Alpena - Blowing Off Some Steam in Duluth

This video shows the arrival of the Alpena in Duluth/Superior in the late morning hours of August 10, 2020. As always, when she visits she brings a load of dry cement to be discharged at the Lafarge Facility in Superior, Wisconsin. The Alpena is the oldest operating laker, having been built in 1942 under the name Leon Fraser. She was shortened to 519 feet and converted to haul cement in 1990. She was acquired by Inland Lakes Management in 1991, obtaining her current name at that time. The Alpena is a favorite of many boat watchers, being one of the few remaining steamers on the lakes. Her steam-driven horn provides us with a sound from the past. (Note the steam escaping the horns on the front of the smokestack when she salutes.)

The Alpena usually visits Duluth-Superior once a month during typical years, but 2020 has had fewer visits. I believe this was only her third visit this year. As such, I made the 6-hour round trip drive to capture this visit on video... as I feared I may not get another chance this year. After the Alpena passed through the shipping canal, I relocated my camera further down Park Point to watch her move over to the Superior side. I had never filmed from this vantage point before, so hopefully the different angle is of interest to regular viewers. Here are a few things we see along the way:

4:15 The Alpena passes by the CRH cement facility on the Duluth side. While the Alpena hauls cement, she never unloads here (that I'm aware of).

4:25 The John A. Blatnik bridge is in the background. This is one of two highway bridges that connects Duluth to Superior. (The other is the Richard I. Bong bridge.) You will often see the Blatnik bridge in my other videos, but from a different vantage point. The smaller bridge next to the Blatnik bridge is what remains of the old Interstate Bridge which opened in 1897. The remains of this old swing-style bridge are now a public pier for fishing and boat watching. (I often shoot footage from this bridge.)

5:32 The Alpena approaches Gavilon Grain, one of several grain facilities in the Twin Ports. In the background you can see part of the Lee A. Tregurtha, the second-oldest laker... which was also built in 1942. The Lee A. Tregurtha is in temporary layup at Fraser Shipyards, waiting for the economy to improve before she goes back into service.

5:55 On the right are the towers for Gavilon Grain, while in the background are the towers for CHS (Cenex Harvest States). If you saw my relatively recent video of the saltwater ship Barnacle, this is where she loaded.

6:22 Here we see the destination for the Alpena, the Lafarge facility. The Lafarge facility consists of the concrete tower and the storage vessel J.A.W. Iglehart. Immediately behind is the Graymont facility, with the large piles of limestone. This is where the vessel Ashtabula was seen unloading in a recent video on this channel.

The 501-foot J.A.W. Iglehart was built as the deep sea tanker Pan-Amoco and was launched in 1936. She was converted to a self-unloading cement carrier in 1965, a role which she served until for 41 years. In late 2006, she was parked at the Lafarge dock and took on a new role as a stationary storage barge. The Alpena docks alongside the Iglehart and discharges her cargo into the Iglehart's hold. The dry cement is then transferred to the shoreside towers when needed.

Hopefully you enjoyed this view from a different vantage point. I apologize for any shakiness of the footage. I was pushing my 300mm zoom lens to maximum for some of these shots, which is a challenge on a windy day even with a decent tripod. I had to pick bits of footage that were usable between the gusts of wind.

If you've read this far, you deserve a gold star. Thanks for watching (and reading)!

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