The ferry Scranton is seen in the slip as we pull out into the Hudson.
Comments:
As the end drew near in 1967, only two boats, the "Elmira" and the "Lackawanna" were still in service; the other boats ("Binghamton", "Pocono", and "Scranton") had already been retired, with the end of all ferry service on the horizon.
Another ferry no longer in use was the "Maplewood"; she was an ex-Erie boat (the "Meadville") and had been retired earlier due to the high cost of keeping her in operation. In her last years, she was only operated during the rush hours.
Note the mangled outer end of one of the upper loading aprons in one of the slips; after being damaged, it was not repaired, and no longer could passengers board or debark from the upper level at this slip. In fact, since the 1950's, only the two southernmost slips still used the upper level loading bridges; a large mail-handling facility had taken over took a part of the upper ferry concourse (where the NYSME was located for some years after WWII)
The first four slips (north to south) had upper level access virtually blocked by the eastern wall of this facility, thus reducing the area available to passengers to a mere narrow passageway, dimly lit. In later years, after the ferries were dead and gone, the large electric "Lackawanna" sign began to suffer from decades of neglect, and pieces of it began to teeter and finally drop into the river. Thankfully, this magnificent sign, once so familiar to ferry commuters, had been restored. The ferryboat "Scranton", which was to be converted into a floating restaurant (like her sister "Binghamton", broke loose from her moorings during a storm on new years day, 1968. She sank just off Hoboken. With only her one pilothouse and stack visible above the waves, she was declared a mennce to navigation, and was removed; her remains scrapped. Today, modern ferries, more like floating buses, now use these restored slips, much of the charm and ambiance of commuting by ferry has gone the way of the old steam ferries themselves.
Another ferry no longer in use was the "Maplewood"; she was an ex-Erie boat (the "Meadville") and had been retired earlier due to the high cost of keeping her in operation. In her last years, she was only operated during the rush hours.
Note the mangled outer end of one of the upper loading aprons in one of the slips; after being damaged, it was not repaired, and no longer could passengers board or debark from the upper level at this slip. In fact, since the 1950's, only the two southernmost slips still used the upper level loading bridges; a large mail-handling facility had taken over took a part of the upper ferry concourse (where the NYSME was located for some years after WWII)
The first four slips (north to south) had upper level access virtually blocked by the eastern wall of this facility, thus reducing the area available to passengers to a mere narrow passageway, dimly lit. In later years, after the ferries were dead and gone, the large electric "Lackawanna" sign began to suffer from decades of neglect, and pieces of it began to teeter and finally drop into the river. Thankfully, this magnificent sign, once so familiar to ferry commuters, had been restored. The ferryboat "Scranton", which was to be converted into a floating restaurant (like her sister "Binghamton", broke loose from her moorings during a storm on new years day, 1968. She sank just off Hoboken. With only her one pilothouse and stack visible above the waves, she was declared a mennce to navigation, and was removed; her remains scrapped. Today, modern ferries, more like floating buses, now use these restored slips, much of the charm and ambiance of commuting by ferry has gone the way of the old steam ferries themselves.