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BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:01 PM Nov 2019

A boat got stranded in the rapids above Niagara Falls in 1918. Last week, it finally broke free.

By Kayla Epstein

November 3, 2019 at 5:25 p.m. EST

For over a century, the iron boat clung to the rocks in the rapids above the Niagara Falls, defying the forces of both time and nature. The vessel, known as the Iron Scow, has been lodged there ever since a fateful accident in 1918, when it broke free of a tugboat and swept downstream toward the falls with two men still on board.

It somehow stayed put just a third of a mile from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, until this Halloween, when a storm bearing intense wind and rain knocked it from its perch. It came to a stop about 164 feet downstream, according to park officials, and appeared to have rotated and flipped on its side.



Last year, the park observed the centennial of the Iron Scow’s stranding and the daring rescue that ensued. The boat had deteriorated throughout the years, but the story of how it got there has lost none of its thrill.

/snip

After a brief moment of freedom on Oct. 31, the scow became stranded in a different part of the rapids. Park officials said they would monitor the vessel for any other changes. “It could be stuck there for days, or it could be stuck there for years,” said Jim Hill, senior manager of heritage for the Niagara Parks Commission. “It’s anyone’s guess.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/11/03/boat-got-stranded-rapids-above-niagara-falls-last-week-it-finally-broke-free/


Me and my sisters and family drove up to Niagara Falls about 5 years ago and stayed a couple days - on the Canadian side. We took a bunch of tours but I had no idea that was there and I don't recall any mention of it. They celebrated the 100th anniversary of its capsize last year and apparently this latest storm to come through was finally too much (am guessing too it was really rusted after all that time so whatever part of the boat was holding it wedged where it was, probably broke off and away it went).

Pic from the OP article when it first capsized in 1918 while on the Niagara River that feeds into the falls -



Since there are all sorts of tour boats that run along both sides of the border at the bottom of the falls, let's hope that thing doesn't suddenly break free and go over the side while the boats are idling around nearby!
14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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John1956PA

(2,654 posts)
1. ON EDIT: The scow has always been visible regardless of the river's water level.
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:21 PM
Nov 2019

Last edited Tue Nov 5, 2019, 10:16 AM - Edit history (2)

In my post as it originally appeared, I mistakenly stated that the scow was not always visible due to fluctuations of the river's water level. In actuality, the scow has always been visible since the time it became moored on the rocks in 1918. Thanks goes to Dennis Donovan for pointing out my mistake.

I wish I had been aware of the history of the scow. I learned of it through the recent news stories about its movement following the Halloween evening storm.

BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
2. Okay but then
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:26 PM
Nov 2019

I would have thought someone would have mentioned that it was there, even if it weren't visible!

There was always a lot of discussion about all the fools in the barrels but not of that!

John1956PA

(2,654 posts)
3. I agree. This historic relic should have been common knowledge all along.
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:29 PM
Nov 2019

I regret that I did not know about it until the recent news stories.

BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
5. Plus every year they show the falls and parts of that river "frozen over"
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:45 PM
Nov 2019

(at least the surface) so it really is amazing that it lasted in one place that long with the yearly freeze/thaw.

Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
8. The scow wreck has always been visible, but there's a second wreck that's not always visible
Mon Nov 4, 2019, 05:37 PM
Nov 2019
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Scow

Subchaser Sunbeam
A similar wreck, involving a wooden vessel, occurred in June 1923. The craft, previously a World War I submarine patrol boat called the Sunbeam, had been returned to its owner, a New Yorker, after the war ended. The owner sold the boat to a new owner, and the boat was taken west on the Erie Canal, to be docked at a port in Lake Erie. The crew made a navigation mistake and found themselves well into the Niagara River, though still several miles upstream from the falls. They retired for the night in a nearby hotel. During the night, the unmanned boat came loose from its moorings.

The current carried the craft to the vicinity of the scow, and it likewise became caught in the shoals. The owners sold the wreck to Red Hill for one dollar, but Hill decided that the salvage cost was too high, particulary because the Parks Commission wanted a cash bond that would cover any damage caused during the process. Hence, the boat remained marooned and by the late 1930s had broken apart. A 2014 report stated that some people claim that some of its metallic parts are still visible at times when a significant quantity of water is being diverted for hydropower production.


John1956PA

(2,654 posts)
9. Thanks for correcting my mistake. The scow had indeed been visible regardless of the river level.
Tue Nov 5, 2019, 10:01 AM
Nov 2019

As an aside, I note that half of the scow has been gone for years. I do not know if the remaining half is the port or starboard side. The following video recorded from a drone shows the scow as it appeared in 2017.



Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
10. The upriver side was eroded by the force of the water
Tue Nov 5, 2019, 10:13 AM
Nov 2019

IIRC, it looked pretty much the same (half-gone) when I first visited Niagara Falls in July, 1974 (I remember the month and year because it was in Niagara Falls that I first heard that Mama Cass Elliot passed away).

BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
11. I was going through my pics and I think I found it in one
Wed Nov 6, 2019, 06:26 AM
Nov 2019

Full pic at Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side (boat circled in red; photo taken with my Samsung S4 back then... file info 1/1250 sec., f/2.2, 4.2mm, ISO 50, phone camera was 13 megapixels) -



Zoom of the above -



This was taken August 27 of 2014 around 1 pm.

Had to hunt through various news articles/videos to see exactly where it was. Most of the pics of it in the reporting, were taken from way around the riverside bend from where we were, so had to find the cluster of rock islands where it appeared to be closest, so I could look through my pics to see if I captured it.

Apparently it has fallen over on its side, swung around 180 degrees, and moved closer to the falls due to the current (according to an article that had a video animation of how its position shifted), so it's now more jammed up against that rock island.

John1956PA

(2,654 posts)
13. Great Picture! Thanks for posting.
Wed Nov 6, 2019, 08:56 AM
Nov 2019

You captured a bit of history. It pays to snap lots of pictures, since a few of them may document a subject which subsequently undergoes an unanticipated change.

BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
14. I have some pics from the Skylon Tower overlooking the falls
Wed Nov 6, 2019, 10:07 AM
Nov 2019

I had setup a NAS last year and moved stuff on that from my laptops (including downloads of the pics, for backup/archive) and was trying to find what folders I put them in. I brought 2 phones to take pics (the Samsung Galaxy S4 and an iPhone 4s), so since I still have the phones, I grabbed one and transferred this one to annotate. The Skylon pics would have been from further away but would have also been more of an overhead view.

Red circle around where I think it is (this was from my iPhone 4s, 1/1600 sec. f/2.4 4.28mm, ISO 64) -



Zoomed view -



Based on that Toronto Power Generating Station video clip, that building is apparently where most of the pics/views of it have been taken vs getting shots of it from across the way on the other side of the falls where the above was taken.

alittlelark

(18,890 posts)
4. I took a pic of it in Late Nov of last year while on the CA side
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:35 PM
Nov 2019

I had no idea of the history, and am gonna try to find it.

BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
6. Cool. I'm just curious where it was in relation to the falls before it relocated itself!
Sun Nov 3, 2019, 07:51 PM
Nov 2019

I know I took a bunch of pics from all sorts of vantage points so for all I know, it may be in one of them and I just didn't know it was there. I even took some pics from the Skylon Tower (including while on the elevator), so if any of the views from that overlooked where the boat had been, that would be a bonus!

BumRushDaShow

(128,905 posts)
7. WaPo had a video clip history and Weather.com had the tweet with that video from Niagara Parks
Mon Nov 4, 2019, 06:32 AM
Nov 2019


TEXT
Niagara Parks @NiagaraParks

The severe weather conditions experienced yesterday have caused the iron scow, which has remained lodged in the powerful upper rapids above the Falls for over a century, to shift significantly from its position.

History of the Iron Scow Rescue: https://bit.ly/2Wy3a0V


Link to the history - https://www.niagaraparks.com/events/event/centenary-of-the-iron-scow-rescue/
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