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Thatcher Ferry Bridge |
view looking toward Balboa, and the Thatcher Ferry Bridge. Taboga can be seen in the distance. |
this view really illustrates a "tight fit" into one of the locks, and how skilled the pilots and mule operators were in making these huge vessels go just were they wanted them... within inches. different water levels can be seen, and to the left of the control tower, whitewater indicates the outflow of water from the upper chamber |
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Pedro Miguel Locks Special dam floated into place behind lock doors to hold back water |
Pedro Miguel Locks empty for maintenance. Yellow grates cover drain holes |
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shot at Miraflores...the
bridge of a tanker, already lowered to the level of the pacific.
A cruise ship northbound
in the other lock, having been raised to the level of lake Miraflores.
note mule on right... the mules did not pull the ships... they only
steadied them in the center of the chambers...the ships used their own power albeit
it sparingly, to move through the locks.
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Gatun locks on the Atlantic side ...there were three chambers at this site...lifting the ships the total 85 feet in three steps at one location. note the first gate in the foreground...it was actually the road bridge...how you crossed the canal on the Atlantic side.
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the lock
chambers were 110 feet wide, and many vessels were built with that in
mind...it was a frequent occurrence to see a ship come through and
have only a foot clearance on each side. when one of our
battleships went through on the way to Viet Nam, I believe it was the
New Jersey, she had a beam of 109 feet, giving her just six inches on
each side...the mules kept her centered. note on this photo, at
the front of the ship there's a scaffold. that was for a pan canal
pilot...these big ships carried four or five pilots...one for each
corner, and one on the bridge.
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every ship transiting the canal had to take at least one pan canal pilot aboard... the larger ships took several. the pilot took operational command of the vessel, and with his "local knowledge" of winds, tides, depths and even the currents formed with the mixing of salt and fresh water, he safely guided ships on the 50 mile crossing |
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although the lock gates weighed hundreds of tons, they gained buoyancy by actually "floating" in the water. because of that, they were opened by a fairly small electric motor, about 25hp. also, that provided a safety factor...because the gates opened into the flow, those motors weren't strong enough to open the gates if the water levels weren't the same on both sides. here, there were actually two sets of gates...the first ones can be seen opening...in the chamber with level water on both sides. | |
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| this is the control tower, I believe at Miraflores. one day, Clint Holcomb took Happy and I into the control room at Pedro Miguel, and he actually allowed us to lock a ship through ...operating the controls, then going outside to watch what happened...that was a thrill I will never forget. | you wouldn't have seen this in the early 40's...a Japanese destroyer enters the locks... note the "rising sun" flag on the fantail. also note the "windsock" on the end of the pier... just like at an airport... it was there to aid the pilots |
early-morning view from the bridge of the MV Toyota Maru as two ships steam south toward the Galliard cut (spelling?) |
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Thatcher Ferry Bridge summer of 1970 |
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