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Page 152 MORE THAN A MERE BARGE by PAULG. WIENING Barge! The word usually evokes thoughts of colorless, shapeless, lifeless vessels found at the end of a tow rope, or tied to a dock in an unpainted state of existence. This is not necessarily always the case, since there have occasionally been some special barges that were put to use in unique applications. Best of the Great Lakes barges were those that were fashioned from former steamers or ore boats. Many of these specialized applications resulted from the visions of one vessel operator. Old, outmoded vessels were the forte of vessel entrepreneur Capt. John Roen of Sturgeon Bay. During the 1930's, Roen began acquiring over a dozen old passenger boats, carferries and ore boats which were no longer useful in their original careers and purpose. Many of these old hulls were ultimately cut down by Roen into rather inglorious-looking pulpwood barges. These were found throughout the lakes hauling large loads of lumber, and were quite often also in the stone trade. The most utilitarian of this type of barge were the pulpwood carriers that he fashioned from three former Great Lakes carferries. In addition to these, the Roen fleet also boasted a variety of tugs, scows, and other work craft. Along the way, Roen also acquired severed worn out ore boats, among them the Wolverine, Princeton, Wychem 105 (which was the former Samuel F.B. Morse) and another silver stacker, the Robert W.E. Bunsen. Although the vessels had outlived their usefulness in the iron ore trades, Roen used them for a variety of unusual chores. The Wychem (Morse) and Wolverine were put to use as either dock facings or breakwall, with the Princeton using her original boilers as a steam-generating station in Ludington, Michigan. Not exactly a glorious way for a once proud vessel to end her days! Roen, however, had a better future in mind for the Bunsen. It involved another unusual ship design application by a true innovator of Great Lakes vessel cargo handling The Robert W.E. Bunsen was built for the Bessemer Steamship Company in 1900 at the Chicago Shipbuilding Company yards. At 461 feet, the Bunsen was big and powerful for her day, being equipped with a 1750 hp quadruple expansion steam engine that had The BUNSEN sailed for Pittsburgh Steamship Co. from 1902 to 1953. Dossin Museum Coll. been designed to enable her to tow large cargo barges which were popular at the turn of the century. She went into the Pittsburgh Steamship Company fleet in 1902 when the formation of the U.S. Steel Corporation resulted in the combining of several fleets. At the end of the 1953 season, the Bunsen's 7400 ton carrying capacity negated her future use as an ore carrier and she was sold to Roen on December 7, 1953. Roen quickly went to work on the Bunsen to turn her into a very useful utility vessel, which would be put to work primarily handling pig iron and finished steel products, as well as other bulk commodities. Towed from Toledo, Ohio behind the big tug John Roen V on December 12th, she arrived at Sturgeon Bay on December 15th. At Roen's Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, she underwent very extensive modifications required to convert her into a barge. The Scotch boilers and quad engine were removed as was the coal bunker. In their place a 400 kw diesel generator was installed, along with a small oil-fired boiler which would furnish steam