The A.M. Thompson: Still Going Strong After 76 Years
This is another column that was prompted by recent photos. These shots were of a towboat, resplendent in a coat of fresh summer paint, with closeups showing the vessel looking like new, belying its three quarters of a century in service.
The April 23, 1949, issue of The Waterways Journal carried a story on page 13 that was in fact a reprint of a story from the April 10, 1949, issue of the Chicago Tribune. Writer Philip Hampson wrote: “The A.M. Thompson, one of the mightiest river towboats in the world, is scheduled to leave a slip in the Calumet River this week to go to Lockport (Ill.), where it will receive finishing touches.” It went on to say that Chicago’s Calumet Shipyard and Dry Dock Company built the Thompson for the Central Barge Company, also of Chicago, at a cost of $500,000.
There was a brief description of the boat, which was named in honor of the president of Central Barge Company. It was powered by two Enterprise diesel engines that were equipped with “Buchi superchargers” said to be a Swiss invention. This was to give the new vessel “3000 or more horsepower,” making it “more powerful than the average lake ship.” It was also equipped with kort nozzles to increase thrust. The “finishing touches” at Lockport were to place the stacks, pilothouse and cabin back on the boat. They had been removed so that the boat could be towed under the low bridges between Chicago and Lockport.
The June 25, 1949, issue of the WJ had a detailed story about the A.M. Thompson. The boat had been turned over to Central at Lockport on April 27. The “sturdily built” hull was 142 feet by 34 feet and had a depth of 10 feet. There was a full lower cabin, an upper cabin about half that length, and above that, a small cabin behind the elevated pilothouse. There were accommodations for 18 on the first and second decks, and the small cabin behind the pilothouse held “two spacious and well-appointed cabins for guests.”
The pilothouse was described as “very large and equipped with all navigation instruments,” including an RCA radar set that cost a reported $11,000. The 8-cylinder Enterprise engines had a 16-inch bore and 20-inch stroke, each producing 1,300 hp. at 296 rpm. The two 90-inch diameter propellers from Coolidge were of cast steel with three blades. Two double-barrel Schoellhorn-Albrecht capstans were on the head deck, as well as two 15-ton winches. The article closed by stating, “The A.M. Thompson is proving to be a good and efficient performer and is considered a credit to her owners as well as all concerned in designing and building.”
The late Capt. Norman Hillman mentions the A.M. Thompson several times in his book titled “One Man and the Mighty Mississippi.” Of the A.M. Thompson, Hillman wrote, “I brought this boat out of the Calumet Shipyard as a brand-new vessel and was even on her the first time the engineers turned the engines over.” A short one-paragraph piece in the July 9, 1949, issue of the WJ was headlined, “NEW A.M. THOMPSON MOVES HUGE COAL SHIPMENT.” Robert L. Miller of Keokuk, Iowa, reported that the boat had been up on July 2 with some 19,500 tons of coal in 15 195-foot by 35-foot, or “jumbo,” barges. Capts. Icle Casey and Ralph Richtman were aboard. The A.M. Thompson often fought ice on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers during winters, and photos from the time capture her engaged in “mule training” to get critical barges through the ice.
Central Barge Company merged into the Mississippi Valley Barge Line in April 1952, and for the next 35 years the A.M. Thompson carried the Valley Line logo, a pennant emblazoned with MVBL on the outboard side of the two large stacks. In 1971, it was repowered with a pair of GM 16-645E2 engines that totaled 3,800 hp. In 1987, it entered an era of various ownerships. It was first sold to Alton Marine Services Inc. Then, in December 1988, it was sold to American Boat Company, Cahokia, Ill. In 2005, the vessel was sold to Contract Marine Service, Lake Sherwood, Mo., and in August 2007, it was sold to Eagle Marine Towing Inc., Roslyn Heights, N.Y. In early 2009, it was sold to and operated by Atchafalaya Dock and Storage, Simmesport, La. Later that year, though, Western Rivers Boat Management Inc., Paducah, Ky., acquired the boat and gave it a new lease on life.
In 2010, as Western Rivers was completing a major refurbishment of the boat, which had been renamed Brooke McKenzie, this writer was able to tour it. The vessel appeared new inside and out, though at that time it was some 61 years old. Though 15 years have passed since then, the recent photos depict a very well-kept 76-year-old towboat, a testament to both its owners and crew.
Featured image caption: The new A.M. Thompson as it appeared in the June 25, 1949, issue of The Waterways Journal. (From the author’s collection)
