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year 1923 in the following terms: “Transportation of automobiles, trucks, and tractors has risen to a place of importance in the lake trade. In fact, there are packet lines which devote their facilities almost exclu- sively to this movement. Including a relatively small proportion of pri- vately owned automobiles, the move- ment aggregated 172,000 tons in 19238. The traffic is confined largely to ex- change between ports on Lake Erie and Lake Michigan.” Becomes a Major Trade The National automobile chamber of commerce gives the number of cars shipped by lake vessel for the past nine years as follows: No. of cars These figures show the remarkable growth in the business of shipping automobiles on the Great Lakes dur- ing the last nine years. In Table II -on this page is given shipments and receipts in short tons of automobiles at the seven major Great Lakes ports. The estimated value of these ship- ments and receipts is given in Table III on page 35. Captain Nicholson, founder and head of the Nicholson Universal Steamship Co., is responsible for building up the lake movement of au- tomobiles. 'The Nicholson company in 1928 transported more than $100,000,- 000 worth of motor vehicles, carry- ing 70,000 cars from Detroit, Keno- sha, Wis., and Milwaukee, Toledo, O., Buffalo and Chicago, supplying 5,000,- 000 people through 800 dealers in the territory around Cleveland, Al- toona, Pa., Wheeling, W. Va., and Columbus, O. The company operates 12 vessels almost exclusively in trans- porting automobiles to and from vari- ous Great Lake ports. As an example of the sort of sery- ice which the company carries on, let us take the CoRALIA, a 4349-ton ves- sel which hauls automobiles between Detroit and Cleveland. This vessel, originally an ore carrier operated by the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., was purchased and converted by the Nich- olson company into her present form and makes a round trip every day except Monday, carrying a cargo of 400 cars each trip. The length of the CORALIA ny TABLE I Movement by Water of Motor Vehicles at All American Great Lakes Ports by Districts During the Year 1923, in Tons of 2000 Pounds LAKE ERIE PORTS Port Shipments Detroit Receipts 124,388 157,252 LAKE MICHIGAN PORTS Chicago Milwaukee Ludington Racine 15,107 LAKE SUPERIOR PORTS Duluth-Superior Meeweenah Waterway 35,520 172,370 162,642 Note: Combined Total Shipments and Receipts—335,012 is 418 feet, beam 48 feet and depth 24 feet. ‘There are four decks for cargo in fair weather and three in uncertain weather. The cargo capa- city of the vessel is 400 cars if weather permits use of the upper deck. The flooring of the interme- diate decks is removable so that at the end of the season of navigation it may be taken out and the vessel used for grain storage. Located amidships are two eleva- TABLE II tors, the shafts of which extend from the upper deck to the tank top. These elevators are operated by steam winches. Their lifting capacity is more than sufficient for raising and lowering the heaviest motor vehicles. In loading, the cars are driven over ramps to the deck of the vessel and then on the elevators. The task of loading begins with filling the hold first. The cars are lowered to the bottom and driven from the elevators to their storage spaces. This proc- ess is repeated, filling the lower deck, the ’tween deck and in case weather permits, the upper deck. An arrangement of clamps and cables has been so worked out that when fixed in place it is practically impossible to move the cars. A clamp fits over the tire of each of the car’s wheels and when set, holds the car securely in place. As a test for the holding power of these clamps, a truck was fastened to one of the cars and an attempt made to move it which was unsuccessful. Other vessels operated by the Nich- olson company are of the same gen- eral type as the CoRALIA. These in- clude the CiTy OF BANGOR, the THOMAS DAVIDSON, the FELLOWCRAFT, the PENOBSCOT, the ROUMANIA, the Sonora, the SULTANA, the E. C. POPE, and the Procress. ‘The boats operate between Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Chicago, Duluth, Green Bay Wis., Milwaukee, Toledo, O. and other ports on the lakes. In the CORALIA’S run between Detroit and Cleveland cars from Cleveland manufacturers are carried to Detroit and vice versa. A Pioneer in Lake Shipment Opening of navigation depends on the weather but is always much earlier for the automobile carriers than the ore fleet. The CORALIA left Detroit the morning of March 23, on the first voyage of the year 1929 and reached Cleveland the evening of the same day loaded with a cargo of 400 automobiles. The business of transporting auto- Receipts and Shipments, in Short Tons, of Motor Vehicles at Principal Years 1923 Ship- Ports ments Chicago Milwaukee 34 ceipts American Great Lakes 1925 Ship- ments 102,781 Re- Re- ceipts 3,670 64,625 30,129 3,593 51,681 28,324 26,346 54,098 14,359 8 16,013 624 589 1,215 4,941 Re- ceipts 1926 Ship- ments 148,730 5 1927 Ship- ments 166,080 Re- ceipts 14,648 Total 153,793 110,680 43,742 48,399 28,265 10,245 6,064 157,487 161,829 319,316 126,142 94,934 221,076 174,065 143,426 317,492 185,320 215,868 “401,188 224,573 213,172 437,745 MARINE REVIEW—May, 1929 a a 6 : a t ee Es