I understand from a friend that the new owners of the former restaurant property at the Bourne Bridge rotary in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, want to proceed with the building of the pharmacy on the site containing New York Central railroad tug #16. Consequently the vessel may be demolished soon, possibly within the next week or two. There has been some discussion between local people and museums concerning the tug, but no plan to save the vessel has materialized and time has just about run out for it. A rare steam tug about to disappear.

Before anybody gets their blood pressure elevated too much though, let me just point out that there have been numerous postings about this vessel on this website and others during the earlier part of this year. The situation has received a great deal of public attention, unfortunately without producing support for saving the vessel.

Nor does the tug have it's interesting and intact steam engine. A nice artifact of an elegant time, but maybe only as a curiosity rather than a true artifact. There are possibly hundreds of intact steam tugs wholley or partially submerged in the shallow waters off Staten Island. There is an original PRR steam lighter and an old Lackawanna Ferry. I too, mourn their loss, but how can you save everything? BTW, maintaining a static ship makes restoring a steam locomotive look like chump change.

The NYC 16's engine is intact and on display next to the tug (or at least it was last time I was down there, about a year ago). The important piece that is missing, however, is the entire bottom of the tug. She was cut off at the waterline and the bottom scrapped when she was moved to the display location. This limits any future preservation options to a shoreside display, and also complicates moving her any great distance. Presumably she would need to be moved in sections by truck, or moved onto a barge in order to be re-located any great distance. Not impossible, but pretty unlikely given the timeframe. Coming on the heels of the Nobska scrapping, this is definitely not a good year to be a steamboat in Massachusetts.

Unfortunately there are very few "intact" vessels of any kind left at Witte's yard on Staten Island. Those you listed and more (including Nobska's sister New Bedford) are still there, but are in advanced stages of decay at this point. Certainly nothing that is left there could be considered preservable now.

I can add to my earlier posting that a newspaper article in the area said that various items from the tug have been given to the local historical society by the former owner of the restaurant property.

The tug is a couple hundred feet from the canal, and a mile or so from the railroad, so when it gets cut up the pieces will have to leave by truck. Makes you wonder how much more it might cost to do the cutting job neatly so it could be reassembled elsewhere? One way or another the services of welders, a crane, and trucks are going to be required, whether it is to scrap it or take it someplace else.

mixdata,

Sorry, but that tug is already gone. what you saw is a movie prop. The is no hull below the waterline, There is no engine in the hull. There is no interior in the deck house or pilot house.

It has been in years past a good place to hang christmas tree lights.

But it is not preservation in any way shape or form!

another example of this form of "ship saving" is another relic of the Dorothy an 1890s steam tug that was Hull #1 of the Newport News Shipbuilding &
dry Dock Company. She is near the main entrance of the yard.

Ted Miles

Probably not even a good place for Christmas lights anymore, Ted. I went over to look at it this morning and the pilothouse and deckhouse shells have taken a lot of weather deterioration over the last few years as the restaurant has been closed. The hull was apparently painted a couple years ago, the paint still looks pretty good.

With it being a "movie prop", I wonder if that noted Hollywood singer and actress who did a famous scene on a tugboat would show up to do a benefit appearance to help save it? Probably not any more likely than the local (very rich) politicians chipping in to help.

Unfortunately railroad tugs have been a largely ignored topic for decades with many railroad and marine historical societies. They are viewed as being too "railroad" (or "work boats", which are looked at as being even worse....) by some marine historians, and too "marine" by many railroad enthusiasts.

I am a member of the tugboats group on Yahoo; at least two different individuals stepped forward last week offering to save it. One was trying to contact CVS; I don't know if the other individual had the contact info or not.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

Also, some of the items, including the tug's engine, were for sale on e-bay. The engine is/was listed as item #4645964220.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

Given a choice between saving a New York Central Railroad tug that is stuffed and mounted and not saving any New York Central Railroad tugs at all, the NYC 16 becomes somewhat more desirable as a display item.

If I recall the USN regs correctly, the museum and memorial warships that are turned over to civilian organizations directly by the USN are generally stuffed and mounted too. I believe it is required that warships be rendered inoperable, which is usually done through the removal of propellers and/or critical drive line components, or welding propulsion machinery. So in a sense they are "props" or "replicas" too.

I don't think this applies if the vessel went through Marad or was donated by another source.

let me put in a word here.

A museum ship that is displayed but not operated is as common as anything. Tug boats are the second most popular type of museum ship in the US after submarines.

we are not talking here about that.

I too have an interest in Railroad Navy and at one time volunteered a lot of hours aboard NYC 29.

The tug#16 is missing its lower hull from the water line down and as pointed out the fest is pretty well gone. Maybe the engine can be saved.

At least one tug has some good news to report. The wooden W.O. Decker owned by the South Street Seaport Museum has been rebuilt and will soon be headed back to New York city from the shipyard in Albany.

Ted Miles

Hey fellow mariners ---

I'm not sure on USN vessels, but I know that's it not the case for US Coast Guard vessels that come through GSA. Neither our 180-foot Buoy tender Bramble or Duluth's Sundew had to be rendered inoperable; in fact, for the time being, ours still is, and goes out about five times a year.



On the other hand, our Lightship has been grounded since 1972, making it basically inoperable. However, all her systems ARE operable, and have been restored so, just in case it ever happens. By the way, has no one ever heard of ANODE systems out there? We've had one for years that is regularly checked, and our hull is about as good as one can expect for being grounded.



TJ Gaffney

I think the distinction here is that the regs are talking about a warship; not an unarmed vessel. The idea, of course, is that we wouldn't want an individual or country to buy a decommisioned warship, reactivate it, and use it against us.

It is my understanding from the guides on the Battleship Texas that not only were the guns rendered unfireable, but wires were cut all over the ship. That has actually made wiring the ship for lights and A/C more difficult because you can't use any of the existing wiring; it is even possible to accidently bleed power to runs of old wiring if you are not carefull.

There were probably other steps taken as well; but the whole idea was to keep the Texas from ever being used as a Battleship again. The same wouldn't be true for an unarmed Coast Guard or Merchant Marine vessel.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

The following was posted the tugboats group on Yahoo today:

Posted by: "jsikorsk@wiley.com" jsikorsk@wiley.com
Mon Jun 19, 2006 6:52 pm (PST)


Dear Friends of Tugboat #16

Despite interest from Mystic Seaport and several other places, CVS will
demolish the tugboat in 3 days time.

Please do what you can now to save this boat.

As you recall, NY #16 is a landmark in Bourne MA and one of the last
remaining "Railroad Tugs" to ply the Hudson River. It was rescued from
destruction 20 years ago by two Bourne men, who preserved it on their
property.

CVS is building a store on the property and has said that local groups can
"pick over" the tugboat - they have an approval for demolition from the
Town of Bourne. They say their new store will have "full colonial
enhancement" - and feel no need to preserve the historic tugboat.

CVS says: "Based on a tight construction schedule, demolition
> of the tugboat is slated to occur on or about June 21, 2006. Therefore,
> unless you are able to remove the tugboat (or what is left after the
local
> interest groups remove selected pieces/components), by June 21, 2006,
then
> given a tight construction schedule, we are unable to accommodate your
> request.
>
> Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions or comments.
> Sincerely,
> -Liza Cox
> Eliza Cox
> Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP
> 1513 Iyannough Road
> Hyannis, MA 02601
> (P): 508-790-5431
> (F): 508-771-8079

The vultures are gathering - the demolition contractor has already put the
engine up for bidding on e bay.
see eBay item: Steam Engine of the New York Central #16 TUGBOAT
(#4645964220)

Call to volunteer your services:
Charles B. Schneider PG
T 617.542.4244
C 617.817.0230

Joy Sikorski
for the Hoboken Historical Museum
at work: 210 748 6737

Is that really a single cylinder engine? With all the trouble I've had with having single cylinder engines being stuck "centered", I wouldn't think this arrangement would be at all suitable for a tugboat...what am I missing?

Here is a really good color photo in better times, on display.

http://www.tugboat-pic.com/nyctug.html