Over the past few years, it has been evident that the Algoma Central Railway was systematically weeding out its older vessels and replacing them with modern self-unloading motorships. The last of the old steamers was MICHIPICOTEN, owned by the subsidiary Providence Shipping Ltd. This was a Nassau, Bahamas, company formed when the MICHIPICOTEN was purchased in 1964 from the United States Steel Corporation for whom she had been built at West Bay City, Michigan, in 1905 as HENRY C. FRICK, a name she carried until her sale.

MICHIPICOTEN was to have been retired in 1971 but she was held in the A.C.R. fleet through 1972 to run on the Toledo to Sault Ste. Marie coal route until delivery of the newest self-unloader ALGOWAY . Since this was accomplished in September, MICHIPICOTEN has been used in other trades, but just as we were going to press with this issue of the "SCANNER", we learned that MICHIPICOTEN was due to pass down the Welland Canal on October 27th on her last voyage. Her cargo was salt bound for a lower "St. Lawrence River port (probably Quebec City) and after discharging the salt she was scheduled to sail light to Sorel where she is to be laid up prior to being towed across the Atlantic for scrapping.

And so passes another of the rapidly disappearing conventional steamers from the Canadian lake fleet. We could hope that some other operator might purchase MICHIPICOTEN for further service, but prospects are not good. After all, who would want a sixty-seven year old coal-fired steamer these days? Now, a few years ago ....

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