wolfmom69 wrote: A ship was taking the 2 older locos,from 1840-50s from the builder,in Mass. I think,to the south, or middle Atlantic states,when the ship ran into trouble off New Jersey coast,and went down(or they may have jettisoned the locos!).I guess that was not uncommon for those times. "Losing" a loco or two on the high seas in a storm was fairly common, and numerous locomotives litter the sea lanes which were used by ships transporting the early engines. Remember, in order to get to San Francisco, a Boston-made locomotive might travel on-board ship down the Atlantic Seaboard, all the way around Argentina and Cape Horn (about 170 miles from Antarctica) and then up the South American and American coast in the Pacific. I agree with wolfmom69 that many probably got written up in the ship's log as "washed overboard by giant wave" for insurance purposes when in reality they got the heave-ho in order to save the ship and it's crew in rough waters. These guys were known to overload cargo and I suppose, who could blame them ! The Great Lakes probably holds the best hope for a recovery worth the trouble due to it's fresh water.
~Paul Joyce~
Moderator: Toy Trains, Model Railroading, Outdoor and Live Steam
Paul Joyce passed away in August, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion at railroad.net.
Moderator: Toy Trains, Model Railroading, Outdoor and Live Steam
Paul Joyce passed away in August, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion at railroad.net.
