Topic starter
15/01/2009 5:35 pm
In looking through my photos for an answer to Jim Reising's picture riddle, I came across several interesting unrelated photos. Here are a couple of the COLUMBIA. You'll notice she also has the tubular railing extensions, as did the boat in Jim's picture, added on from her packet days' really low railing. Somehow I don't think the CG would approve of even this height today. Note the flaglike shield painted on the stairway cover, similar to the Streckfus flag insignia on their boats. That would be the G W HILL along side her - instead of the name on the engineroom bulkhead, they had WISHERD LINE painted there. The second picture shows the COLUMBIA's sad fate. WELL, FOR SOME REASON, THE PIXS POSTED IN REVERSE!!!
According to Way, the COLUMBIA was 166x33x5 and built as a packet in Clinton Iowa in 1897. She ran out of St. Louis. In 1905 the famous UMR pilot Capt. Walter Blair bought her, tore out 10 staterooms, and converted her to an excursion boat. Capt. H.F. Mehl bought her in 1912 for $14,500($303,600
in today's money). He ran her on the Illinois River out of Peoria. She sank on July 5, 1918 with a loss of 89 lives. She snagged in the fog.
I have newspaper articles on this event, but don't recall the reason why so many lives were lost, probably not enough lifeboats?
15/01/2009 11:29 pm
Judy, Capt. Fred Way wrote an article on this accident in the S&D REFLECTOR some years ago. If memory serves, she went down in just a couple of minutes, and the pilot was unable to get to the bank...I believe this was at Kingston Mines.
16/01/2009 4:59 pm
The reason for the large life-loss in the Columbia Wreck was that the boat literally collapsed. Probably as many were crushed as drowned.
Topic starter
16/01/2009 10:10 pm
wreck of the COLUMBIA
You both were right, as usual. I used the handy dandy Reflector indices and found the COLUMBIA article in the December 1978 issue. They had picked up passengers at both Kingston Mines and Pekin and were heading back when fog came in. The pilot ran on slow bell near the shore, but got too close. A snag ripped an 11 x 2 foot hole in the hull, which caused the rapid sinking. The current took her away from the shoreline and the crew had no time to nose her in. The ceiling over the dance floor collapsed, causing most of the deaths.
17/01/2009 12:12 pm
Captain Bob and I always try to render satisfaction.