[PRCo] Re: SS Normandie TAN

[rogertrolley.1 at juno.com]

I might as well stir up some more stuff here. In my original e-mail , I mentioned that my family was on its way to Lewisburgh Pa. when we rode by the Normandy in N.Y. Thats halfway to Pittsburgh isn't it ? We spent WW2 there,since my fathers job at the Prison lasted 2 months,then being in the Army Air Corps Reserve,was grabbed by them and sent away overseas. No trolleys in Lewisburgh (used to be a battery car there) but plenty of Reading RR and PRR action.        Being in the Coast Guard, we got sent out to the Andrea Doria in our 125 ft cutter and sat around and watched it sink,while waiting for tugs from N.Y.City. We could have towed it 15 miles north to where the water was 120 ft deep instead of 400ft where it was. They,Italian Line, wouldn't let us touch it! There were about 12 cutters and navy ships there that could have easily done it. It was later disclosed that the ship was not built to the proper water-tite standards, meaning the cross-bulkheads did not go high enough to prevent water from going over them. Which it did, due to the list of the hull after the collision.  A book was written about this tragedy.      cheers   rogertrolley