The North Land and North West
Luxury Liners on the Lakes
The North Land and North West
The "North West." Image source: private collection.
James. J. Hill, railroad magnate of the Great Northern Railroad, developed the Northern Steamship Company
to connect his freight shipments between Buffalo and Duluth. After constructing six lake freighters, he decided to
capture passenger traffic on the Great Lakes and in 1892 began construction on the first of two luxury liners
at the Globe Iron Works in Cleveland. His intention was to build the largest and most modern ships on
the Great Lakes, equal in every way to the 'ocean greyhounds' in speed and luxury.
Advertisement for Buffalo company that furnished the North West and North Land. Image source: private collection.
The first, named the "North West," was launched in 1894 and, after test runs, came to Buffalo to be finished and furnished.
According to J.A. Colby & Sons, of Chicago, their company designed the furniture and upholstery for both liners, using
mahogany and primavera (white mahongany) in Louis XV Rococo style. The company described its decor thus:
"When we think of the traditional shiny, white cabins we have known so well, this symphony of brown, bronze-green,
and gold with the delicate carving and relief work, repeated through such an imposing length of space, all softened
by the light of amber-tinted glass, is a marvel... Staircases of white mahogany, with tesselated floors and upholstering
of terra-cotta leather; huge plate mirros; balconies furnished in antique brass; reading rooms no less luxurious; ladies'
parlors; men's cafe; smoking rooms; little conservatories; bronze and marble statues; a dining-room like a prince's
banquet hall; and staterooms of every conceivable shape and size here..."
The after part of the main cabin of the "North West." Image source: private colllection.
The ship could carry between 800 and 1,000 per trip, including a crew of 147, most of them dedicated to serving the passengers.
The company declared that, unlike the great Atlantic ocean liners, the "North West" had an unlimited supply of fresh water and
was able to supply hot and cold water under pressure, with flush toilets in the water closets from pressure tanks. With three hundred
separate water fixtures aboard and constant water pressure, the company was able to advertise the ship as especially safe from
damage by fire.
Advertisement for the Fisher Electrical Company. Image source: private collection
The "North West" weighed 2,339 tons, was 385 feet long, 44 feet at the beam, and 34 feet from keel to promenade deck. Its hull was
painted white, the three smokestacks painted yellow with a black band near the top, the center stack having a white star and the
letter "N" to signify the company. Its two quadruple expansion engines generated 7,000 HP. It had a regular speed of 20 MPH
with a 16 foot draft. Its two propellers were 13 feet in diameter. The ship consumed eight tons of coal per hour.
When the "North West" steamed full speed up the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, its huge size created destructive wakes and shore damage;
the ship was subsequently obliged to reduce its speed in these areas.
By 1895, the "North Land" had launched, identical to the "North West" except for refinements possible with the newer ship.
Both ships maintained service of every three days between Buffalo and Duluth. The regular stops were Buffalo, Cleveland,
Detroit, Mackinac Island, Sault St. Marie, and Duluth.
1901 advertisement from The World's Work. Image source: private collection.
During the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, the routes of both ships were shortened to Chicago to accommodate
the Exposition-bound traffic. A smaller ocean liner was leased to cover the Duluth-Mackinac Island route.
After the 1901 shipping season, each ship underwent $250,000 reconstruction. The original boilers were so dangerous to
coalers working around them that it was nearly impossible to hire hands to operate them. The 24 French Belleville tube boilers
were replaced by 10 Scotch boilers. This eliminated the need for the third smoke stack and boiler casings space, making
space available for new cabins, wheelhouse and bridge, deluxe parlors and a doubling of the capacity of the dining room to 250
persons. As the before-and-after images above illustrate, the appearance of the ships was also greatly enhanced by these
changes.
One of the liners berthed at the Long Wharf at the foot of Main Street.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
The beginning of the end of the careers of these liners began on June 3, 1911 in Buffalo.
NORTHWEST BURNS AT ITS DOCK An explosion of oils in the paint room of the Northern Steamship liner, "North West," lying in her winter quarters in the Blackwell Canal,north of Tifft Street, early this morning started a fire that completely destroyed the upper works and interior of the big steel steamer. Her sister ship, the "North Land," moored alongside the "North West," received a bad scorching but was dragged out of the path of the flames by the Fireboats Potter and Grattan. Officials of the company who were early summoned to the fire estimated the total loss approximately at about $600,000. Ample insurance, they say, covers it. Both the 'North West" and the "North Land" were scheduled to be placed in commission on June 21st, and outside the commissary departments both ships were fully stocked and ready for the coming season's business. The fire started shortly before 4 o'clock. Four watchmen were employed on the ships and each of them made hourly rounds. One of the watchmen passing along the upper decks heard a muffled report below and peering over the rail he saw a pointed jet of flame dart from one of the port holes of the paint room. He called to the other watchmen and then jumped down to the runway alongside the ship and made all haste to the big flour house of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, a full 100 feet to the north. There he said an alarm was sent to Fire Headquarters through the railroad company's private box. Steam was not up in the boilers of the big ship and no streams could be set in action until the arrival of the first fire company. Assistant Chief Murphy, who had made the long run from Fire Headquarters in eight minutes in his powerful motor car was the first of the firemen to arrive. A Flaming Torch By that time the big liner was a flaming torch, and the "North Land" alongside was beginning to blister and smoulder in the terrific heat. Already jets of flame were popping up in the woodwork of the deck cabins and that the fire would secure a good foothold on the big ship seemed likely. Then the fireboat Potter arrived from her station at the foot of Louisiana Street. Assistant Chief Murphy had scaled the sides of the burning "North West" by that time and had made his way across the blistering hot decks to the "North Land." He says that immediate action was necessary to save the second ship. At his direction heavy hawsers were passed out from the fire boat, and the lines making the 'North Land" fast to the blazing "North West" were cast off. Then the powerful Potter dragged the big steel liner out into the midstream and broght her within easy range of the giant standpipes of the fireboat Grattan steaming up the canal. Heavy Streams Suffice Two minutes' work with the heavy streams sufficed to drown out the flames on the "North Land" and the entire force of firemen then turned to the "North West." In the meantime Chief Murphy, whose attention had been entirely absorbed in the work of rescuing the "North Land" had failed to notice the spread of the fires on the "North West." He was quickly reminded of it, however, by a great sheet of flame driven by a backdraft that rolled from the forward part of the big cabin and reached out for him. Chief Murphy promptly went over the side. He did not go in to the water, however, because he clung to a stanchion far down the side of the ship. Men of the fireboat companies helped him from his perch, and he went on with the work of battling the flames that were rapidly eating up the towering "North West." The fire started well toward the stern of the ship. There were stored in the room in which it originated between 250 and 300 gallons of paints and oils, which generated a terrific heat and drove the flames rapidly up through the decks and into the main salon. Before a stream was turned upon the flames the fire shot through the roof of the deck cabins and was mounted hundreds of feet in the air. Far out in the lake, and all along the Canadian shore the fire was plainly visible. A Tough Fight It was a tough job for the firemen. A blaze on a big steamer is something they haven't tackled in years and some of them didn't know just how to go at it. Chief Murphy drove them through the mountains of smoke and deep into the hold of the big vessel. They made a gallant fight but the fire was too much for them. Company by company they were driven over the sides and back onto the docks and fireboats. From points of vantage, however, they kept their big streams directed into the heart of the flames that by that time were romping freely over the big ship from stem to stern. Ship Sinks Just after 5 o'clock and more than an hour after the first stream had been set in action the ship began to show the effects of the great quantities of water that had been poured into her. She listed heavily to port and finally straightened up, dropped slowly into the mud on the bottom of the canal, everything above her big freight doors remaining out of water. It was 6 o'clock before the firemen had the flames under control and had driven them back into the main salon and below into the berth decks. After that it was simply a matter of drowning out the fire and this work was still going on at noon. ...Frederick Kruger, general passenger agent in Buffalo of the Northern Steamship Company said he had no idea what arrangements his company might make as to installing another ship this season to take the place of the "North West." The "North Land," however, he said, would probably be placed in commission on her scheduled date, June 21. |
The "North Land" liner dwarfs the "City of Erie" (left) in Buffalo's harbor, 1905. Photo source: Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Co.
The habor ferry, foreground, was the subject of a story in the Spring 2003 Heritage Magazine.
The "North West" was promptly raised but remained a burned out shell until 1917. The company decided not to invest the
necessary $200,000 - $300,000 to restore it. The "North Land" was repaired for $2,000 and went into service as scheduled
on June 21, 1911. Her last voyage was at the end of the 1916 season. Despite being filled to capacity every trip of their careers,
the luxury liners made no profit during any year because of the 'high operating costs, short season, superb maintenance and
elegant cuisine.' (Rapprich)
The remains of the "North West" were sold several times between 1917 and 1918 in expectation of being used for the war effort
in World War I and were cut in half to permit passage through the narrow locks of the old Welland Canal and the
St. Lawrence River.
The bow sank in 175 feet of water off Olcott, NY November 28, 1918. The stern section was sold to a firm in
Quebec. Eventually, the purchasing firm built a new bow and renamed the ship Maplecourt. After a career on the great lakes as
a cargo ship, the Maplecourt was sent to Halifax in 1940 for convoy duty to England in World War II. She was lost in 1941,
sunk off the Hebrides
with her entire crew of 37 men.
The "North Land" suffered a less noble fate. It was sold to a Quebec firm in 1919, cut in half for the trip, and never rebuilt once
it reached its destination.
In 1921, both
sections were scrapped.