The tugs and their two consorts are currently tied up to the wall at lock e 20. They will resume their west bound trip to Rochester ny at 6 am tomorrow with at a speed of 5 mph.
Erie Boulevard in Syracuse is one of the original routes of the canal. I've seen in Syracuse a photo of these two ornate buildings on either side of the canal, right downtown. The buildings are still there (not sure if they're municipal or what) but the canal is now the road.
[quote user="erikem"]
Kind of a way O.T. question: Does anybody do houseboating on the canals?
Pleasure crafts probably make up 99 percent of the lockings on the Canal system Canal houseboat are available through out the system. I know boats are available in both Albany an the Syracuse area. Cabin cruiser can be rented in ft Edward ny.
Their are marinas through out the system. Many of the small towns have town docks. Nys it self permits tieing up at many of the lock walls. Their are cruise guide book thst provide a wealth of information about the system.
Visit their nys web sites for closer look.
The State of New York Canal Corporation's web site contains a great deal of informaton.
http://www.canals.ny.gov/index.shtml
It appears most traffic on the New York's canal system is recreational. A study was done in 2010 concerning shipping containers on the canals.
https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/2010_May_%20NYCanal_Modern_Freightway_Final.pdf
erikem Kind of a way O.T. question: Does anybody do houseboating on the canals?
There is a fair amount of pleasure craft on the canal - while I can't say for certain, I'd have to believe houseboating is a good possibility.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
[quote user="tree68"]
Firelock76 Good link RME, thanks for posting it! I never heard that one. Always good to hear vintage "Weavers" at any rate.
Good link RME, thanks for posting it! I never heard that one.
Always good to hear vintage "Weavers" at any rate.
I've been across (but never on) the Barge Canal many times - and there are still portions of the original Erie Canal to be seen.
There's a couple of good jokes in that song that some might miss...
I often pass along the route of an Erie Canal feeder - the Black River Canal. The image in the link is from a park between the north and southbound lanes of NYS 12. It is a combine of 4 locks. There is a combine of 5 locks south of Boonville. Pretty impressive stuff.
The canal itself rose around 700 feet from Rome to Boonville (24 miles). The elevation change between Boonville and Lyon's Falls (10 miles) was 300 feet - which explains the over 100 locks.
The Utica and Black River Railroad (later Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg, then NYC) ran within a stones throw of the canal in some areas north of Boonville.
[/quote,]to your point very little of the original canal remains. The canal was " modernized" and relocated twice. In its current form the canal was relocated to the Mohawk river west of lock 6 ( the western end of the " flight" locks 2 - 6. The Waterford flight is known for having the highest lift ( 150 feet ) in the shortest distance ( a couple of miles ) in the world.
In the crescent ny area you can see the remains of the original canal along what is now known as tow path Rd.
The canal follows the Mohawk river ( and closely parallels the old NYC ) to little falls NY. Lock 17 the lock not only has the highest lift in the system, but in the world, at around 25 feet. Once your kicked out Lock 17, your on the original canal which has been enlarged and deepened to its current size.
On your journey west, your on various portions of the enlarged canal, Oneida lake and other rivers,i including the Oneida, the Towanda Creek and even the niagara river enroute to Buffalo.
And this is only the original canal. It doesn't included the Oswego canal, which turns north at the three river junction, west of Syracuse and flows north to the port of Oswego in Oswego NY.
Just below lock two in Waterford ny, the Champlain canal follows the head waters of the Hudson River to fort Edward's ny. In this portion of the canal you can catch a glimpse of Amtrak's Adirondack on its daily trek to Montreal.
The casyuga- Seneca canal runs south to Seneca lake and Cayuga lake.
The history of new York is intertwined with both the early railroads and the Erie canal system that moved passengers and freight, north,south, east and west Thur the state. The history in the area is rich indeed.
RME(Is there a smiley or emoji for 'groaner'?)
I don't think so, but there should be....
ROBERT WILLISONI'm sticking with genesee cream ale.
You know, he has a point: Sal would drink "jenny" cream...
(Is there a smiley or emoji for 'groaner'?)
Firelock76 ROBERT WILLISON I know this is off topic, but we have discussed this a little before. Here an update on a large commercial shipment of beer making equipment on the former Erie canal. Two tugs, two barges transiting the nys barge canal from Waterford NY ( Albany, NY ) to Rochester NY. Good to see the big ditch still competing for commercial traffic in the 21 century. "I've got a mule and her name is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal..." I wonder what brand Sal liked?
ROBERT WILLISON I know this is off topic, but we have discussed this a little before. Here an update on a large commercial shipment of beer making equipment on the former Erie canal. Two tugs, two barges transiting the nys barge canal from Waterford NY ( Albany, NY ) to Rochester NY. Good to see the big ditch still competing for commercial traffic in the 21 century.
I know this is off topic, but we have discussed this a little before.
Here an update on a large commercial shipment of beer making equipment on the former Erie canal. Two tugs, two barges transiting the nys barge canal from Waterford NY ( Albany, NY ) to Rochester NY.
Good to see the big ditch still competing for commercial traffic in the 21 century.
"I've got a mule and her name is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal..."
I wonder what brand Sal liked?
Firelock76I wonder what brand Sal liked?
Gin.
It's not quite the same to sing
"Oh, the E-Ri-E was a'risin', and the beer was a'gittin low, and I scarcely think we'll get a drink 'til we get to Buf-fa-lo"...
(Amusingly enough in the present context, when I learned this song in third grade, our patrician music teacher quietly revised the lyric to read "and the tank was a'gettin low", which might be ominous for that Genesee equipment...)
http://www.newyorkupstate.com/breweries/2017/05/how_to_see_the_giant_genesee_beer_tanks_on_the_erie_canal_a_tentative_schedule.html
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