Neither cold nor wind nor rain can keep members of the Canal Society of New York from touring the historic treasures along the NYS canals. Friday, April 4 saw stops at the Fort Hunter Schoharie Creek Aqueduct designed by John B. Jervis. Construction of the aqueduct began in 1839. See more here.

It opened for service in 1845 carrying Erie Canal traffic over Schoharie Creek. This location is just north of the NYS Thruway west of Amsterdam.

Otis Eddy built it and signed his name.

A stop at lock E-13 meant a visit to the World War 1 concrete barges still visible and once used for mooring along the approach wall.

Here’s a better view of this string of repurposed barges. You can read more about the use of concrete barges on the Barge Canal at this post from the American Canal Society blog. A Dispatches post on these barges in forthcoming as well.

The photo below of the very same scene comes from the CSNY photo archives; it was taken during a CSNY Study Tour in the late 1950s!

The study tour also featured behind-the-scenes visits to current NYS Canals infrastructure not open to the public, like this gasoline-electric powerhouse room at lock E-15.

These generators are a century-plus old, functional, and still pristine.

After gathering outside the section shops, Section superintendent Nick Neznek explained what happens here, like

maintaining and refurbishing the tugboats,

rehabbing the channel markers soon to be placed in their assigned locations, and

fabricating and rebuilding/cleaning circa 1917 spare parts for the river dams and locks.

The somewhat inaccessible 1927 Rocky Rift dam was on the tour as well, after a hike.

Lodging and other evening activities were at the 1895 Amsterdam Castle,

After dinner presentations included a program on the restoration of the 1774 Guy Park Manor

presented by Lauren Hoopes and Robert Panepinto. More on the project and its recent history here.

Any questions? Comments? Watch this space for information on the next study tour.

Many thanks to Lisa Best Wiles, Steven Talbot, and Ted Olsen for these photos.