The steam warping Alligator tug

[Eddy Matthews]

The Steam Warping Alligator Tug

In the course of the late nineteenth century lumbering in northern  Ontario and Quebec retreated steadily from the major waterways and the once convenient movement of logs became increasingly difficult expensive and awkward. John Ceburn West, an iron foundryman in Simcoe, Ontario, came up with an imaginative solution to this problem by designing an amphibious boat known as a warping tug or Alligator. For more than half a century  "Alligators" steamed across lakes and winched
their way over  portages, moving logs cheaply and efficiently.

John Ceburn West was born in Dundas, Ontario, in l844 of Scottish parents. He moved to Simcoe as a young man and entered the firm of John and George Jackson. On January 8, 1878 he started a foundry business, West and Peachey in partnership with James Peachey. As iron founders and machinists the partners were engaged primarily in the manufacture of sawmill machinery.  The decisive moment in the history of the firm was a conversation between West and Joseph Jackson in
l888. Discussion revolved around the growing problems of the lumbering industry, in which Jackson had an interest.

West set to work on a solution and developed the warping tug, later called  the "Alligator" which he patented in both Canada and the United States in l889. That same year he received his first order and moved into full production with a shop employing forty workmen.              
                                 
The steam warping tug combined both a steam boat and a steam winch. The engine could be used to drive the paddlewheels on either side of the boat, or it could be used to drive a cable drum which held a mile of 5/8" steel wire cable. Under the power of its paddlewheels the tug could travel at a speed of 5 to 6 miles per hour. The winch was used when logs were being hauled or when the tug had to travel over a portage.The boat was sufficiently powerful to move a boom containing 60,000 logs in calm
weather, 30,000 in a head wind. Over the years West and Peachey (the firm became West, Peachey & Sons in l914) made various improvements in the design of the Alligator including an automatic self-winding cable and twin screw engine.
                                 
The Alligator proved a tremendous success. It did its work quickly and cheaply with a great saving of both time and men. As well as moving logs, the Alligator also transported men and supplies into lumber camps. Orders for the tug came in from Ontario, Quebec, the northern United States, and even South America. Although similar vessels were produced elsewhere the design is most commonly associated with West & Peachey of Simcoe. The boats were launched in the River Lynn on the site of Lynnwood Park.        
                                 
Demand for the Alligator gradually decreased with the decline of the lumbering industry following the first World War. Pulp and paper mills were constructed near to the sources of raw materials and the
necessity for transporting timber over long distances was reduced. By the time West & Peachey ceased production in l932 (patents had long since expired) the firm had produced more than 230 "Alligators".

A variation of the Alligator is still used today. Manufactured as winch boats or warping tugs, they are still called "Alligators" by the lumbermen who use them.  
                                 
Source: © Ontario Heritage Foundation