| Rail cars, machinery, appliances and even a ship wait the torch at the Azcon Corporation scarp yard in Duluth. The John B. Ford was a great Lakes freighter launched on December 12, 1903 as the Edwin F. Holmes. She was 440 feet long, a beam of 50 feet with a depth of 28 feet. She had an 8,000 ton capacity. The ship had a name change in 1916 when it became the E.C. Collins until 1958. In that year Huron Cement converted her from an ore hauler to a self unloading cement hauler christened John B. Ford. She served in this capacity until her last day under power on November 15, 1985. She then served as a floating cement silo in South Chicago until 2001. At this time, she was taken back to Superior to serve in the same capacity until being replaced by her larger fleet mate J.A.W. Inglehart. Attempts to raise money to preserve her fell short, despite her historical significance, and she was tugged to the Azcon Corporation dock for scrap on October 9, 2015. |