''Hercules'' is a 1907-built steam

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

that is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

History

''Hercules'' was built in 1907 by John H. Dialogue and Sons, of Camden,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. She was built for the Shipowners' and Merchants' Tugboat Company of

, as part of their Red Stack Fleet (a part of today's Crowley Maritime Corporation). After completion, ''Hercules'' was sailed to San Francisco via the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pas ...

with her sister ship, '' Goliah'', in tow. For the first part of her life, ''Hercules'' was an oceangoing tug. Because of the prevailing northwest winds, sailing ships often employed ''Hercules'' and her sisters on journeys north up the coast from San Francisco. For example, in 1916, ''Hercules'' towed to

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition t ...

. On return trips back down the coast, ''Hercules'' often towed

log raft Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest me ...

s of

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

timber, to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

mills. At other times, ''Hercules'' was employed towing

barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

to other ports on the West Coast and to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, and in transporting equipment for the construction of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

. In 1924, ''Hercules'' was acquired by the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

. For her new owners, she worked shuttling railroad car floats across

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water f ...

from

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

and

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santia ...

to San Francisco. In 1947, she and the tugboat ''Monarch'' were given the task of towing the hulk of the battleship to San Francisco Bay to be scrapped. However, 500 miles from Hawaii, they were struck by a powerful storm and the ''Oklahoma'' began taking on water and sinking, threatening to drag the two tugs along with her. While the ''Monarch'' managed to release her lines, ''Hercules'' could not get free until the last moment, narrowly avoiding being dragged into the deep by the ''Oklahoma.'' Afterwards, she returned to shuttling car floats and worked in this role until 1957, when she was replaced by the diesel-powered

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

. ''Hercules'' was kept in a stand-by role to the new ferry until 1961. The California State Park Foundation acquired ''Hercules'' in 1975, and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

took over her restoration in 1977. In 1986 she was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

. She is now one of the exhibits of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and is to be found moored at the park's Hyde Street Pier.

Image gallery

File:Hercules tug engine.agr.jpg, Triple expansion steam engine File:Hercules towing machine.agr.jpg, Towing machine File:STARBOARD HULL VIEW FROM ASTEARN. - Steam Tug HERCULES, Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA HAER CAL,38-SANFRA,201-38.tif, In dry dock File:Crew's mess, deck house, forward. From left to right, volunteers Larry Boucher and Maggie Lindley, deckhand Bruce Vanvick, and volunteer Harry Morgan. - Steam Tug HERCULES, HAER CAL,38-SANFRA,201-19.tif, Crew's mess File:Interior of wheelhouse looking forward. - Steam Tug HERCULES, Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA HAER CAL,38-SANFRA,201-18.tif, Wheelhouse

References

Sources

* * * **

External links

* * {{Authority control 1907 ships Tugboats of the United States San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Museum ships in San Francisco Western Pacific Railroad steam tugs Historic American Engineering Record in California National Historic Landmarks in the San Francisco Bay Area Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco Rail transportation in Oakland, California Ships built by Dialogue & Company