Originally Posted by mr.mud1 (Post 9003382)

hi guys.the explosion was a huge disaster and i won't ramble on about it,anybody can look it up if interested.it was the largest man made explosion ever,til the atomic bomb was dropped on japan,windows 60 miles away in a town called Truro,broke and it was heard in Amherst,120 miles away.2 ships,1 loaded with munitions for the war and in the narrowest part of the harbour collided as 1 ignored the rules about leaving.a huge section of Dartmouth on 1 side of the harbour was obliterated and a huge section of Halifax on the other side of the water,gone.Halifax had it's first motorized firetruck "the Patricia" roaring down to the waterfront when the explosion happened,the truck was destroyed,all the men on it were gone,only a piece of an arm and hand attached to the steering wheel remained.there is a famous story about a railroad telegraph operator,Vince Coleman,realizing there was going to be an explosion,fratically telegraphing an incoming passenger train that would have brought 100's of folks right into the midst of the calamity and trying to stop train.he was successful,the train stopped miles away,just as Coleman got the message from the train,the explosion happened,Coleman and almost 2000 folks were killed,1000's more hurt.it was December and a huge storm the next day.a train was loaded full of doctors,nurse's and supplies in Boston and another in Montreal,headed for Halifax to do what they could.Nova Scotia sends a big 50 or 60 foot Christmas tree to Boston every year where it's set up in the Boston Common.a thank you from here to the folks of Boston for the help.it was all over the front page of the paper here last week when the tree was cut down,loaded on truck and like it has been done for 50 or 60 years now,the tree left with a police escort,for Boston.there are several parks around town,where pieces like the cannon are on display and a bell tower park,in the heart of the hardest hit spot in Halifax where every year on the anniversary,there would be a ceremony with survivors but they're all gone now.if anybody ever wanted to see some fascinating artifacts,pictures and so on,there is a huge display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in downtown Halifax,they also have a big display of Titanic artifacts as there were more bodies brought to Halifax and buried in various cemeteries,than anywhere in the world.

Originally Posted by LT7A (Post 9004030)

Thanks Greg. Fascinating and horrifying story.

Originally Posted by mr.mud1 (Post 9004036)

yes sir,it was today in 1917.a terrible time.all the best to you and yours.Greg

Originally Posted by LT7A (Post 9004295)

Wow, wasn't even cluing into the fact that it was the anniversary. Even today it's an unimaginable tragedy and even more so because it was so highly preventable. Greg, my best to you and your family as well in this season.

Very cool that Boston's official Christmas tree is sent there every year in appreciation. I also saw that Massachusetts was a major donor of funds for reconstruction. For anyone interested, here is the Wikipedia link:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

There are many interesting and tragic facts. Here are a couple that stood out to me - spoiler alert -

The last victim was recovered in the summer of 1919 - two and a half years after the explosion.

Two US ships at sea saw the debris cloud from the explosion and came to Halifax to help in the rescue and medical treatment efforts.

The explosion expelled so much water that it exposed the bottom of the harbor. The water flowing into the void created a 60 ft tall wave. The wave was responsible for much of the destruction and wiped out the remainder of an Indian tribe which had a settlement in a nearby cove.

The Halifax relief commission was in operation until 1976, providing care for victims and pensions for survivors.

Originally Posted by special-K (Post 9004214)

That's neat. They are in great shape. The homemade decorations are the best. We made them a lot when I was a kid. They are the ones that mean the most over time

Originally Posted by special-K (Post 9005046)

Random barn timber pictures I took. I took them to get help identifying the species. The sun was just right at the end of the day so not only a help for identification but kind of artistic looking

Originally Posted by Boog (Post 9005180)

turn

Originally Posted by davischevy (Post 9005326)

Those honeycomb holes were everywhere.

Somone told me an auger brought the coal out and in some case's they had conveyors that brought it off the mountain. The roads are rough now, but, looked to have been well maintained at one time. I suspect there was a lot of truck traffic.

Originally Posted by special-K (Post 9005265)

They sure are blueprint consistent. Was that all of them or how many in a row?

Hey Mark, after I came out of your barn, I loaded up some locust

Originally Posted by LockDoc (Post 9005356)

Is it just my computer or are they still flipped?...:(

LockDoc