Come On Texas! (Page 1/1)
maryjane SEP 02, 11:48 AM
Haze gray and underway (sort of) after years of planning. The worlds last remaining Dreadnaught and the pride of Texas was moved from it's LaPorte berth to drydock in Galveston 2 days ago.

Click to show


Texas BB35
Felt a good bit of pride watching that video.

It's a closely guarded secret where she will go once the extensive re-fit is complete.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-02-2022).]

cliffw SEP 02, 04:17 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:
It's a closely guarded secret where she will go once the extensive re-fit is complete.



Going out for Chinese food ?

True story. Back in like 2003, I was in Crosby Texas working building oil rigs. I had my ?18? foot fresh water ... not sure what to call it.

I launched it just South of Highlands. I was able to navigate to the Battleship Texas. I did.

I was trolling down the water side, for a more than a few minutes, before Home Land Security floated besides me, guns drawn.

I was questioned, ... and told me I was in a restricted area. I had to leave. I did. I knew I could not defeat the battle ship Texas.
82-T/A [At Work] SEP 02, 07:53 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Haze gray and underway (sort of) after years of planning. The worlds last remaining Dreadnaught and the pride of Texas was moved from it's LaPorte berth to drydock in Galveston 2 days ago.

Texas BB35
Felt a good bit of pride watching that video.

It's a closely guarded secret where she will go once the extensive re-fit is complete.





Watching that video kind of reminded me that feeling you get if you have an old-ass 70s car, and you've finally gotten it running after all these years, and just pull it out of the garage and take it down the street carefully, not sure what's working and what's not.

I loved that battleship. I visited it twice. If I'm not mistaken, I think it also has a submarine on shore next to it, right? Or am I confusing it with another docked ship... maybe the one in Louisiana (Kidd).

But I've definitely been on the Texas twice. First time I took my daughter on there, she was maybe 4 or 5. She was so impressed with the sheer size of it, that when we finally put her in the car seat for the drive back down I-10, she was dreaming about it the entire way.

I seem to recall that inside the ship, it was actually in REALLY good condition, considering. I mean, compared at least to all the Iowa class battleships that I've visited, or the North Carolina. It didn't seem to be covered in rust everywhere.
maryjane SEP 02, 09:28 PM
you may be thinking of Seawolf Park in Galveston. The submarine USS Cavalla and the Destroyer Escort USS Stewart are there as well as the conning tower from USS Carp. Seawolf Park is just off the highway leading down to the Galveston-to-Bolivar ferry landing.



In this photo, damage to the park from hurricane Ike is still evident in late 2008.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...ge_following_Ike.jpg

2 days ago, USS Texas was the fastest battleship on the high seas.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-02-2022).]

MidEngineManiac SEP 05, 05:07 PM
Taken last night
blackrams SEP 05, 05:52 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

It's a closely guarded secret where she will go once the extensive re-fit is complete.




Refit? Leaks? Extensive? Hmmm Just curioius.

Rams
82-T/A [At Work] SEP 05, 07:07 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

you may be thinking of Seawolf Park in Galveston. The submarine USS Cavalla and the Destroyer Escort USS Stewart are there as well as the conning tower from USS Carp. Seawolf Park is just off the highway leading down to the Galveston-to-Bolivar ferry landing.



In this photo, damage to the park from hurricane Ike is still evident in late 2008.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...ge_following_Ike.jpg

2 days ago, USS Texas was the fastest battleship on the high seas.





I definitely am, totally correct, because the ship sitting next to the submarine was not much bigger than the sub, maybe twice it's length.

But I have been on that battleship a couple of times though. I definitely remember it being in really good condition inside... like, very clean and well-maintained. Way better condition than the other battleships I'd been on. Loved it... where do you think they're going to park it after this? I-10 continues to seem like a good option, but I remember you saying they weren't getting a lot of traffic... but if you go put it in the gulf, it's going to live a much more harsh life in saltwater.
maryjane SEP 05, 10:16 PM
It's always been in salt water, or at least brackish water. Houston ship channel goes straight to the Gulf of Mexico which is why they were able to tow it so easily to Galveston.

Beaumont wants USS Texas badly, but I'm not sure it would be a big enough draw to get people off I-10 to visit the ship.
I've probably passed thru Beaumont 10 dozen times in my lifetime and only pulled off the interstate once or twice iin all that time.
It's just not a big tourist town.

Yes, Texas is well maintained, the part you are allowed to visit anyway. But, compared to how it was when I was young (the 60s) very little of the ship's interior is now open to the public.
82-T/A [At Work] SEP 06, 09:41 AM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

It's always been in salt water, or at least brackish water. Houston ship channel goes straight to the Gulf of Mexico which is why they were able to tow it so easily to Galveston.

Beaumont wants USS Texas badly, but I'm not sure it would be a big enough draw to get people off I-10 to visit the ship.
I've probably passed thru Beaumont 10 dozen times in my lifetime and only pulled off the interstate once or twice iin all that time.
It's just not a big tourist town.

Yes, Texas is well maintained, the part you are allowed to visit anyway. But, compared to how it was when I was young (the 60s) very little of the ship's interior is now open to the public.




Yeah.... I remember there was a good amount I could go on, but there was a lot that was roped / chained off... or the bulkhead doors just closed entirely. Definitely loved that ship.

I have a weird fascination with Beaumont. I've passed that city so many times I can't even remember, but it was always a stop-off point for me from San Antonio back to Florida ... because it was a convenient location for me to stay the night when I leave from San Antonio right after work. It gets me out of the city, and I make it 3-4 hours into my next day's trip.

Anyway, there are a ton of 5,000+ square foot mansions in Beaumont that I could buy right now for like $70 grand. Bit old Queen Victorian, Craftsman, or Tudor mansions. The only problem is, there's no work that I would be doing around there, and the schools are horrible. But every time I would drive by there, I'd stop by the firefighter museum, and try to drive by some of the old historic mansions... many of which are abandoned or have been sectioned out into like 5 separate apartments... it's a shame.

I don't know the history of the town, but there must have been something big there just before the great depression.
maryjane SEP 06, 11:47 AM
Deep port facilities at Beaumont and it was an early 20th century oil well mecca.
Spindeltop and it's field was there.

Beaumont today, is still the #1 major shipping point for heavy military equipment from Ft Hood, Ft Bliss, Ft Riley and anything else going East, including to and from the MidEast and Europe.


Truck convoys and very long heavily laden rail cars headed to Beaumont were a common sight in the weeks leading up to both Iraq and Kuwait wars.

Older news vid but it happens almost yearly.
[url=]https://kfdm.com/news/local/port-of-beaumont-playing-major-role-in-us-army-deployment[/url]