There have been four towboats operating on the Great Kanawha River bearing the name Iron Duke. The first of these was built in 1875, and it was a wood-hull, steam-prop… 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.
In thinking about this special Fleeting & Harbor Services issue, a particular boat came to mind. This boat was the first vessel for a family that initiated a fleeting and… Read More
In the last column we looked at the steamer J.C. Rawn (Way’s T1236), built by Howard in 1911 as the H.S. Chamberlain for the Roane Iron Company and operated on… Read More
This writer has never believed in “luck,” per se, but does believe that the subject vessel of this column was most unfortunate at times. It was the subject of feature… Read More
Dubuque Boat & Boiler Company, Dubuque, Iowa, had a history dating back to 1852 as Rouse, Dean & Company, a foundry and machine shop. A few years later the firm… Read More
In the Old Boat column that appeared in the September 18, 2023, issue of The Waterways Journal, the history of the first towboat built for the Socony Vacuum Oil Company,… Read More
The last column looked at the John W. Hubbard (Way’s T1444), a steam sternwheel towboat built by Dravo in 1936 for Campbell Transportation of Pittsburgh. It was the second of… Read More
In a recent visit with a good friend of nearly 50 years—Capt. William F. “Bill” Judd, a retired marine surveyor from the Cincinnati area—the fact that he had, as a… Read More
A lead story on the local TV news several days ago dealt with a fire at a historic house at Gallipolis, Ohio. The video reports gave images of a red… Read More
In 1933, the Inland Waterways Corporation (IWC) had two diesel-powered twin-screw towboats built by Midland Barge Company, Midland, Pa. These were the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Tom Sawyer. In 1938-39,… Read More
