Underwater Train Wreck

I happened across a really cool show on the History Channel tonight, an episode of “Deep Sea Detectives” called “Underwater Train Wreck.” A fascinating intersection of history, engineering, diving, railroads, science, and detective work:

Our shipwreck hunters become railroad experts when they find two ghostly locomotives, upright and intact, just a few miles off the coast of New Jersey. How did these massive land vehicles end up 90 feet below the Atlantic in the first place? With no shipwreck nearby to explain their existence, we launch an investigation to find out how these locomotives wound up in deep water seven miles from land. Maybe the locomotives slid off a vessel during a storm? Perhaps they were jettisoned to save a ship? Our investigators are going to have to narrow down the time frame of when these trains were built to find out how they sank. To help solve the mystery, we bring in experts to analyze the evidence. But can we piece together this puzzling problem before time and/or some unscrupulous diver removes the evidence forever?

Definitely recommended.

The wreck they’re referring to is detailed on a New Jersey dive site, but that page might include SPOILERS if you want to watch the episode unfold. Read njscuba.net story here. It’s funny reading that page, if only for their low opinion of the dive itself, as well as discussing the History Channel “hoopla” and the controversy whether to “arrest” or protect the site. A great read even if you don’t watch the “Detectives” episode.