Did you know that a deep Delaware stretched from Delaware Bay right up the Jersey-Pennsylvania sides of the Delaware up to South Trenton? Here's a fascinating set of graphics I put together telling just a small part of the story. Ships from all over the world came here and stories from some of my amateur radio contemporaries recall going aboard some of those ships as the DVRA (Delaware Valley Radio Association) members toured the various radio rooms aboard foreign vessels. Note also in the background, Lamberton Street homes are seen and in front of those homes, the old Farmers' Market stalls are seen. An interesting and informative peak at a time when America was in the depths of the Great Depression and Trenton was struggling with the rest of the nation.
The picture on the left was taken from the PRR bridge, about 1/3 the way over. The cameras were set on one of the safety platforms to prevent workers from being injured by passing trains. The first time I saw this image, it brought back images of fishing from the pier for herring during the late 50s - early 60s. The fence was lined with folks casting gold hooks weighted down by lead sinkers. Great times each and every May. Bringing any sizeable vessel to the wharf must have been an incredible ordeal for the captain or pilot because of the strong currents and rocks, not too far away.
ReplyDeleteThe image on the right was taken from the Trenton Marine Terminal, down on Lamberton road, south of Lalor St. The channel was deeper there and the waters much more slow running. If I recall, there were periodic visits by smaller Navy ships, like minesweepers or destroyer escorts. It was here where we fished for carp and catfish - before we discovered the submarine racing scene. Oh, yes, the waters were more fragrant as well. There were to outlets for Trenton sewage. One was under the Marine Terminal wharf itself, and the other, for storm water and otherwise untreated effluent was just upstream of the Marine Terminal. Funny, we never though twice of it. It attracted fish.