Well, this is heartbreaking. I guess today's the day for the SS United States https://youtube.com/live/3cJLBcsdx3I
LIVE: SS United States sinking to create the world’s largest artificial reef
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@AbandonedAmerica Travelled on it from La Harve, France to New York City in 1955 and 1963. Sad to see it sunk, but at least it won't be scrap metal.
@AbandonedAmerica Travelled on it from la Harve, France to New York City in 1955 and 1963
@AbandonedAmerica the philadelphia ikea will never be the same
If you'd like to take a look around the SS US before all the prep was done for sinking her, here you go https://www.abandonedamerica.us/ss-united-states
@AbandonedAmerica She sure was a beautiful ship.
This ship is two totally separate things.
One, an astonishing machine, the last of its kind, with capabilities that boggle the mind. It's sad to see it go, but its time clearly ended decades ago. Air travel killed any need for this machine almost overnight.
It's also a symbol of the excesses of the wealthy. Normal people could only get glimpses on special tour days; it was never for them. It wasted resources at an unbelievable rate to satisfy the rich.
1/2
@AbandonedAmerica There is a parallel in aviation...liners like this were the Concorde. As long as the rich could make the rest of us fans of their toys, they were awesome. But the minute their toys weren't cutting edge, they threw them away.
The 747 gave world travel to the middle class, killing the Concorde AND the ocean liner.
What an amazing ship this was though. Like the Concorde, sleek and beautiful and unimaginable powerful.
But never for us.
@W6KME I agree with most of what you're saying, but ocean liners transported more people than aircraft and there were options other than first class. I've heard from a bunch of people lucky enough to have sailed on the SS US who weren't filthy rich. It did have that set of passengers, absolutely, but they weren't the only ones on board. Catering to the middle and lower economic classes was a very viable business strategy in the postwar years. Necessary, even.
@AbandonedAmerica Hopefully, it'll do some good down below.
@AbandonedAmerica what a metaphor