Neale Marine Transportation & Fleeting Had Unique Origins

Choices in life are sometimes made from desperation. Such choices may not end well, but some work out exceptionally well. It was just such a choice that Charles Neale faced in 1964. At the time, Neale was a regional manager for a Parkersburg, W.Va., newspaper, but also had a farming operation, including many acres located on Neal Island at Ohio River Mile 162. He had depended on Joe S Towing, a small local towing company, to move his equipment to and from the island. When he was notified that the company intended to cease business, he had to find a way to move his farming equipment.

He decided to buy the towing company for the floating stock. The equipment included a small ferry flat and the towboat David Jones. The Jones was a small, converted World War II landing craft built in 1944 and rated at 330 hp. Neale would arrange with local pilots to run the boat for him when he needed to move his tractors, combines and other equipment to the island.

This author has heard Neale tell of getting a call from American Commercial Barge Line, (ACBL) asking him to do tow work for one of their boats that was due at Parkersburg early the next morning. Neale told them he didn’t do that kind of work and didn’t have lights on the David Jones. The ACBL dispatcher told him the company really needed this, and if he agreed to do it, the boat would be waiting for him when he could get there. Neale said that when he left the landing in the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, the Phillip Sporn was indeed waiting, and Capt. Frank Phipps, the master, was very irate at having had to wait.

From that point on, the business was very much a harbor service, and Phipps became a very good friend. Coal barges from Ohio River tows were fleeted in the Little Kanawha and delivered to a local plant. Other business ensued. A more powerful boat than the Jones was needed, and the Beaver was purchased in 1968. The Beaver had been built by Dravo at Neville Island, Pa., in 1937, entering service in January 1938 as the DRAVO 42. It was single screw with a hull 86.9 by 21.1 feet and had 450 hp. from a direct reversable Fairbanks-Morse engine. It had been the first towboat built with a kort nozzle following the installation of the device on the Pioneer, a near sister vessel in early 1937.

Neale and his wife, Dianne, who served as a company dispatcher, became well known throughout the upper Ohio Valley, as did their son, Rick. In 1972, a new 670 hp. Twin-screw boat was built for them by Humbolt at St. Louis and christened Richard Neale. The fleet was moved from the Little Kanawha to land at the family farm at Ohio River Mile 178 at this time and, coupled with the arrival of the new vessel, allowed the family operation to better serve their growing list of customers.

The 1,000 hp. Jane Neale was added to the fleet in 1975, named after the Neales’ daughter, and the 730 hp. Dianne Neale was added in 1979, beginning a long relationship with the constructing firm, Marine Builders, Inc. Fleeting expanded, and, later, a drydock was added. Both Charles and Rick Neale became licensed pilots.

Today, the company is known as Neale Marine Transportation & Fleeting, LLC, and it has been successfully built on dedicated personal service. It currently has some 25 employees. In 2005, Neale Marine acquired the Danielle Lynn, which had been built by Dravo in 1958 as the Humphrey for Consolidated Coal. For many years, it ran from West Elizabeth, Pa., on the Mon River to Weirton Steel at Weirton, W.Va., and was nicknamed the “Weirton Express.”

The boat was completely rebuilt over several years, including a new hull and machinery. It is now the 2,200 hp. Capt. Rick Neale and could be considered the flagship of the fleet of nine towboats, a drydock and various other pieces of floating equipment. Rick Neale’s son, C.R. Neale III, virtually grew up on boats with his dad and grandfather and is now a licensed pilot on his own and active in the company. Rick Neale’s wife, Carole, and C.R.’s wife, Ramsey, also work in the company.

Charles Neale passed away at age 90 in 2022, and though technically retired, still actively farmed when he could. The 1,800 hp. Mister Charlie Neale was named in his honor in 1998. His wife of 67 years and co-worker Dianne is doing well and now spends time between Florida and West Virgina.

The Neale family has always had an interest in river history and has long had active members of the Sons & Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen. C.R. Neale currently serves on the board of governors, and his wife serves as secretary of the organization.

Rick Neale was under the weather when this was being written, but when asked what he sees as challenges in the industry today, C.R. Neale was quick to say “communications,” saying that in this day of so much technology, too much reliance can be placed on email when a phone call may be more effective and expedient. Asked about what he enjoys about working in the industry he said, “the plethora of people I get to meet and work with.”

Featured photo caption: David Jones, first boat owned by Neale. (Photo courtesy of the Dan Owen Boat Photo Museum collection)