Talk:SS William C. Moreland: Difference between revisions

SS William C. Moreland is currently a Transport good article nominee. Nominated by ✠Saltymagnolia✠ at 09:54, 18 July 2025 (UTC) An editor has placed this article on hold to allow improvements to be made to satisfy the good article criteria. Recommendations have been left on the review page, and editors have seven days to address these issues. Improvements made in this period will influence the reviewer’s decision whether or not to list the article as a good article. Short description: Great Lakes freighter wrecked on Lake Superior

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Section size for SS William C. Moreland (12 sections) Section name Byte count Prose size (words) Header Total Header Total (Top) 4,634 4,634 344 344 History 12 16,428 0 1,671 Background 4,537 4,537 486 486 Design and construction 5,098 5,098 456 456 Service history and final voyage 6,781 6,781 729 729 Wreck 10 27,213 0 2,641 Salvage 14,999 14,999 1,499 1,499 Aftermath 12,204 12,204 1,142 1,142 Notes 46 46 0 0 References 33 33 0 0 Sources 13,919 13,919 0 0 External links 1,086 1,086 0 0 Total 63,359 63,359 4,656 4,656

This review is transcluded from Talk:SS William C. Moreland/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Saltymagnolia (talk · contribs) 09:54, 18 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reviewer: Coldupnorth (talk · contribs) 08:19, 20 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @User:Saltymagnolia I’ll be undertaking the GA review of this article. Thanks Coldupnorth (talk) 08:19, 20 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Lead

• “was an American” elsewhere the article uses “United States”, would suggest amending to “United States” for consistency. However, the Wikipedia:Manual of Style allows both from what I can see.

• I’m not going to alter this if there is no guideline discouraging it.

I have no preference either way but I would add that “American” is not Flag state but United States is. A lot of articles have the country of registration but again the MOS doesn’t seem to provide clarity so ok to keep.

• “At the time of her launching on 27 July 1910, she was among the largest vessels on the Great Lakes, becoming the largest to be destroyed there upon her grounding on a dangerous reef on Lake Superior’s Keweenaw Peninsula a few months later.” This would read better as two sentences.
• “they broadened their interest” which company? The subsidiary or the main company?
• “visibility obscured” main body says “partially obscured”. Was this the cause of the grounding, ie, did this cause an error of navigation/miscalculation of the ship’s position? The reef is below the waterline so did the lack of good visibility cause them to misjudge their position? I think the summary here needs to be improved for the reader please.
• “fruitless”? I think a sentence in the lead summarising efforts and then saying they were unsuccessful is needed.
• wikilink “Bow” and “stern”

• Everything else here is done.

History

• I’m not sure we would need to include the link in brackets. With the exception of a handful of schooner-rigged barges, no metal-hulled sailing vessels ever served on the Great Lakes.

• “By the mid–1840s, Canadian companies had begun to import iron vessels prefabricated in the United Kingdom” Reference needed: If ‘Bugbee (1962a), p. 24.’ please add in.
• “grew exponentially”, exponentially has a specific meaning, perhaps ‘significantly’ instead?
• “As the railways were unable to keep up with the rapid production of iron ore, most of it was transported by bulk freighters.” Reference needed please.
• unlink upbound and downbound, as already linked in lead
• boat is used a few times but vessel was used in lead. Both are acceptable but as of course is ship, whatever is used should be consistent though.
• “Designed with an arched frame system designed to create an unobstructed cargo hold while offering the strength provided by the stanchions of earlier lake freighters, William C. Moreland was built with 35 cargo hatches spaced 12 feet (3.7 m) apart, to optimally accommodate loading at the cargo docks” should be split into two sentences.
• “William C. Moreland departed Superior, on what was to be her fifth round trip at 3:55 (EST) on the morning of 18 October 1910, under the command of Ennes” Reference needed please. Would also keep consistent with other 24 hour timings and change to “03:55 (EST) on 18 October 1910”
• “mate” assume this is chief mate or another mate? Link as appropriate Chief mate at first instance please.

• None of the references clarify if the chief mate was on deck. We could change it to “one of the mates” instead, if that works.

Yes

• “Owing to her speed and extreme inertia resulting from the immense mass of her cargo, William C. Moreland struck and practically bounced over the first ridges of the reef, coming to a halt over the second ridges. Her bow and the after end of her mid section came to rest on the reef, with her bow in 16 feet (4.9 m) of water, her stern in 19 feet (5.8 m), while her mid section (around the 22nd cargo hatch) lay 30 feet (9.1 m) above the lake bottom. Her crew attempted to back her off the reef, to no avail. Both of her first compartments on both port and starboard sides, as well as her forepeak filled with water as a result of damage sustained” Is this all under reference 35?

• Yes. These sentences were assembled from the info in the three sources listed there.

• “the gale had abated somewhat” this is quite imprecise, either say the Beaufort scale. Another way of looking at it, is when is a gale no longer a gale? If it is still a gale, say “the wind had reduced” or something to that effect instead?

Wreck

• “The weather rendered them unable to reach the wreck until 25 October, when efforts to remove her cargo recommenced, and the holes in her hull were patched as well as possible.” Reference please
• A link to Marine salvage would go well in this section
• “Owing to the condition of the wreck and the lack of success endured by the salvors, Becker abandoned her to the underwriters as a total loss on 2 November, by which time approximately 7,000 long tons (7,112 t) of her cargo had been discarded into Lake Superior”. Reference please.
• “However, her rudder had failed” Reference please.
• “On 26 September, joined by the tug S.M. Fischer, the tow began its three-day journey to Detroit. The stern was eventually placed in dry dock at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, on 29 September, where the bulkhead was strengthened, for around $1,700” References please.
• “Due to shipyards on the lakes engaging in the construction vessels for the war effort, labour shortages, as well as the scarcity and exorbitant price of materials, finding a firm to build and attach a new forward section to the stern proved challenging” Reference please.

Overall an interesting and well referenced article, it just needs a few changes to bring it to GA. Some of the references probably just need duplicating to cover some unreferenced sentences. Coldupnorth (talk) 09:49, 20 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Coldupnorth: I think I’ve covered everything. ✦ Saltymagnolia ✦ 13:20, 20 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@User:Saltymagnolia looks good now. Coldupnorth (talk) 14:14, 20 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]