Old Boat Column

From the beginning of World War II, the inland shipyards of the United States had been almost totally committed to building vessels for the war effort. Few commercial towboats… Read More

A book titled “The Little Engine That Could” came out in 1930 “as retold by Watty Piper,” a pen name for Arnold Munk. This beloved tale for children tells… Read More

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, several towboats in the 3,000 hp. class were built with hulls that were relatively wide for their somewhat short length. This was… Read More

The last column dealt with a towboat built in 1955 for Sioux City and New Orleans Barge Line that was named Kansas City and operated on the Missouri River… Read More

Sioux City and New Orleans Barge Lines, Inc. (SCNO) was formed in the early 1950s for the purpose of towing between those two cities, with an emphasis on the… Read More

In recent columns, we have looked at radical new designs for barges and then a towboat. This column will again detail a vessel that was designed with the idea… Read More

Dravo Corporation’s Neville Island, Pa., shipyard was a large producer of many types of vessels during World War II. After the Ernest T. Weir and Albert E. Heekin were… Read More

In the November 10, 2025, issue of The Waterways Journal, this column touched on the history of Hillman Barge & Construction Company. In 1903, Pittsburgh Steel established a repair… Read More

The stern line rumor mill was flying last week with talk that the Showboat Majestic may finally have a home to go to. Showboats were once a common… Read More

The last column examined a “radically different” style of barge from 1930. This column will look at a “radically different” towboat that was built in 1953. The December… Read More