It was a cascade of chaos — boats yanked free by Hudson River ice, bridges closed, traffic stalled and even a threat to train service.

It took hours to control, and in the end the toll Friday included damaged vessels, including a sunken barge.

Sometime in the early morning hours tugboats were ripped from their moorings above the Federal Dam in Troy. One of the tugs, the Betty D, was carried over the dam, said Rob Goldman, president of the New York State Marine Transportation Co., which owns the tugs and a boat yard in Lansingburgh.

It's not clear who first noticed the vessels had broken free, although Port of Albany General Manager Rich Hendrick said he received a call from Rensselaer County's emergency management office sometime after 1 a.m.

Goldman cited Thursday's rapid thaw, when temperatures soared to nearly 50 degrees, that slammed ice and water into the 600-passenger cruise ship Captain JP III and Rusty Anchor restaurant barge just north of the Congress Street Bridge in Troy shortly after 1 a.m. Three moored barges were torn loose from the Clemente docks south of the Congress Street Bridge.

The vessels began to slowly float away. Authorities said the Captain JP III hit the Congress Street bridge before continuing downriver. At some point, its two smokestacks were knocked down.

Some boats were stopped along the eastern bank between the Congress Street and Troy-Menands bridges. They broke free again, heading down to the Livingston Avenue Bridge.

Captain JP III struck at least one other bridge before it lodged against the Livingston Avenue Bridge, a critical link in Amtrak's passenger rail service, at about 9:15 a.m.

An Amtrak official said trains were "being walked across" the bridge, moving slowly as a precaution. Railway spokesman Jason Abrams said the bridge was inspected and was returned to normal service with no restrictions.

"Clearly, the Captain JP has got some issues right now," state Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said shortly before noon when the vessel was jammed into the Amtrak bridge. He specifically noted the roof.

The Rusty Anchor was secured, then moored at the Port of Albany, as was the Betty D, which is now out of the water. The Betty D was formerly part of the General Electric Co. fleet of tugs deployed to clean up PCBs in the river north of Troy.

Another barge went aground and was secured north of the Patroon Island Bridge that carries I-90 across the Hudson, and two were secured just north of the Menands Route 378 bridge. An empty garbage hauler barge was also secured at the Port of Albany.

A sixth, smaller barge sank near the former BASF chemical plant property in Rensselaer, said Hendrick.

The site was marked with a buoy until the barge can be salvaged. State Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Erica Ringewald said recovery operations were being studied.

The scene played out over a more than six-mile stretch of the river.

As the renegade boats moved downstream, police closed a series of bridges between the Congress Street span and the Dunn Memorial Bridge. All of the other vessels made it through, either running aground or being stopped before they hit any other bridges.

Cars were stuck in traffic on both shores of the river.

Diana Brower, who works for the cruise line, claimed the tugboat that initially broke free upriver crashed into the Captain JP III, tearing it from its moorings.

Goldman disputed Brower's statement, saying the Betty D was too small to rip the heavy moorings of the cruise ship and other barges along the city of Troy seawall.

Goldman said four tugboats were sent to capture the boats and barges. The vessels were caught about 11 a.m.

Fourteen hours after being swept off, the Captain JP III was back at its dock in Troy late Friday afternoon, brought there by tugs. It will eventually be moved to a New York City shipyard for repairs, Hendrick said.

The city of Troy will cooperate with an expected state investigation of the incident, said John Salka, a spokesman for Mayor Patrick Madden.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspected the Federal Dam and adjacent lock later in the day and said neither was damaged.

Troy Assistant Fire Chief Eric McMahon said the Department of Transportation evaluated the Congress Street bridge for damage before it reopened. Police said no injuries were reported.

Still, the surreal view was a reminder of nature's might.

"It goes to show you the power of ice and water," McMahon said.