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Niagara Transit 2781 is a 2007 Orion VII (07.501) low floor bus.
Niagara Transit 2781 on Main Street passing Double Deck Tours 8500 on Saturday, August 18th, 2012.
Another Marriott Fallsview Photo via Instagram. Follow us on Instagram @marriott_fallsview www.instagram.com/p/BE6zz_Nk0Uj/
Samba dancers posing with Ricardo Zanona, head Grill Master of Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Niagara Falls Mayor Ted Salci
Date of Original:1898-1910?
Source:New York State Archives. Education Dept. Division of Visual Instruction. Instructional lantern slides, 1911-1925, A3045-78, Lantern slide D47_NiG78, Box 13
For More Information: New York State Archives Digital Collections
Just back home from a visit to Niagara Falls. I really enjoyed the walks along the river and all the colors in the trees.
At about 3 p.m. on the afternoon of Tuesday August 6th 1918, a steel copper bottomed sand scow (barge) was engaged in dredging operation in the fast currents on the American side of the Niagara River opposite Port Day at the entrance of the Niagara Falls Power Company hydraulic canal.
The scow was being towed by the tug boat - "Hassayampa" being operated by Captain John Wallace. The scow had two deck hands aboard. They were Gustave Loftberg, age 51 and Frank Harris, age 53. The tug and scow were owned and operated by the Great Lakes Dredge and Docks Company. During the operation, the tug suddenly struck a sandbar approximately a ½ mile upriver from the Falls. The taunt rope that held the barge to the tug snapped "like a thin string".
The powerless barge containing approximately 2,000 tons of sand and rock quickly drifted out of control into the Canadian channel and towards the Horseshoe Falls. Loftberg and Harris were helpless and could do nothing to stop the scow. They were seen trying to slow the swift progress of the scow with the use of makeshift oars but with no success. Although some reports indicate that, they opened the two holes in the bottom of the scow to allow water to enter the barge, they simply had no time. Loftberg and Harris could only hope and pray for a miracle as they faced to see rising mist of the great Horseshoe Falls growing closer by the second. The roar of the Falls echoed in their ears. In a twist of fate, the scow became grounded and became lodged on a rock shoal at 2,500 feet (767m) upriver from the Horseshoe Falls in the shallow but fast moving cascades. After the scow had stopped moving, Over the next twenty-four hours, Loftberg and Harris worked feverishly dumping the forward hold into the river in an effort to further secure the scow from moving. They manually shifted about fifty tons of the load to the front of the scow to further secure the barge on the shoal.
The alarm that the sand scow was being swept towards the Falls with two deck hands aboard spread throughout Niagara Falls, New York and the towns on the Canadian side. Hundreds of people crowded the buildings that lined the shore and the riverbanks to watch the human helplessness and the scow's progress. When the scow grounded it electrified everyone. Hundreds of men made for the point on the Canadian shore nearest the ledge.
Employees of the Toronto Power Company who had watched the scow drifting in the river from the roof of the company building rushed to telephones. Calls were sent to the fire departments in Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario and to the Life Saving Station in Youngstown, New York.
Benjamin Hall of Pennsylvania Street in Niagara Falls, New York witnessed the barge careening out of control through the rapids until it ground in mid stream just off the head of the island. At the urging of Mr. Hall, the Youngstown Life Savers (United States Coast Guard) were sent for.
Loftberg and Harris began ripping huge timbers from the inside of the barge and were seen throwing some overboard. They were actually building a makeshift windlass (a winch device) in hopes that if a rope line from shore could somehow reach them they would be able to secure the line to the barge in order to hopefully prevent the barge from becoming dislodged and moving any closer to the Falls. A bungled haul would mean the dislodging of the scow.
With sheer determination and with their very lives at stake, Loftberg and Harris completed building the clumsy windlass. The two stranded men could now only wait.
While awaiting rescue, Loftberg, thinking safety tied himself to the barge. Harris, on the other hand tied a rope around himself with the other end tied to a barrel. Harris thought that if the barge broke free, he could jump clear and hope that the barrel got caught up on more rocks.