Meet Evan Woodard, Baltimore man magnet fishing for ancient artifacts to uncover hidden histories
Evan Woodard, a Baltimore-based historian and founder of Salvage Arc, has been magnet fishing in the city's Inner Harbor and other local waterways since late 2022, uncovering a variety of items, both mundane and historically significant. Among other artifacts, Woodward found a shipping hook from the 1800s or 1900s and a late Victorian bench.
Magnet fishing involves using powerful neodymium magnets attached to ropes to pull metal objects from bodies of water.
In a recent ABC News interview, it was revealed that Woodward and his club members meet every week for magnet fishing. 'There's an endless supply down there,' he said.
Evan Woodard has pulled out numerous electric scooters, with reports citing at least 37 by April 2023 and a total nearing 50 later that year. On his first magnet fishing attempt just before Christmas 2022, he retrieved six scooters, some barnacle-encrusted from years underwater.
Woodard and his group have recovered firearms, including a 'ghost' gun (a firearm without a serial number) pulled from Broadway Pier on January 4, 2023, which was turned over to authorities. Knives have also been mentioned among their finds.
Common finds include rebar, bottle caps, cans, and unidentifiable metal scraps. Specific items mentioned include a 20-foot electrical pipe, a computer power supply with cord, outdoor patio furniture, metal trash cans, a shopping cart, a table, chairs, and a doll's head. A 15-foot pipe was notably pulled up by a young participant under Woodard's guidance.
Woodard's magnet fishing meetups, held weekly on Thursdays at Fells Point's Broadway Pier, have grown in popularity, attracting diverse participants from children to adults.
Evan Woodard is a historian and explorer. The Baltimore resident is behind the popular Salvage Arc Instagram account.
'My journey began during the challenging times of the pandemic when I took a shovel into my hands, not knowing that I was about to unearth a deep connection to Baltimore's hidden histories. With each dig into our city's old privies, I brought to light not just artifacts but the vibrant stories of those who walked these streets long before us. Their tales lost to time but rediscovered through our efforts, deserve to be celebrated and remembered," he writes on his website.
He founded the Salvage Arc Foundation in 2024. 'Our goal is ambitious yet profound: to build out our space and establish a museum and community center in the historic heart of Fells Point. This center will not only display our fascinating finds but will also serve as a vibrant hub for learning and connection, offering hands-on experiences in historical research for both children and adults.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
After Thane Train Mishap, Railways To Deploy Closed-Door Non-AC Rake By January
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Following the Mumbra train tragedy, the railways will redesign suburban trains to include automatic door closures by January. New designs will enhance ventilation and safety, addressing past suffocation issues while improving passenger comfort and movement. Mumbai: In the aftermath of the Mumbra train incident in which four persons were killed and nine injured on Monday morning, the railways said it would redesign a suburban rake to install automatic door closure systems by November and induct it into service by January next year. At least four commuters, including a GRP constable, died and nine were injured when 13 passengers fell after those hanging from the footboard of two overcrowded trains and their backpacks brushed against each other as the trains passed in opposite directions. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior Railway Board functionaries held an urgent meeting with the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) team to find a practical solution to the challenges surrounding automatic door closing systems in non-AC local trains operating in Mumbai, officials said. After detailed deliberations, it was decided that a new design for non-AC suburban coaches would be developed to resolve the ventilation issue through three major design modifications, a Central Railway official said here. ""First, the new coaches will feature louvers on the doors to allow natural airflow even when the doors are closed. Second, roof-mounted ventilation units will be installed to pump fresh air into the coaches. And third, vestibules will be added between coaches to enable passenger movement and better distribution of the crowd inside the train," the official said. This new trainset will be in addition to the ongoing production of 238 air-conditioned (AC) local trains being manufactured under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), he informed. The primary concern with automatic door closing in non-AC coaches is the issue of suffocation due to reduced ventilation, which has raised serious safety and comfort concerns among commuters, officials said. They pointed out that an automatic door closure system was tested on a suburban local on Western Railway a decade ago but it failed due to suffocation complaints from passengers as well as other issues. Presently, Central Railway has 157 suburban locals, including seven AC locals, while Western Railway has 95 suburban locals, of which eight are air-conditioned locals. CR operates 1810 services every day. The figure is 1406 for Western Railway. More than 75 lakh passengers use these 3200-odd services every day, making the network the largest public transporter in the city and among the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Mumbai train accident: Railways mull new non-AC trains with automated door closure facility
After four persons died and six others were injured when they fell from a local train in Mumbai due to overcrowding in peak hours, the Railway Board has said that new, non-AC trains would be designed and manufactured with automatic door closure facility to prevent accidents. The deadline for introducing the first prototype of such a non-AC train with door closure facility in the Mumbai Suburban Railway network has been fixed as January 2026. Sources said that in the wake of the incident in Mumbai, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Railway Board officials held a meeting with a team from the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF). A senior Mumbai-based Railway official told The Hindu that the Mumbai Suburban Railway network currently has 250 rakes in use. Each rake of the train has 12 passenger coaches. Of these 250 rakes, only 30 rakes are air-conditioned, and the rest are non-AC. Currently, non-AC rake coaches in Mumbai local trains are not fitted with closing doors. 'The older rakes may be gradually phased out; it won't happen overnight,' the official said. Earlier, officials from the Railway Board had stated that all rakes in service would be redesigned, and door closure facility would be provided for these rakes. But during the meeting, a major issue of retrofitting automatic doors in non-air conditioned trains leading to suffocation because of reduced ventilation was discussed, sources said. After detailed discussions, it was decided that new, non-AC trains would be designed and manufactured, and the key issue of ventilation would be resolved using three design changes. 'Firstly, the doors will have louvres. Secondly, coaches will have roof mounted ventilation units to pump in fresh air. Also, the coaches will have vestibules so that passengers can move from one coach to another and balance out the crowd in a natural way,' the sources said. Officials who attended the meeting said that ICF Chennai had been entrusted with the task of designing a prototype of the new non-AC train. 'The first train of this new design will be ready by November 2025. After the testing and certification by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, it will be placed in service for feedback from the people by January 2026,' a senior official said. The official added that, earlier, a similar yard trial had been conducted on non-AC trains in Mumbai locals, and it was noticed that closure of gates led to carbon dioxide levels going up by 2.5 times. 'The new design will be created to avoid such increase in CO2 levels,' the official said. Officials stated that the decision to introduce newly designed non-AC rakes with automatic door closure facilities was in addition to the 238 AC trains being manufactured for Mumbai suburban train services. The official Indian Railways spokesperson refrained from commenting on the total cost of introducing the new non-AC trains in Mumbai suburban network, stating that the costing could only be worked out once the ICF submitted the prototype designs in November later this year. 'The approximate cost of manufacturing a non-AC train currently in service in the Mumbai Suburban Network is close to ₹20-25 crore, and their average life is nearly 18 years,' a Mumbai-based Railway official said. While introducing new non-AC trains with automated door closure, officials said that the Railways would also have to consider passenger congestion in Mumbai local trains. While a 12-coach rake in a non-AC Mumbai local train has a seating capacity of 1,200, another 1,800 persons can stand in the rake, but during the 'super dense crush load period', commuters travelling in one rake cross over 4,000, officials said. M. Jamshed, former Member, Traffic, Railway Board, said that in 2018-19, the Indian Railways carried 4,784 million commuters, of which 40% (over five million commuters daily) travelled in Mumbai on the Central and Western Railways. 'Comfort and safety, however, remain serious concerns. The Railways, in its affidavit given to the Mumbai High Court in 2024, indicated over 51,000 deaths on Central Railway and Western Railway systems in last 20 years. This number has significantly reduced to about 2,590 and 2,468 in 2023 and 2024, respectively,' Mr. Jamshed told The Hindu. He added that measures to minimise these incidents must be aimed at reducing the per local train 'super dense crush load', which is that of 15 persons per square metre of space during peak hours. 'Whether the door closing can be done with these numbers is debatable,' Mr. Jamshed said.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
All new non-AC Mumbai local trains to have auto closing doors: Railway Board
Maharashtra train mishap NEW DELHI: All new non-AC local trains for the Mumbai Suburban network will have automatic closing doors, like in metro trains, and the system will be installed in existing rakes subsequently, the Railway Board said after four passengers died and six were injured as they fell from a moving overcrowded local train in Thane on Monday. The first train with the new door system will be ready by Nov, and after required tests and certification, it will be put into service by Jan next year. The design is being finalised by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), top railway officials said. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Railway Board officials had a detailed meeting with the ICF team 'to find a practical solution' to the issue, ministry officials said. They added that a major issue with automatic door closing in non-AC trains is reduced ventilation in coaches. 'Following detailed discussions, it was decided that new non-AC trains will be designed and manufactured using three design changes — first, the doors will have louvres; second, coaches will have roof-mounted ventilation units to pump in fresh air and third, coaches will have vestibules so that passengers can move from one coach to another and balance out the crowd in a natural way,' an official said. Officials said a few years back, the automatic door closing system on non-AC local trains underwent trials but it impacted operations, leading to delays on the network. Now, there is no other option left but to have the system in all non-AC coaches, they said. 'It has to be implemented for the people's safety and to prevent people travelling on a coach's footboard,' said an official. Every day, around 80 lakh passengers use local trains for commuting. At present, local trains make around 3,216 trips on the Mumbai Suburban network. There are around 280 non-AC rakes. 'In all, around 3,405 coaches have to be retrofitted with the door closing system,' said an official. Officials said 13 projects of 310 km worth Rs 17,000 crore are being executed to augment the capacity of the network, and the railway can add more services to meet the traffic demand when these get completed.
