SS Eastland

Passengers being rescued from the hull of the Eastland by the tugboat Kenosha in the Chicago River

The SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915 the ship rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was to become the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

Following the disaster, the Eastland was salvaged and sold to the United States Navy. After restorations and modifications the Eastland was designated as a gunboat and renamed the USS Wilmette. She was used primarily as a training vessel on the Great Lakes and was scrapped following World War II.

Source: wikipedia

Vintage Photo

The Flood of the Seine, (January-February 1910), One of the new boats in cloth Acquired by the city servicing Haussmann Boulevard.

Source: Casas-Rodríguez Collection, published by J. Hauser, Paris, France

Tahiti-Greycliffe Disaster

The 1927 Tahiti-Greycliffe Disaster

In this image two men in hats and coats stand on a pier inspecting the remains of the Sydney ferry Greycliffe after it was destroyed during a collision with another vessel.

In November 1927, SS Tahiti tragically collided with the Sydney Ferry Greycliffe off Bradley's Head. The collision resulted in the ferry sinking immediately with the loss of 37 lives, many of them school children.

Source: flickr | wikipedia