long the freighter Algosoo is quite large. Not the biggest on the Great Lakes, but probably one of the biggest ever to come through the Portage Canal and pass under the Lift Bridge. It’s also slow as would be testified unanimously by any driver waiting for it to pass so the Bridge could be lowered again.
The freighter Algosoo realigns its approach to the Portage Lift Bridge.
According to the time stamps on my images it took about 20 minutes for the bridge to be raised, the ship to pass beneath and for it to be lowered again. And when that happens in Houghton / Hancock it creates quite a line of waiting cars on both sides of the bridge. But I didn’t rush down there to witness impatient drivers. I went down there to see the freighter.
Did I mention that it’s large? Okay. Let me make that point perfectly clear. It’s over 2 football fields long including the end zones. It has a gross weight of nearly 20,000 pounds and can carry over 32,000 tons. So if it were to somehow come in at the wrong angle and graze the bridge we would probably be experiencing what happened in 1905 when a ship damaged a section of the previous swing bridge that connected these two towns. I always wondered what would happen should something like that happen again. I think that would probably make the mildly impatient drivers who have been waiting for about 20 minutes very impatient.
The freighter Algosoo with the city of Houghton in the background.
Maybe that’s what was going on when the Algosoo first tried to pass under the bridge. When I got down to the canal I noticed the ship was just about stopped, but what was unusual was that the ship was about 75 yards from the center of the canal. Maybe it was looking for the harbor master to get a slip in the marina. There are plenty of open spots this time of year, but I don’t think that is what was going on. Instead the Algosoo moved its way ever so slowly sideways over to the center of the canal and then backed up another 100 yards or so. The bridge was lowered while this was going on and traffic allowed to cross so obviously something wasn’t quite right.
The freighter Algosoo passes beneath the Portage Lift Bridge.
15 minutes later the horn sounded from the bridge and a few minutes later traffic was stopped once again and the bridge raised. It seemed to take forever for the freighter to start moving forward, but as evidenced by the black smoke coming from its stack it sure was trying.
A videographer captures the freighter Algosoo as it heads west to unload its payload of salt.
I certainly don’t know what actually happened to make it go off course the first time. People I talked to while watching the display of turtle like precision had never seen that happen before. Whatever the case it finally passed without incident which means my I won’t have to find a boat to rescue my girlfriend who works over in Houghton.
Click here to view more photos of the freighter Algosoo on its journey along the Portage Canal.
#1 by Roger Halls on October 12th, 2009
Mark, great blog. I especially like the last picture with the autumn color in the background.
Roger
#2 by Mark Riutta on October 12th, 2009
Thanks Roger. I was trying to get in the colors whenever possible. This particular direction seemed to work the best.
#3 by Jeff Hilss on October 13th, 2009
Bridge Operator Bob Paavola said although the boat tried to pass under the bridge, the captain thought it was ridding too high in the water to be safe, so he backed up and pumped water from the canal into the boat’s ballast tanks for about 15 minutes. After another 20 minutes of maneuvering, the boat passed through.
#4 by Mark Riutta on October 13th, 2009
Jeff,
Very interesting. It was obvious something wasn’t quite right. Thanks for filling in the missing details!
Mark
#5 by Dean Chapman on October 15th, 2009
Nice Pictures. Great detail of the freighter and the color of our Copper Country. Very well done!
#6 by Mark Riutta on October 15th, 2009
Thanks Dean. I was really happy I got a chance to get some pics of the freighter. Although the lighting wasn’t the best for fall colors I did manage to find some places to get it into the background.
#7 by Barb on October 17th, 2009
It was too tall to go under the bridge and needed to fill the balasts with water to bring her down so she would fit under the bridge.
#8 by Koski on October 28th, 2009
Awsome thanks guys. I grew up in the Copper Country but live in Arizona now and when this was sent to me I loved it and felt like I was at home.
#9 by Karl on August 29th, 2010
Very nice pictures! I hope that again in my life I can witness a Great Lakes freighter passing through the canal.
Another note which makes this event even better: Algosoo was the last ship ever built in classic Great Lakes freighter style with a forecastle; The pilot house at the bow. This sight was truly the passing of an era.