Scrap Tow of the Bayquinte

The scrap tow of the Bayquinte was originally scheduled for October 29, 1968. The Whig published a photo the next day (below) showing the anchors holding her in place being retrieved by a crew from Canadian Dredge & Dock on October 28 with a tugboat, a crane and and compressor truck. So it's likely that over a few months, the old girl's anchors settled nicely into the muck and mire on the lakebottom near the old Swift's coal dock at the foot of Johnson Street. After two hours' work, the anchors were hauled out.

With the tugboat Argue Martin in the lead, the Bayquinte was shown in the November 5 Whig, having departed Kingston the day before:

I continue to respect the quality of Queen's University Archives photos from the Whig-Standard fonds, despite the fact that few of the photos ever made it to past the city editor's desk. Such photos are able to tell more of the story, and from what I've seen, nothing involving ships ever happens in a hurry! Here are some additional photos showing the preparations for the scrap tow and the retrieval of Bayquinte's anchors:

Canadian Locomotive Company's plant buildings would be gone in just over a year's time:

Once in awhile it's nice to include the negative strip showing how the above images started out before being formatted and published herein:

A few photos of the scrap tow getting underway, also from the Archives:

Some concern had been expressed that the Bayquinte in her weakened, dilapidated state might not survive the trip to Hamilton, but apparently she did! This friendly wave from a crewman on the tugboat's stern was a final goodbye to a city whose harbour no longer boomed and upon whose shore this hulk was no longer welcome!