Bill, thanks for posting this link. I hadn't seen photos of the
Hamilton's machinery before, such a shame that she wasn't saved. South Street Seaport in NY had her for a while but they let her go for use as a restaurant. She was then left to rot in an exposed location in Earle, NJ and sank at her pier in a storm in 1978. I believe it was the same storm that finished off the other then-surviving Day Line steamer, the screw steamer
Peter Stuyvesant, which was serving as a restaurant in Boston. There was talk some years ago of salvaging the engine from the
Hamilton, not sure what became of that. As far as I know the wreck is still there.
The Hudson Valley may soon echo with a steam whistle once again, as there is a project underway to restore the 1902 Detroit River steamer
Columbia and move her to New York. Although she's a propeller steamer, the
Columbia is very similar in design to some of the old Hudson River steamers. She was designed by Frank E. Kirby, who also produced some notable Hudson River sidewheelers including the
Hendrick Hudson and
Washington Irving.
Here's a link to the Columbia Project website:
http://www.sscolumbia.org/home.html
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