Santa Fe Railroad Tugboats
Encyclopedia
The Santa Fe Railroad barged rail cars across the San Francisco Bay
for much of the 20th century as there is no direct rail link to the San Francisco peninsula. In the post World War II
period a fleet of three tugs moved the barges: the Paul P. Hastings
, the Edward J. Engel, and the John R. Hayden. After cross-bay float service had ended and the tugs had been sold, the Hastings sank off Point Arena, California
in water too deep to raise. The Engel sank off Alameda, California
and is expected to be raised. The Hayden remains afloat and in service in Oregon
.
. (The Southern Pacific Railroad
had a line on the San Francisco Peninsula
from San Jose, but blocked the Santa Fe from access.) The Santa Fe did have some isolated tracks in the city of San Francisco. To connect to them from Oakland the Santa Fe used a fleet of tugs and barges to move freight across the San Francisco Bay
. This service began in 1900 and continued until 1984.
Prior to the end of World War II there were five tugs used at various times:
--- Richmond, built new for the Santa Fe in 1900. Sold to Crowley Tugboat Company in 1926.
--- A.H. Payson, built new for the Santa Fe in 1902. Remained in Santa Fe service its entire life, and was sold for scrap in 1950.
--- E.P. Ripley, built new for the Santa Fe in 1907, also sold for scrap in 1950. Ripley was president of the railroad from 1896-1920.
---W.B. Storey, built in Elizabeth, New Jersey
, in 1919. Storey was president of the railroad from 1920-1933. Purchased used by the Santa Fe in 1924. It was used for 25 years, then laid up for parts, the remains sold for scrap in 1966.
--- A.G. Wells, built at Superior, Wisconsin
in 1919, purchased used by the Santa Fe in 1926. Commandeered by the U.S. Government in 1943 and not returned.
During World War II
the US Army had many tugboats built. As the war concluded the Santa Fe acquired two of the LT (Large Tug) vessels for use in its cross-bay float service and another was built directly for them. All were named after prominent persons in the railroad:
--- Paul P. Hastings
was the VP of Traffic for the railroad at the time of his retirement in 1941. He was the brother of Milo Hastings
and grandson of Pardee Butler
.
--- Edward J. Engel was the president of the railroad from 1939 to 1944.
--- John R. Hayden was the assistant to Mr. Engel.
Various cargo was carried by the float service. The railcar barges held fourteen 40 feet (12.2 m) railcars. Some of the railcars were chlorine tankers bound for the water treatment plant. Another cargo was Kessler Whiskey
for the Seagram
’s facility in South San Francisco. In a famous incident a whiskey tanker was among cars that rolled off the barge in mid-bay during foul weather. Another cargo was box cars of newsprint for the San Francisco Chronicle
.
Transportation patterns changed with time. Piggy-back truck service increased as direct railcar service declined. The Chronicle at the urging of the railroad switched to piggy-back truck delivery. As use of the cross-bay float service declined the Santa Fe reduced the tug fleet. The Engel was sold in 1969, and the Hayden was sold in 1976. The Hastings continued as the only tug until 1984. On May 4, 1984 a fire at the Richmond ferry slip killed cross-bay float service, and the Hastings was sold.
All three tugs had steel hulls. All entered service powered by a steam engine driving a single screw. In the mid 1960s the Hastings and Hayden were dieselized, but the Engel never was.
, a slip at the foot of Sherman St. in Alameda, California
, where short line Alameda Belt Line (owned half and half by Western Pacific Railroad
and the Santa Fe Railroad) received cars from its parent roads. This slip was abandoned around 1970, and thereafter, Southern Pacific Railroad
delivered Alameda Belt Line cars via their Fruitvale lift bridge in Oakland. Santa Fe tugs also served the State Belt Railroad's slip at Pier 43 in San Francisco, and the Northwestern Pacific Railroad
's slip at Tiburon
in Marin County.
The final route for the cross-bay service went from the ferry slip in Richmond, California
on the east side of the bay to China Basin on the west side of the bay. China Basin is on the San Francisco Peninsula just south of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. The 10.4 miles (16.7 km) voyage usually took about an hour and twenty minutes each way.
The Paul P. Hastings tugboat was built in 1945 at Point Pleasant, West Virginia
by the Marietta Manufacturing Co. as hull number 530 for the US Army. The original name was LT (Large Tug) 814. She had a single screw powered by a three cylinder Skinner Uniflow steam engine
of 1200 hp served by twin Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers. Dimensions were 142 ft (43.3 m) long, 33 ft (10.1 m) in breadth, 16 ft (4.9 m) deep, gross weight 480 GRT, net weight 68 NRT.
On February 11, 1948 she was sold to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co. of San Francisco and renamed A.T.&S.F. No. 8, VIN D256253, Call Sign WD9219. She was later renamed the Paul P. Hastings, in honor of Paul P. Hastings
, the vice-president of traffic for the railroad, who died in 1947.
In 1964 the vessel was dieselized at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California
with a 1600 hp General Motors
567C
EMD F-7 engine.
The Hastings had the longest period of service of the three post-war tugs: 36 years from 1948 until the railroad discontinued service in 1984. By the end she was the sole remnant of the tug fleet.
The Hastings was sold and eventually became owned by Robert Whipple of American Navigation (AmNav), a company still doing business in the Bay area. The Abstract of Title shows Levin Metals Corp., a scrap dealer, as an intermediate owner starting at an unspecified date with Whipple taking title on February 26, 1991. The vessel was renamed Terminator. (The first of the Terminator movies came out in 1984.) One source says the tug sat unused for years. In about 1991 Whipple, who had a reputation for added huge amounts of horsepower to old tugs, added two additional 3600 hp diesel engines. The tug was not inspected by the Coast Guard after the engines were added.
The first job for the upgraded tug was to assist the Dock Express 20
, a multi-purpose vessel of Dutch registry owned by Dock-Express Shipping B.V., in laying a fiber cable off Point Arena, California
. Point Arena is north of San Francisco about 100 miles (160.9 km) and is the closest point on the west coast of the continental United States
to Japan
, hence is the landing point for many trans-Pacific cables.
The Terminator became a victim of a marine casualty: she sank. Details of the sinking are found in the US Coast Guard Marine Casualty investigation MC93011836 and Marine Violation investigation MV92003258.
Late in the day of Monday, January 27, 1992, the vessels were about 20 nautical miles (37 km) off the coast of California
just north of Point Arena at N39°9.0', W124°10.5'. The weather was ugly: swell height was 15 feet (4.6 m) and increasing, wind speed was 35 knots (68.6 km/h). Trouble started when a two inch cable parted at the Sampson braid and the Terminator had to approach the Dock Express 20. It was now a little after 6 pm in deepening twilight (sunset was 5:31 pm).
Shortly after completing her approach to 100 – abeam of the Dock Express 20, Terminator lost the use of the center engine. The operator attempted to use the port and starboard engines in a twisting fashion to maneuver the vessel out of danger. Then the starboard engine tripped off-line leaving the Terminator with only one of three engines operating. Attempts to restart the starboard engine failed. The high seas were abeam (perpendicular) to the vessel and pushed her into the protruding sponson (a structure on the side of the ship) of the Dock Express 20, who was restricted in her ability to maneuver as a result of her cable laying operation and because of its size was much less affected by the seas. When the vessels collided the Terminator was coming down off the crest of a swell, while the Dock Express 20 was surging upwards from another wave.
The impact created a hole, estimated at 1 to 2 ft (0.3048 to 0.6096 m) in diameter, in the Terminator’s aft lazarette area (a storage space between decks). The incoming water flooded the shaft alley. The watertight door between the shaft alley and main engine compartment was permanently affixed open. A cutting torch was needed before the door could be secured. This process took 20 minutes and only slowed the water coming into the engine room. Pumps to de-water the vessel operated only intermittently. There was no eductor (a type of water pump). The aft peak tank and bilge were filled with concrete (presumably for stability) and this extra weight could not be shifted to another area of the vessel from where the vessel was taking on water.
With the ship starting to sink the order to abandon ship was given about an hour after the collision. After 15 minutes only the bow was visible and after another 10 minutes the vessel was completely underwater. All crew members entered the life raft and were picked up an hour later by the Craig Foss, a nearby tug which was diverted to assist. The Terminator sank in 800 fathoms (1,463 m) (almost a mile down), and there she remains.
About 35000 gallons (132,489.4 l) of diesel fuel on board spilled creating a light sheen in the vicinity which dissipated in a few days without cleanup. The vessel owner, Whipple, was fined $2100 for the oil spill.
So after having been spared from being scrapped, the Hastings sank.
The Engel was built in 1945 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Company by Consolidated Steel Corporation
as hull number 1320. The business address of the builder was Newport Beach, California
. Their shipyard was in the Port of Long Beach
in Wilmington, California built in 1941, at what is now berth 196 and 197 of the automobile terminal. The builder dissolved in 1952.
The Engel had a single screw and a steel hull of dimensions 141.5×29×12.7 ft (43.1×8.8×3.9 m). She was powered by a three-cylinder Skinner Uniflow steam engine
, 25 x 20, 1200 ihp; Babcock & Wilcox water tube boiler, 3311 sq ft (307.6 m²) heating surface, 236 psi (1.6 MPa) working pressure. She retains this power plant to this day. Her sister tugs were built with steam and later dieselized. VIN number is 248085.
On September 30, 1969 with barge traffic declining as piggy-back truck usage increased, the Santa Fe sold the Engel to John K. Seaborn, a collector of old tugs and ferries. The sale was not recorded until June 25, 1971. On September 18, 1975 the vessel was removed from documentation because the name was changed to Respect without the consent of the Documentation Officer at the vessel’s home port who at that time had no record of the whereabouts of the vessel or owner.
The next entry in the Abstract of Title for the Engel is on February 24, 2006 when Seaborn sold the vessel to Sause Marine Services, Inc. in the person of Gary Sause. Sause intended to dieselize the vessel whose hull was still in good condition. When Sause received an unsolicited bid for the vessel from Jeff Barnell he accepted it. What Barnell intended to do with the vessel is unknown. In any case he soon sold it to Ron Cook of British Columbia
. The Engel/Respect had now changed hands three times in a little over a year. Cook planned to move the vessel to Seattle and restore it. There had been other attempts to restore and preserve the Engel. The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, near where the tug was built, was contacted but showed no interest. There are several references in Trainorders.COM in the fall of 2006 about saving the Engel.
For many years the Engel had been anchored in the Oakland estuary
in Oakland, California
just north of the Park Street bridge. The tug was vandalized on April 9, 2007 and sank the next day. Apparently the seacock valve and other metal parts were scavenged for their scarp value. As of February 2008 she remains submerged in the estuary. The location is marked with buoys and a flashing light. The Army Corps of Engineers is now responsible for administering the fate of the Engel. She will likely be raised and moved from her current location where she is impeding a navigable waterway.
Whether the Engel will be scrapped or preserved is unknown.
The John R. Hayden is the only tug of the Santa Fe post World War II tug fleet that remains afloat. She was built in 1945 by the U.S. War Department and is now the Titan owned by Sause Bros. and operating out of Coos Bay, Oregon
. She had several other owners and names. She was repowered three times. The VI number (VIN) of the tug is 253495, IMO Number is 8424123.
The Hayden was built in 1945, the final year of World War II
, by Tampa Marine Corp. in Tampa, Florida
as hull number 40 and designated LT-830 (LT for Large Tug). Dimensions were 142.2 ft (43.3 m) × 33 ft (10.1 m) × 16 ft (4.9 m), tonnage 581 gt, 35 nt. She had a single screw.
On June 5, 1947, she was sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
who renamed her the John R. Hayden.
When built the vessel was powered by a three-cylinder Skinner Uniflow steam engine
, 24.5 × 20", 1200 ihp, supplied by two Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers, 5460 sq ft (507.3 m²) heating surface, 225 psi (1.6 MPa) working pressure. In 1967 the Santa Fe had her dieselized at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California
with a 1600 hp General Motors
567C EMD F-7 engine. In December, 1975 the Hayden was taken out of service due to persistent stern tube leakage.
On September 16, 1976, with barge traffic in decline, the Santa Fe sold the Hayden to Marine Leasing Corp. Marine Leasing repowered the tug, which required rebuilding the superstructure. On December 22, 1983, Marine Leasing renamed the vessel the Marine Crusader. Her home port was then Seattle, Washington.
The repowering of the Marine Crusader was done by Propulsion Systems Inc. of Kent, Washington. The repowered tug put to sea in December 1983 as one of the most highly computerized and automated tugs in the world. It also represented the most complete installation to date of a ship control and monitoring system. The new engines consisted of four General Motors Detroit Diesel 16-cylinder, 1600 hp 149T1 diesel engines with a pair of twin-shaft input/single-shaft output Lufkin reduction gears with controllable pitch propellers. The control system provided automatic engine load control, multiple engine load sharing, pitch control, machinery monitoring, and steering. The control complex involved two electrically isolated units, port and starboard. Machinery control function was divided between the units, each managing its own propulsion subsystem consisting of two engines, reduction gears with clutches and hydraulics for controllable pitch propeller. There was an automatic pilot function driven by either gyrocompass or magnetic compass as the input heading source. There were four control station in the tug: main bridge, wing stations port and starboard, and an aft control station. All control systems operated off a non-interruptible power system.
As rebuilt, the Marine Crusader had a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m). A new epoxy coating was applied to the hull. She had quarters for an operating crew of eight. She had a gym in the forecastle, a useful accoutrement on long, ocean tow missions. With full tanks the Marine Crusader carried 225,000 gallons of fuel.
On November 26, 1984 Marine Crusader was sold to Alaska Marine Towing Inc. On February 5, 1985 Marine Leasing changed her name to Harris Bay, after a bay in the Kenai peninsula
south of Anchorage, Alaska
. Alaska Marine ran into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy. As part of an August 3, 1988 reorganization the new legal owner of the Harris Bay became United Marine Tug and Barge. On August 29, 1988 they changed her name back to Marine Crusader.
Two years later on July 27, 1990 the tug was sold yet again to its current owner Sause Bros. Ocean Towing of Portland, Oregon
. Sause Bros. soon gave the tug her current name, Titan. The financial troubles of Marine Leasing may have resulted in poor engine maintenance in the years before Sause Bros acquired the tug. Or the GM16V149TI engines may have been at the end of their useful life. In any case, the Titan was repowered with two 12-cylinder turbo EMD engines, with 3½ to 1 Lufkin gears and is sailing as that now. Coast Guard contacts over the years of Sause Bros. ownership show the tug mostly in Portland, Oregon with some time in Honolulu, Hawaii
.
The former Hayden continues in active service.
ABS Record Shows specifications and ownership history of some vessels.
United States Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center Provides Archive of Title which shows ownership and name changes.
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
for much of the 20th century as there is no direct rail link to the San Francisco peninsula. In the post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period a fleet of three tugs moved the barges: the Paul P. Hastings
Paul P. Hastings
Paul Pardee Hastings was a prominent executive of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.- Personal life :...
, the Edward J. Engel, and the John R. Hayden. After cross-bay float service had ended and the tugs had been sold, the Hastings sank off Point Arena, California
Point Arena, California
Point Arena is a small coastal city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Point Arena is located west of Hopland, at an elevation of 118 feet . The population was 449 at the 2010 census, down from 474 at the 2000 census, making it one of the smallest incorporated cities in the state...
in water too deep to raise. The Engel sank off Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
and is expected to be raised. The Hayden remains afloat and in service in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Background
The Santa Fe Railroad tracks only went as far west as Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. (The Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
had a line on the San Francisco Peninsula
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is in Santa Clara County, including the cities of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Mountain...
from San Jose, but blocked the Santa Fe from access.) The Santa Fe did have some isolated tracks in the city of San Francisco. To connect to them from Oakland the Santa Fe used a fleet of tugs and barges to move freight across the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. This service began in 1900 and continued until 1984.
--- Richmond, built new for the Santa Fe in 1900. Sold to Crowley Tugboat Company in 1926.
--- A.H. Payson, built new for the Santa Fe in 1902. Remained in Santa Fe service its entire life, and was sold for scrap in 1950.
--- E.P. Ripley, built new for the Santa Fe in 1907, also sold for scrap in 1950. Ripley was president of the railroad from 1896-1920.
---W.B. Storey, built in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
, in 1919. Storey was president of the railroad from 1920-1933. Purchased used by the Santa Fe in 1924. It was used for 25 years, then laid up for parts, the remains sold for scrap in 1966.
--- A.G. Wells, built at Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
in 1919, purchased used by the Santa Fe in 1926. Commandeered by the U.S. Government in 1943 and not returned.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the US Army had many tugboats built. As the war concluded the Santa Fe acquired two of the LT (Large Tug) vessels for use in its cross-bay float service and another was built directly for them. All were named after prominent persons in the railroad:
--- Paul P. Hastings
Paul P. Hastings
Paul Pardee Hastings was a prominent executive of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.- Personal life :...
was the VP of Traffic for the railroad at the time of his retirement in 1941. He was the brother of Milo Hastings
Milo Hastings
Milo Milton Hastings was an American inventor, author, and nutritionist. He invented the forced-draft chicken incubator and Weeniwinks, a health-food snack. He wrote about chickens, science fiction, and health, among other things. Some of his writing is available in book form and on Project...
and grandson of Pardee Butler
Pardee Butler
Pardee Butler was a farmer and preacher who arrived in Kansas in 1855 and was involved there in the run-up to the American Civil War...
.
--- Edward J. Engel was the president of the railroad from 1939 to 1944.
--- John R. Hayden was the assistant to Mr. Engel.
Various cargo was carried by the float service. The railcar barges held fourteen 40 feet (12.2 m) railcars. Some of the railcars were chlorine tankers bound for the water treatment plant. Another cargo was Kessler Whiskey
Kessler Whiskey
Kessler Whiskey is an American brand of blended whiskey started by Julius Kessler in 1888. It is known for the slogan, "Smooth as Silk". The brand is currently owned and produced by Beam Inc. Beam claims it is the #2 selling American blended whiskey....
for the Seagram
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
’s facility in South San Francisco. In a famous incident a whiskey tanker was among cars that rolled off the barge in mid-bay during foul weather. Another cargo was box cars of newsprint for the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
Transportation patterns changed with time. Piggy-back truck service increased as direct railcar service declined. The Chronicle at the urging of the railroad switched to piggy-back truck delivery. As use of the cross-bay float service declined the Santa Fe reduced the tug fleet. The Engel was sold in 1969, and the Hayden was sold in 1976. The Hastings continued as the only tug until 1984. On May 4, 1984 a fire at the Richmond ferry slip killed cross-bay float service, and the Hastings was sold.
All three tugs had steel hulls. All entered service powered by a steam engine driving a single screw. In the mid 1960s the Hastings and Hayden were dieselized, but the Engel never was.
Barge Routes
There were many routes across the bay over the years. At the height of freight ferry operations, Santa Fe tugs and barges called at many slips around the bay. A slip at the foot of Alice St. in Oakland served isolated Santa Fe industrial trackage. Across the Oakland estuaryOakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is the body of water separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. On its western end it connects to San Francisco Bay, while its eastern end connects to San Leandro Bay.-Crossings:...
, a slip at the foot of Sherman St. in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, where short line Alameda Belt Line (owned half and half by Western Pacific Railroad
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
and the Santa Fe Railroad) received cars from its parent roads. This slip was abandoned around 1970, and thereafter, Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
delivered Alameda Belt Line cars via their Fruitvale lift bridge in Oakland. Santa Fe tugs also served the State Belt Railroad's slip at Pier 43 in San Francisco, and the Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Northwestern Pacific Railroad
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...
's slip at Tiburon
Tiburon
Tiburon may refer to:Places* Tiburon, California* Tiburón Golf Club Naples, Florida* Tiburón Island, an island in the Gulf of California* Tiburon Peninsula, a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area of California...
in Marin County.
The final route for the cross-bay service went from the ferry slip in Richmond, California
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
on the east side of the bay to China Basin on the west side of the bay. China Basin is on the San Francisco Peninsula just south of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. The 10.4 miles (16.7 km) voyage usually took about an hour and twenty minutes each way.
Paul P. Hastings Tugboat
Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...
by the Marietta Manufacturing Co. as hull number 530 for the US Army. The original name was LT (Large Tug) 814. She had a single screw powered by a three cylinder Skinner Uniflow steam engine
Uniflow steam engine
The uniflow type of steam engine uses steam that flows in one direction only in each half of the cylinder. Thermal efficiency is increased in the compound and multiple expansion types of steam engine by separating expansion into steps in separate cylinders; in the uniflow design, thermal efficiency...
of 1200 hp served by twin Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers. Dimensions were 142 ft (43.3 m) long, 33 ft (10.1 m) in breadth, 16 ft (4.9 m) deep, gross weight 480 GRT, net weight 68 NRT.
On February 11, 1948 she was sold to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co. of San Francisco and renamed A.T.&S.F. No. 8, VIN D256253, Call Sign WD9219. She was later renamed the Paul P. Hastings, in honor of Paul P. Hastings
Paul P. Hastings
Paul Pardee Hastings was a prominent executive of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.- Personal life :...
, the vice-president of traffic for the railroad, who died in 1947.
In 1964 the vessel was dieselized at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
with a 1600 hp General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
567C
EMD 567
The EMD 567 is a line of diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201-A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It has a bore of , a stroke of and a displacement of 567 in³ per cylinder...
EMD F-7 engine.
The Hastings had the longest period of service of the three post-war tugs: 36 years from 1948 until the railroad discontinued service in 1984. By the end she was the sole remnant of the tug fleet.
The Hastings was sold and eventually became owned by Robert Whipple of American Navigation (AmNav), a company still doing business in the Bay area. The Abstract of Title shows Levin Metals Corp., a scrap dealer, as an intermediate owner starting at an unspecified date with Whipple taking title on February 26, 1991. The vessel was renamed Terminator. (The first of the Terminator movies came out in 1984.) One source says the tug sat unused for years. In about 1991 Whipple, who had a reputation for added huge amounts of horsepower to old tugs, added two additional 3600 hp diesel engines. The tug was not inspected by the Coast Guard after the engines were added.
The first job for the upgraded tug was to assist the Dock Express 20
Peace in Africa (ship)
Peace in Africa is a diamond-mining ship owned and operated by De Beers in the western coast of South Africa. Built in 1983 as Dock Express 20 for Dock Express Shipping , the semi-submersible multirole heavy lift vessel was converted to the world's largest cable layer in 1993...
, a multi-purpose vessel of Dutch registry owned by Dock-Express Shipping B.V., in laying a fiber cable off Point Arena, California
Point Arena, California
Point Arena is a small coastal city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Point Arena is located west of Hopland, at an elevation of 118 feet . The population was 449 at the 2010 census, down from 474 at the 2000 census, making it one of the smallest incorporated cities in the state...
. Point Arena is north of San Francisco about 100 miles (160.9 km) and is the closest point on the west coast of the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, hence is the landing point for many trans-Pacific cables.
The Terminator became a victim of a marine casualty: she sank. Details of the sinking are found in the US Coast Guard Marine Casualty investigation MC93011836 and Marine Violation investigation MV92003258.
Late in the day of Monday, January 27, 1992, the vessels were about 20 nautical miles (37 km) off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
just north of Point Arena at N39°9.0', W124°10.5'. The weather was ugly: swell height was 15 feet (4.6 m) and increasing, wind speed was 35 knots (68.6 km/h). Trouble started when a two inch cable parted at the Sampson braid and the Terminator had to approach the Dock Express 20. It was now a little after 6 pm in deepening twilight (sunset was 5:31 pm).
Shortly after completing her approach to 100 – abeam of the Dock Express 20, Terminator lost the use of the center engine. The operator attempted to use the port and starboard engines in a twisting fashion to maneuver the vessel out of danger. Then the starboard engine tripped off-line leaving the Terminator with only one of three engines operating. Attempts to restart the starboard engine failed. The high seas were abeam (perpendicular) to the vessel and pushed her into the protruding sponson (a structure on the side of the ship) of the Dock Express 20, who was restricted in her ability to maneuver as a result of her cable laying operation and because of its size was much less affected by the seas. When the vessels collided the Terminator was coming down off the crest of a swell, while the Dock Express 20 was surging upwards from another wave.
The impact created a hole, estimated at 1 to 2 ft (0.3048 to 0.6096 m) in diameter, in the Terminator’s aft lazarette area (a storage space between decks). The incoming water flooded the shaft alley. The watertight door between the shaft alley and main engine compartment was permanently affixed open. A cutting torch was needed before the door could be secured. This process took 20 minutes and only slowed the water coming into the engine room. Pumps to de-water the vessel operated only intermittently. There was no eductor (a type of water pump). The aft peak tank and bilge were filled with concrete (presumably for stability) and this extra weight could not be shifted to another area of the vessel from where the vessel was taking on water.
With the ship starting to sink the order to abandon ship was given about an hour after the collision. After 15 minutes only the bow was visible and after another 10 minutes the vessel was completely underwater. All crew members entered the life raft and were picked up an hour later by the Craig Foss, a nearby tug which was diverted to assist. The Terminator sank in 800 fathoms (1,463 m) (almost a mile down), and there she remains.
About 35000 gallons (132,489.4 l) of diesel fuel on board spilled creating a light sheen in the vicinity which dissipated in a few days without cleanup. The vessel owner, Whipple, was fined $2100 for the oil spill.
So after having been spared from being scrapped, the Hastings sank.
Edward J. Engel Tugboat
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
Company by Consolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...
as hull number 1320. The business address of the builder was Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
. Their shipyard was in the Port of Long Beach
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...
in Wilmington, California built in 1941, at what is now berth 196 and 197 of the automobile terminal. The builder dissolved in 1952.
The Engel had a single screw and a steel hull of dimensions 141.5×29×12.7 ft (43.1×8.8×3.9 m). She was powered by a three-cylinder Skinner Uniflow steam engine
Uniflow steam engine
The uniflow type of steam engine uses steam that flows in one direction only in each half of the cylinder. Thermal efficiency is increased in the compound and multiple expansion types of steam engine by separating expansion into steps in separate cylinders; in the uniflow design, thermal efficiency...
, 25 x 20, 1200 ihp; Babcock & Wilcox water tube boiler, 3311 sq ft (307.6 m²) heating surface, 236 psi (1.6 MPa) working pressure. She retains this power plant to this day. Her sister tugs were built with steam and later dieselized. VIN number is 248085.
On September 30, 1969 with barge traffic declining as piggy-back truck usage increased, the Santa Fe sold the Engel to John K. Seaborn, a collector of old tugs and ferries. The sale was not recorded until June 25, 1971. On September 18, 1975 the vessel was removed from documentation because the name was changed to Respect without the consent of the Documentation Officer at the vessel’s home port who at that time had no record of the whereabouts of the vessel or owner.
The next entry in the Abstract of Title for the Engel is on February 24, 2006 when Seaborn sold the vessel to Sause Marine Services, Inc. in the person of Gary Sause. Sause intended to dieselize the vessel whose hull was still in good condition. When Sause received an unsolicited bid for the vessel from Jeff Barnell he accepted it. What Barnell intended to do with the vessel is unknown. In any case he soon sold it to Ron Cook of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. The Engel/Respect had now changed hands three times in a little over a year. Cook planned to move the vessel to Seattle and restore it. There had been other attempts to restore and preserve the Engel. The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, near where the tug was built, was contacted but showed no interest. There are several references in Trainorders.COM in the fall of 2006 about saving the Engel.
For many years the Engel had been anchored in the Oakland estuary
Oakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is the body of water separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. On its western end it connects to San Francisco Bay, while its eastern end connects to San Leandro Bay.-Crossings:...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
just north of the Park Street bridge. The tug was vandalized on April 9, 2007 and sank the next day. Apparently the seacock valve and other metal parts were scavenged for their scarp value. As of February 2008 she remains submerged in the estuary. The location is marked with buoys and a flashing light. The Army Corps of Engineers is now responsible for administering the fate of the Engel. She will likely be raised and moved from her current location where she is impeding a navigable waterway.
Whether the Engel will be scrapped or preserved is unknown.
John R. Hayden tugboat
Coos Bay, Oregon
Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...
. She had several other owners and names. She was repowered three times. The VI number (VIN) of the tug is 253495, IMO Number is 8424123.
The Hayden was built in 1945, the final year of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, by Tampa Marine Corp. in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
as hull number 40 and designated LT-830 (LT for Large Tug). Dimensions were 142.2 ft (43.3 m) × 33 ft (10.1 m) × 16 ft (4.9 m), tonnage 581 gt, 35 nt. She had a single screw.
On June 5, 1947, she was sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
who renamed her the John R. Hayden.
When built the vessel was powered by a three-cylinder Skinner Uniflow steam engine
Uniflow steam engine
The uniflow type of steam engine uses steam that flows in one direction only in each half of the cylinder. Thermal efficiency is increased in the compound and multiple expansion types of steam engine by separating expansion into steps in separate cylinders; in the uniflow design, thermal efficiency...
, 24.5 × 20", 1200 ihp, supplied by two Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers, 5460 sq ft (507.3 m²) heating surface, 225 psi (1.6 MPa) working pressure. In 1967 the Santa Fe had her dieselized at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
with a 1600 hp General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
567C EMD F-7 engine. In December, 1975 the Hayden was taken out of service due to persistent stern tube leakage.
On September 16, 1976, with barge traffic in decline, the Santa Fe sold the Hayden to Marine Leasing Corp. Marine Leasing repowered the tug, which required rebuilding the superstructure. On December 22, 1983, Marine Leasing renamed the vessel the Marine Crusader. Her home port was then Seattle, Washington.
The repowering of the Marine Crusader was done by Propulsion Systems Inc. of Kent, Washington. The repowered tug put to sea in December 1983 as one of the most highly computerized and automated tugs in the world. It also represented the most complete installation to date of a ship control and monitoring system. The new engines consisted of four General Motors Detroit Diesel 16-cylinder, 1600 hp 149T1 diesel engines with a pair of twin-shaft input/single-shaft output Lufkin reduction gears with controllable pitch propellers. The control system provided automatic engine load control, multiple engine load sharing, pitch control, machinery monitoring, and steering. The control complex involved two electrically isolated units, port and starboard. Machinery control function was divided between the units, each managing its own propulsion subsystem consisting of two engines, reduction gears with clutches and hydraulics for controllable pitch propeller. There was an automatic pilot function driven by either gyrocompass or magnetic compass as the input heading source. There were four control station in the tug: main bridge, wing stations port and starboard, and an aft control station. All control systems operated off a non-interruptible power system.
As rebuilt, the Marine Crusader had a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m). A new epoxy coating was applied to the hull. She had quarters for an operating crew of eight. She had a gym in the forecastle, a useful accoutrement on long, ocean tow missions. With full tanks the Marine Crusader carried 225,000 gallons of fuel.
On November 26, 1984 Marine Crusader was sold to Alaska Marine Towing Inc. On February 5, 1985 Marine Leasing changed her name to Harris Bay, after a bay in the Kenai peninsula
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
south of Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. Alaska Marine ran into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy. As part of an August 3, 1988 reorganization the new legal owner of the Harris Bay became United Marine Tug and Barge. On August 29, 1988 they changed her name back to Marine Crusader.
Two years later on July 27, 1990 the tug was sold yet again to its current owner Sause Bros. Ocean Towing of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Sause Bros. soon gave the tug her current name, Titan. The financial troubles of Marine Leasing may have resulted in poor engine maintenance in the years before Sause Bros acquired the tug. Or the GM16V149TI engines may have been at the end of their useful life. In any case, the Titan was repowered with two 12-cylinder turbo EMD engines, with 3½ to 1 Lufkin gears and is sailing as that now. Coast Guard contacts over the years of Sause Bros. ownership show the tug mostly in Portland, Oregon with some time in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
.
The former Hayden continues in active service.
External references
United States Coast Guard Port State Information eXchange (PSIX) System Lists many vessels and shows marine incidents.ABS Record Shows specifications and ownership history of some vessels.
United States Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center Provides Archive of Title which shows ownership and name changes.