Excellent...
The hold of a late nineteenth/earlytwentieth century ocean liner was essentially a close quarters coal mine with the fuel constantly being moved from one bunker to another to keep the ship in trim. Indeed, Bob Bollard concluded that process was probably the secondary cause of the Lusitania’s sinking. When the torpedo hit the ship it acted as a huge detonator, setting off a giant explosion fueled by the coal dust in the ship’s hold, much like a dust explosion in a grain elevator.
Not to mention just how filthy those ships could be. Sudden wind shifts would bathe the ship in sooty stack gas. If you’ve ever gotten a whiff of stack gas you won’t want to repeat the experience.
I had a sailor who mentioned he had a coal passers certificate from when he was shoveling coal on Great Lakes steamers.
I mentioned his doctor pulled him off the ship when he heard he was passing coal.
OK, you had to be there.
This should be taught to show how great we have it in today’s society. I build and do remodeling after years of roofing both industrial and residential. That pales in comparison to what these men did ...God thank you for all of my forefathers efforts and what they endured ...I don’t know if I would have been able to do such work.
Thanks for sharing that video. Very informative.
Wow! Thanks for posting.
Not a fan of vids but this is an excellent one!