Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Scanner, v. 31, no. 5 (February 1999), p. 8

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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 8. OMEGA continued to serve the Brown interests until 1917 when, with the addi­ tion of much newer tonnage to the Brown-managed fleets, OMEGA was no longer required. She was purchased during 1917 by the Montreal Transportation Com­ pany Ltd., Montreal, which brought her into Canadian registry, enrolling her at Montreal under Canadian official number 138235. The 1918 Canadian govern­ ment register showed her dimensions as 291. 2 x 41.0x 18. 4, and her tonnage as 2111 Gross and 1217 Net. The 1922 American Bureau of Shipping (Great Lakes Department) register showed her as 306'0" x 40'0" x 21'5", 2082 Gross and 1217 Net. It also confirmed that she had two cargo holds and that her hatches were spaced on 24-foot centres. The 1924-1925 Lloyd's Register listed her as 291. 2 x 41. 0 x 18. 7, 2082 Gross and 1217 Net. Montreal Transportation renamed the steamer (c) GLENMOUNT (II). The company had given a number of its steamers names ending with the suffix "mount", and the GLENMOUNT name recalled an earlier vessel of the same name, a steel ca­ naller (C. 122408) built in Scotland in 1907, which was chartered out for wartime service on salt water in 1915, and was sold off-lakes in 1917. It would appear that GLENMOUNT was acquired as partial replacement for a number of vessels which left the Montreal Transportation fleet during the war years. It is interesting that GLENMOUNT (II) was strictly an upper laker because of her size, which prohibited her transit through the locks of the Third Welland Canal or any of the old St. Lawrence canals. In fact, although Montreal Transportation owned a great many canal-sized boats during its long history, GLENMOUNT (II) was one of only seven upper lakers ever owned by the company; the others were GEORGE A. GRAHAM, PAIPOONGE, VALCARTIER, WESTMOUNT (II), the whaleback ATIKOKAN and the barge THUNDER BAY (I). GLENMOUNT was soon painted up in the usual colours of the Montreal Transpor­ tation Company, although there wasn't much "colour" displayed by the fleet's ships. GLENMOUNT's hull and forecastle were black, and her cabins white. The stack was black with the letters 'M. T. C o . ' in white. The lifeboats remained black as did the mainmast. The foremast was painted buff. The M. T. Co. had a small sunvisor fitted over the centre window of GLENMOUNT's pilothouse, and this little touch rather improved her appearance. What definitely did not do anything for her appearance, however, was an ad­ dition to the top of her smokestack which had been fitted whilst she was running as OMEGA for the Browns, and which the M. T. Co. retained. Probably meant to reduce the fallout of soot on the boat deck, this addition was very odd in that its circumference increased from bottom to top, thus giving it a flared look that was not particularly becoming. Even worse, the lip around the top on the original stack was not removed when the new section was ad­ ded. The overall effect was of something one might find in a factory ashore but not on a lake steamer. Another change that detracted from GLENMOUNT's appearance was the cutting down of her foremast to little more than a stump. This was probably done to avoid damage from contact with grain elevator loading spouts and unloading legs. The Montreal Transportation Company was a venerable and highly-respected firm which traced its history back to its formation in 1867 by Hugh McLen­ nan, of Montreal. The company grew to become Canada's largest lake and river shipping concern, not only being heavily engaged in the forwarding business from Kingston to St. Lawrence River ports, but also carrying much of the grain that moved down the lakes from Fort William and Port Arthur. The M. T. Co. owned and operated an elevator at Kingston, where trans-shipment of grain to river barges was handled in the years before the improvements to the old St. Lawrence canal system were completed around 1900. The M. T. Co. took over several other shipping firms, among them being the St. Lawrence and Chicago Forwarding Company, acquired in the 1880s, the Kingston and Montreal Forwarding Company taken over in 1906-1907, and the Calvin Company Limited, of Kingston, which was acquired in 1914. Prior to 1914, however, the Calvin family, of Garden Island, had held an interest in Mont­

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