Scrap Saturday

I did a post about a scrapping before . .  in early 2007 here.  Warning:  Disturbing images follow.  This post focuses on a tug built in Matton Shipyard,

one of four tugboats that were originally christened John E. Matton, not the one below.

It could get confusing, but vessels were launched as John E. Matton in 1939 (which seems to be this one and still afloat as Atlantic 7 although I’ve not found a photo), in 1945, in 1958, and in 1964.

Below are photos of the 1958 John E. Matton.  The first one is from 2007, when it was known as Thornton Bros.

It changed names–and colors–after 2007, and that’s confusing too,

 

but by 2012 it again was Thornton Bros.

But earlier this year, time had run out, and I got some pics as it awaited the scrapper.

The following photos–taken while I was up on the canal–come compliments of Gerard Thornton, to whom I am grateful.

As I look at these, I’m eager to get into canal related archives to see what photos exist of the area around the Matton yard in the 1940s and 1950s.

 

And might there be photos of steel sheet and rod transported by canal from the Great Lakes steel plants to the Matton yard?

Again, thanks to Gerard Thornton for the last four photos.  All others by Will Van Dorp.

By the way, the John E. Matton (1964) became one of the vessels named Helen J. Turecamo and sank in 1988.  Does anyone know details about that sinking beyond 1988 and that it happened near Norfolk and involved a submarine? I get nothing from googling.