SS Meteor's engines turn again
Sep. 19—SUPERIOR — The world's only above-water whaleback ship has a working engine again.
For the first time in about 15 years, the SS Meteor's triple-expansion steam engine is moving again.
Gears spin, valves and rods move, and pistons rise and fall with the help of compressed air rather than steam.
"It was easier than you would think," said Mark Booth, a volunteer who spent 33 years as a ship's engineer before bringing his talents aboard the world's only remaining intact whaleback ship.
Working with Dara Fillmore of the Superior Public Museums and Marty Karpa, a 10-year volunteer at the Meteor and talented machinist according to Booth, the three got the engine working again.
Ship enthusiasts will have the opportunity to see it move firsthand Sept. 28 during the Revitalize the Meteor fundraiser.
Fillmore, who handles special projects for the museums, said the two main gears had been destroyed from being turned over for so long.
She said that shortly before she started 10 years ago, the museum board received a grant to recreate the gears and get it connected again. However, the engine sat because they needed a new motor idea and a new plan on how to run it, she said.
Firing up the boilers to create steam would be too dangerous, Booth said.
Fillmore said it was up to her to figure out how to keep the engine in as good a condition as possible and still share it with people.
"In 2019, the museum sent me out to Baltimore," Fillmore said. "There's a liberty ship out there called the John W. Brown, and it still has a working triple-expansion from the World War II era."
She said they offered a school where she learned how to do oiler's watches and run equipment on the ship. After getting manuals, making connections, and getting a better understanding of how a ship's engine worked, she was able to create plans and develop oiling patterns to make sure the SS Meteor's engine remains well-lubricated and working correctly.
"There are some parts I did make for the engine," said Karpa, whose knowledge and skills are in machining steel and all kinds of metal and creating solutions where others might see a problem.
Booth said the crew that laid up the ship in 1970 deserves credit for the engine working now. He said the covers were removed and everything was taken apart and was well lubricated, as if they believed they would be coming back to the ship during the next season.
The SS Meteor last served as a petroleum tanker before it was turned into a museum. Originally christened as the Frank Rockefeller, it served as an ore carrier, before being converted to haul dredge material and cars as the South Park. It was the 36th of 44 ships built by the American Steel Barge Co. based on Capt. Alexander McDougall's wale-like design.
"Whoever laid up the ship did a really fine job, because I'm able to get stuff moving with help, minimal help truthfully," Booth said.
The engine continued to be operational after the ship made its final trip back to Superior and was sometimes fired up for tours. But it stopped working about 15 years ago, according to those involved in the restoration.
When he came, Booth said the new gears and everything were hooked up, but part of the system still wasn't working right.
"I was working on it one day and it dropped in place, and I was like 'Oh, my God, it moved,'" Booth said. He said he hit a button, and it jammed.
So Karpa, who also sailed the ore carriers in the same class as the William A. Irvin as a young man, climbed up to install a drop chain to grab the piston, so Booth could move it back and forth until it broke loose.
"I educated myself on the mechanics of this type of engine well enough to pass the 'Triple Expansion Steam Engine 101' information on to the public," said Karpa, who moved from maintaining the ship to serving as a tour guide. "Everything else learned has been through Mark firsthand, Dara firsthand, plus through shared reading material and videos and, of course, Google when questions arise."
Fillmore said businesses like Fraser Shipyards and Amsoil have helped in the effort, making the project possible.
During the Revitalize the Meteor event, Fillmore said ship-goers will get a full "nooks and crannies" tour of the ship and see videos that include some from the 1950s or 1960s shot by someone aboard the Meteor.
"I hope people are excited to come out and see some of the work that has been done," Fillmore said. "It's been a long time coming, and we're as excited to show it to you as hopefully you are to see it."
What: Revitalize the Meteor
When: 5-8 p.m. Sept. 28
Where: SS Meteor on Barker's Island
Cost: $20
Tickets:
