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  • Sinking of Lehigh Valley Tug

  • Discussion related to the Lehigh Valley Railroad and predecessors for the period 1846-1976. Originally incorporated as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.
Discussion related to the Lehigh Valley Railroad and predecessors for the period 1846-1976. Originally incorporated as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.

Moderator: scottychaos

 #389133  by PCook
 
This is a short video clip of the sinking of the former Lehigh Valley tugboat HAZLETON, which was retired by McAllister Brothers Towing. I don't know if this link has been posted on the forum before, if this is a duplication of any earlier post I would ask that the moderator remove it:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7HuS6sjB-2Y

PC

 #389148  by GOLDEN-ARM
 
That was disgusting. CarFloater, be brave............... :(

 #389249  by lvrr325
 
No steel in that hull to scrap?

This a recent thing? More details would be nice -

 #389261  by pennsy
 
Interesting point. Why was the decision made to scuttle the vessel ? I imagine that all salvageable materials had been removed before that, and that there was nothing left to salvage, economically. The only other possibility is that she was to be used as an artificial reef for the fish to make their homes in, and make more fish, thusly helping out the fishermen.

 #389327  by PCook
 
The clip was posted on YouTube last summer. The tug was not identified in the clip, perhaps the person posting it did not know the history of the vessel. Yes, it is now part of an artificial reef.

Of the postwar diesel tugs this leaves CAPMOORE, CORNELL and BETHLEHEM still around, although CAPMOORE is disabled.

 #389353  by CAR_FLOATER
 
Hi Preston -

I thought the only two left standing (or is that floating?) were the Cornell in Delaware, and the Capmoore in Boston.

The tug in the video (I posted it earlier this year on my rail-marine Yahoo Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railmarineops/) looks to be one of the Harlem River low pilot house and stack designs, which would make this the Lehigh. I will have to go home and check my RMIG Transfer issues for disposition/location dates, though they are out of date by 2 or 3 years at this point.

I do know that the Hazleton is a reef now regardless, and maybe the angle of the video makes it tough to make out the correct height.

CF

 #389408  by PCook
 
LEHIGH was cut up a number of years ago, the tug in the video is HAZLETON, both her pilothouse and stack were shortened for use in shipdocking service. The portlights in the lower level of the pilothouse that used to be normal viewing height were almost on the deck after the shortening. If BETHLEHEM has been disposed of, it got by me, would appreciate the details if you have them. Last thing I knew she was with Turecamo prior to their being absorbed by Moran. My recollection is that she had been re-engined along the way, that was likely to keep her going as Moran has disposed of all their other Cleveland Diesel tugs.

By the way, I showed the DIESEL RAILROAD TUGS program to the Tugboat Enthusiasts in Portland, Maine last year, but there has been very little interest in that program among railroad enthusiast groups and I get the impression that railroad marine operations are starting to slip away into the distant mists of ancient history.

In the YouTube clip, you can see HAZLETON hits the bottom in about 90 feet of water, the bow stops abruptly for a couple seconds before it disappears beneath the surface. Looks like she probably landed upright. She has company out there, the Erie Railroad's PATERSON was scuttled in a similar manner.

 #389416  by PCook
 
Here is a page that gives a lot more details and the sinking date:

http://www.gotosnapshot.com/veronica-m/ronnies-tug.htm

If you click on the small picture at the bottom of the page it loads the same video clip as is on YouTube, but the quality of the image on this site is quite a bit better.

 #389762  by Lehighrrgreg
 
Just think how much of a draw that big bronze propeller would be stuck upright in cement at the former LV float yards. That doesnt need to be down there.

 #389873  by PCook
 
It would be even nicer to have the CAPMOORE sitting on dry land in a waterfront park in the harbor area. She is still in pretty decent shape although she is immobilized by a machinery failure. There are floating cranes in the port that can lift a tug this size. Gradually the remaining railroad tugs are slipping away, particularly now that Z-drive tugs are favored, the time is running out to save something more than pictures.