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my cousin lives about 10 minutes from there so we visited it the last time i was down. i think we are going to try and hitup the hard hat tour in january. not only is the engine room partialy flooded but it is supposedly overrun with mesquitos. so it will be interesting. the rest of the ship they have done an awsome job restoring. the last time i was there in the late 90s you couldn't even climb into any of the turrets. but they were open when i was there earlier in the year.

One turret was open when i visited....."A" turret IIRC (USN nonclementure - Turret I). Got a good pic of the river or rust that had puddled down from the gun barrel out of the breech. The display powder bags were visibly unravling. This ship is OLD! Some parts though are amazingly well preserved. The main steering engine gearing is in perfect condition....well greased.

I think the trouble is that the 'market' has become overloaded. As far as I know there are more museum ships in the United States (almost all of them WW2 and later) than everywhere else in the world put together. Here is Canada for that period we have one tribal DD and one corvette; Britain has one CL and three (?) DD. Now obviously the UK and Canada have too few - why did they scrap the Warspite! - but I fear the US has just too many competing demands for a limited market.

I live on a barrier island. Let me asure you that BUILDINGS need to be refurbished evey 10 years, 97 year old steel ships like the Texas omg![X(][:-][:(]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

I believe the Queen Mary is encased in concrete to prevent the hull falling apart too.

Bill

I believe that they might have done the same thing with the battleship Alabama @ Mobile. I read an article years ago that indicated since the Alabama was set in concrete, she was among the safest places to be in the Mobile area in the event of a hurricane.

WOW, the Texas is my favorite old lady!  I spent many a day working on PT 309 beside her.  I hope they get something figured out.  We cannot lose the old girl.  I now live 1500 miles away so I guess I will be little help.