Sorry this is after the fact but on Monday there was a fascinating episode of Deep Sea Detectives on the History Channel where the investigated the sinking of a Grand Trunk carferry back in 1929. The description of the show is:
Train Wreck in Lake Michigan.
Aired on Monday, March 6, 2006
Railroad car ferries were thought to be some of the safest vessels on the Great Lakes, built to withstand ice and waves year round. But on October 22nd, 1929, the SS Milwaukee sailed into a Force-9 Gale and disappeared. Was it foolishness on the part of the ship's captain, Robert "Heavy Weather" McKay? Or was he ordered to sail by the railroad company? Was there a design flaw with the ship itself? Or was there a conspiracy to cover up unsafe business practices? Our hosts, veteran divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, using cutting-edge technology, fascinating underwater footage, and expert interviews, compare the official post-accident investigation with the wreck itself, and possibly rewrite history. TVPG
They show some footage aboard some existing carferries, then go and dive the wreck. They showed images of two boxcars on the bottom, one loaded with plumbing fixtures, the other with automobiles.
I didn't see the whole show but what I did see was very interesting.
Check the History Channel website to see if it will be rebroadcast.
http://www.historychannel.com/global/li ... twCode=THC
Train Wreck in Lake Michigan.
Aired on Monday, March 6, 2006
Railroad car ferries were thought to be some of the safest vessels on the Great Lakes, built to withstand ice and waves year round. But on October 22nd, 1929, the SS Milwaukee sailed into a Force-9 Gale and disappeared. Was it foolishness on the part of the ship's captain, Robert "Heavy Weather" McKay? Or was he ordered to sail by the railroad company? Was there a design flaw with the ship itself? Or was there a conspiracy to cover up unsafe business practices? Our hosts, veteran divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, using cutting-edge technology, fascinating underwater footage, and expert interviews, compare the official post-accident investigation with the wreck itself, and possibly rewrite history. TVPG
They show some footage aboard some existing carferries, then go and dive the wreck. They showed images of two boxcars on the bottom, one loaded with plumbing fixtures, the other with automobiles.
I didn't see the whole show but what I did see was very interesting.
Check the History Channel website to see if it will be rebroadcast.
http://www.historychannel.com/global/li ... twCode=THC
