EMERGENCY APPEAL for New York Central No.16 - 7/26/06

We need significant backers in order for this project to come to fruition. Yesterday I met with a building mover who is capable of moving No 16 to the pier. The cost for this work is in the neighborhood of $100,000. I have commitments for $25,000-30,000 right now, obviously far short of what is needed. If there is someone who can significantly help reach this goal I need to hear from them immediately for there to be any chance of saving New York Central 16.

I believed that if I could approach CVS with a plan, schedule, and financing prior to their 31 July deadline, there might be a chance of gaining a small amount of additional time to get this accomplished. Without financing to get the job done, I cannot ask CVS for any favors and would not expect them to grant any. They have stated that the demolition will start Aug 1. Barring a miracle at this point, it appears that demolition is imminent.

Arthur Fournier just informed me that right now Steve Trueman is on site and has begun his dismantling of the wheelhouse and stack.

Charles Schneider
cbschneider@att.net

Just so you will know what is going on here, at the same time Charles has been trying to negotiate with CVS they have started letting others disassemble and remove parts of the tug.

CVS demolished the tug on Friday, it is presently a pile of scrap metal in the parking lot.

While I empathize with the local impact of the loss of a landmark, I can't say it surprises me that there wasn't a lot of interest from other places in preserving the empty shell of a bottomless hulk of a former tugboat. No doubt there are still some complete tugs - like the one Ted has in Frisco - that would hold a broader appeal for national support.

Recently, we lost several old houses that had been used as commercial space for about 40 years in my old neighborhood. High rise office and condo developments are changing the streetscape and personality of the place - can we as a society impose zoning and preservation ordinances that limit redevelopment to that which recycles the existing fabric with minimal changes, or are we too libertarian to attempt it?

dave

There are two former railroad tugboats in Boston, not far away from the pile of debris that was formerly NYC #16, and both are potential candidates for restoration and display. One is the former New Haven Railroad tug BUMBLE BEE, which was taken out of service by the failure of its original 16-278A Cleveland Diesel main engine. This tug had a tough life and her hull is pretty deteriorated. The other is the former Lehigh Valley Railroad tug CAPMOORE, which is in very good structural condition, but was taken out of service by loss of a lube oil line in the reduction gear which caused the failure of the bearings in the gear. Both of these vessels are afloat which makes towing them to a display location feasible, thus getting around the biggest problem in the attempt to move NYC #16 which was the substantial cost of ground movement to get the remains of the tug onto a barge for transportation.