The following is from one of my visits to Lemont:
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Here Mary C and Albert C are doing shift changes at that same location in Lemont, IL. Albert C's pilothouse is raised because the ram got bent when it bumped into the low bridge that is about 100' to the right of this location. Here is a video of the Albert C pulling away to begin its shift.
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I caught the Mary C lowering its pilothouse in July, 2014.
Note how the pilot house is setting on the body of the boat and that it
is low enough to pass under swing bridges that no longer move and bridges that never got converted to lift bridges. But
the top of the "stairwells to nowhere" at the front is the height of empty barges
that it could be pushing. So the captain could not see the front of a
tow very well. For this reason, the pilot house is mounted on vertical
hydraulic rams that can be used to increase the height of the pilot
house.
In fact, I have caught a towboat pushing empty barges.
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I found a photo of each of Illinois Marine Towing's towboats. Note that all but two of them have variable height pilot houses. The small fixed height towboat works around Channahon, and the large one works between Lemont and Peoria.
I was shocked to learn that some big towboats also have retractable pilothouses. The first one I saw was Sam M. Fleming on July 8, 2018.
I followed it for a few days. It came back to the area on July 16 and Aug 18, but I wasn't able to get decent shots of it then. I found photos of it working on the Mississippi River, so it is a long haul towboat as it size would indicate.
As it was going northbound on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, it passed a southbound Al Weaver that "parked" on the side of the canal so I was able to get photos of it with the pilothouse up and down.
Are there other urban areas that also need retractable pilothouses? Jeff Cumptan caught M/V Norman at Robert C. Byrd L&D (#10).
Norman is currently owned by a company based in Houma, LA. But it does get up the Illinois Waterway. Here are this photo at Joliet, IL, is one of 15 locations it has been caught at. The 15th photo shows it running light with its pilothouse all the way down.
David Gulden posted two photos with the comment: "The WILMINGTON."
In fact, I have caught a towboat pushing empty barges.
(new window)
I found a photo of each of Illinois Marine Towing's towboats. Note that all but two of them have variable height pilot houses. The small fixed height towboat works around Channahon, and the large one works between Lemont and Peoria.
I was shocked to learn that some big towboats also have retractable pilothouses. The first one I saw was Sam M. Fleming on July 8, 2018.
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| Specifications and a lot more photos |
As it was going northbound on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, it passed a southbound Al Weaver that "parked" on the side of the canal so I was able to get photos of it with the pilothouse up and down.
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| Digitally zoomed from the above photo |
Are there other urban areas that also need retractable pilothouses? Jeff Cumptan caught M/V Norman at Robert C. Byrd L&D (#10).
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| Ohio & Kanawha River Photography added, one of thirteen photos |
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| Another of Jeff's thirteen photos |
David Gulden posted two photos with the comment: "The WILMINGTON."
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| Gary Mount posted How many of you worked on one of these jewels. The pilot house was retractable. The one I worked on up and down the Kanawha River was the Wilmington. She looked like this one in the pic Nick Bolter: M/V Sam FlemingWade Bienvenu: M/V NORMAN. The boat pictured. Michael Forbess: I rode the Wilmington also for G&C, Sam Fleming, Wm Klunk and Leviticus. [The comments list some other towboats.] Sam Schropp: The Conti-Karla, Sam Fleming, Bee Gee. I do not like retractable pilothouse towboats. Noisy, cramped <expletive> holes. Charles S Thornton: Mr Sam Schropp you haven’t been on the miss Marley yet. It’s great. The lay out is amazing. Dino and the rest did a great job on this one. The galley is the same size as the gene Neal. Everyone has queen beds and desks in their room. Wheelhouse is really nice as well. Has an extended window up front to view the capstan and h bit. It’s a goodun. It’s 20ft longer than our others and wider. Randy Sanderson: Several of them. I got broke in the pilothouse, by my father on the M/V Bronwynne Brent. Spending years at Brent Towing, which I loved. During those years I worked on several of those from time to time. Eden Brent, Ann Brent and the Leviticus. Never over a trip or so, and those trips usually ended up on the IL river, which is not my fav place to be....lol Charles S Thornton: I’m captain on mmt’s newest jack up. 4300 hp, huge galley, everyone has a queen bed, rooms aren’t loud. I love this boat. Raymond Craven: I was Captain on the one pictured for a few years the M/V Norman. Matter of fact I was on it during this pic. I loved the blue lights at night. Dan Scott: Lots for twin city and material service from 79 till 84 Lake Michigan to Cairo Ill. My old boat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuh2fwFR4OY [Note how the radar is off to the side to keep the height down when the pilothouse is retracted. And then the house started going down. Did the pilot lower it to put on a show for the drone? He also shows a view of the rapids.] |
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| Carl Bates commented on Gary's post I ride one now The King of the Illinois River MV CODY BOYD |
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| Steve J Crile posted M/V Wisconsin @Muscatine |
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| Roman Bernal posted Who owns the M/V Lee W? Pretty boat for sure. N/B on the Ohio River, Evansville mile 792. [The E on the smokestack stands for Enterprise.] Lee W 1297828 138/38'/12' 2019 Verret Shipyard 2 531 4200 (2 engines, 531 gross tons, 4,200 HP) |
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| Dakato Nutt commented on Roman's post That’s the Lee W with the pilot house all the way down. |
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| Jan Danielson posted via DennisDeBruler, City of New Orleans |
The radar and antennae are mounted different on this towboat, so it appears at least two of their 66 boats have retractable pilothouses.
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| A web page cover photo [So where in the USA is there a green truss next to a blue truss, both Warren trusses?] |
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| One of seven photos posted by Lloyd Scott Hardin National ranger/Katy p/ Marne b than and now 1987. [I had never noticed the cables before. I guess that is because most of them enclose the cables. The Marine B photo shows that it now has a regular fixed pilothouse.] |
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| Quapaw Canoe Company posted [This is one of a few photos, each describes the company of the boat in the photo.] M/V KEVIN CONWAY Southern Towing Company https://www.towboatgallery.com/Kevin_Conway-0631076.php Southern Towing Company, headquartered in Memphis, TN is one of the nation’s largest transporters of fertilizer and other products along the nation’s inland waterways. For over 60 years, we have operated the largest fleet of anhydrous ammonia barges in the United States. Our customer base is diverse and includes clients responsible for providing key products up and down the Mississippi River System and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to end markets such as farming, coal and aggregates. We set high standards for our equipment and more importantly, for our crews and shore side staff to ensure safe and timely transportation service. We are a leading inland tank barge operator, specializing in transporting bulk liquid fertilizer products throughout the Mississippi River System and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. We operate the largest fleet of anhydrous ammonia barges in the United States. In addition to our fertilizer expertise, we provide towing services for several other commodities including refined petroleum, chemicals, coal, grain, and aggregates. We set high standards for our equipment and more importantly, for our crews and shore side staff to ensure safe and timely transportation service. We are committed to providing your company with safe and prompt delivery. |
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| One of five photos posted by Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Inc. MV Miss Andrea! [This is a marine services company in Vicksburg, MS.] |
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| Ingram Barge Company posted Did you know: Ingram Barge has several vessels with *retractable* pilot houses?! As you can see in this picture, these boats look quite different (and shorter) than the others when the pilot house is down. The pilot houses are on hydraulic ram, and can be raised or lowered with the ram. Typically, this type of boat is used to get underneath bridges where clearance is an issue. And that's our Barging 101 Tidbit of the Week! #barging101 #bargingisbest #ingrambarge #barges #transportation See Less David Gulden shared Sam Schropp: Avoid Ingram's retractables. Their Nashville Bridge boats are loud SOBs that will ruin your hearing. |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on David's share [This video and these photos are already in these notes.] |
Sometimes on my way home from Joliet I revisit the 135th Street Bridge. As I started up the bridge, I saw that a tow was going upstream. So I raced (OK, trotted) up the bridge grabbing pictures as I went hoping it wouldn't get too far before I got to the top. Note that the tow had its bridge in its full, upright position.
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| 20150523 1910 |
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Cropped even tighter.
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| 20150523 1880 |
On the left of the following tow that I caught while I was at the old Bear Trap Dam site is a pilot house in the raised position.
The following takes advantage of every pixel that was in the picture (that is, it is original-size).
Around 3:53 of this video of towboats working on an icy Illinois River you can see the pilothouse go up. This video also catches two more tows going downbound on the river. Note that the size of the tows are just 2x4 or smaller when there is ice. At 7:55 you can tell from the propwash and the engine exhaust that the port side screw is pushing harder to help get the front end of the tow around the curve. The M/V Sugarland appears to be another retractable towboat. At 17:23 we see that it takes lots of horsepower to shove through ice because those are big prop washes considering it is a downbound tow. Also, I'm really impressed by the river bluffs in the background. I wonder how far up north they were on the Illinoi River. His commentary says that there had not been traffic on the Mississippi north of the Illinois River mouth for a month.
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| Henry Gulden posted ALTER BARGE LINES REGGIE D. NOW WISCONSIN WHEN I RODE HER CAPT BRISCOE THEN THE MR.LAMPTON [There are several comments by people that "rode" her, and they say it was a good boat.] |
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| Henry Gulden posted DES PLAINES Lloyd Scott Hardin: N/b at the butterfly ill294 just above the old continental elevator. [But I don't know where ill294 is.] |
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| Henry Gulden posted CONTI KARLA |
Henry Gulden posted two photos with the comment: "ILLINOIS RIVER LEGEND SYDNEY REESE."
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%20Rivermen%20&%20Riverboats%20_%20ILLINOIS%20RIVER%20LEGEND%20SYDNEY%20REESE.%20_%20Facebook.png) |
| Comments on above post |
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| Henry Gulden posted When i rode her a couple hitches Michael Wilkinson: Good Ride. Kort Nozzles and wheels had the same rotation. Dennis Ross: When MMT owned it; it was the Mr. Lampton lot of horsepower and a great shoving boat. Brandon Watkins: Ronnie Lewis they both turn clockwise. I rode it several times also. |
4 of the boats featured here can regularly be found working the Calumet River in South Chicago as I type.
ReplyDeleteThe Al Weaver is now owned by Northern Marine/Illinois & Michigan Oil/Egan Marine and is known as the Joe Derbas. It can usually be found in their slip just south of the old KCBX North site.
The Des Plaines is an old single screw towboat. It has been laid up since the early 2000s, and is used by Calumet River Fleeting as a hotel boat for out of town crews and mooring for their active tugboats and towboats.
The Sydney Reese moves around, but as of late she has been working South Chicago. You will see her fleeting barges at Chicago Port and Rail, Ozinga's dock at the old CNW Irondale elevator.
The Lee W is owned by Enterprise Marine. You will frequently see their tugs shuttling tank barges from the Asphault plant on the old Wisconsin Steel site to BP in Indiana Harbor/Whiting. They have some very nice retractable pilothouse boats built recently for this duty. They were built to ABS standards so that they can work on Lake Michigan too.