The sternwheel packet Ben Hur was built by the Knox Boat Yard at Harmar (Marietta), Ohio, in 1887, the same year as the founding of The Waterways Journal. Constructed on… Read More
Old Boat Column
A look back into the rich history of the inland waterways transportation industry. From the earliest steam paddlewheelers to the grand sternwheel and sidewheel packets, and the eventual transition from steam to diesel, you’ll find fascinating stories and photos of a different steamboat every week.
The W.P. Snyder Jr. in the Pittsburgh harbor. (Keith Norrington collection) Happy New Year! One of the major milestones of river history for 2018 will be the 100th birthday observance of… Read More
On this Christmas Day, we conclude the Old Boat Column for 2017 with a steamboat that took its name from the star of Bethlehem. The Guiding Star, a wooden-hulled sidewheeler… Read More
There were two towboats named Control. The first, built in 1904 by the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., was constructed on a wooden hull measuring 118 feet in length by… Read More
Built at Brownsville, Pa., by the Axton yard in 1895, the towboat Tornado was constructed, to specifications drawn by J.M. Hammitt, on a wooden hull that measured 150 feet in… Read More
With this week’s issue of the WJ spotlighting the river city of St. Louis, the Old Boat Column focuses on a steamboat that played a prominent role at the St. Read More
