Topic starter
10/03/2014 2:26 pm
Below is an image sent to me by good friend, historian and model builder John Bowman of Wheeling, WV, just 30 minutes up river from here in Clarington.
I would like to know more information regarding the small passenger launch with sternwheel that ferried roughly 12 passengers at a time across to Wheeling or Benwood, WV. The name cannot be read on both the original image or this digital copy. Can anyone provide a name for this boat and where it was built??
10/03/2014 7:22 pm
Taylor, I also have this image in my database of sternwheel gasboats. I suspected that I had no info on it either, so I went straight to the "Unknowns" folder on my PC, and there is the same image... Sorry, I've got nothing on it. I've got about 732 known gas/diesel sternwheelers (pre-1955), but this is one of about 80 in my unknowns folder. We need a larger image, or some luck finding someone who still knows the story behind this little sternwheel launch!
28/03/2014 12:51 am
Another paddle wheel boat
When I was a kid in the 50's living on a hill above Clarington, I remember that a paddle wheel boat pushed a gravel barge daily, it seemed, Do you have picture of the boat and its name?
28/03/2014 4:44 pm
You will need to be much more specific! Could have been one of MANY diesel or steam sternwheel towboats still active at that time on the upper Ohio. The name of the sand & gravel company could narrow the choices down to a few specific boats, but it would still be a lot of guesswork...
28/03/2014 5:06 pm
I don't recall...
I don't have much to offer you. The boat normally pushed only one barge or two. and sometimes passed twice a day, almost always pushing gravel or an empty barge. It may have been associated with gravel bar maintenance.
The boat hugged the shore and did not run mid-channel. I recall seeing a diesel tow pass it when the were going the same direction, so it probably was not highly powered. As I recall it had green trim paint.
28/03/2014 6:11 pm
Sorry, it will have to remain a mystery. If it was a case where you had a photo and could not read the boat's nameboards, I might have a fair chance of matching the boat's design with other photos, to determine the name. But not enough info...