Time for some Photo ID sleuth work

Now that's the kind of tall stacks I'd like to see. What was the occasion?

According to the PLCHC website, these photos were taken in October 1929 at the Monongahela Wharf in Pittsburgh during a parade for the completion of the Ohio river dams. The photos were taken from aboard the Cincinnati.

Jon,
I can't make out the names of the three towboats, but the Betty was a diesel, Dravo built, I think.

JON;;
IN the second pic,,..
Looks like all the boats are blowing there whistles ,,,...right,,,??

Think of how THAT must have sounded,,!!!

And all that high sulfer coal burning,,..
I can smell it now .,,. AH,,,...;)
Thanks for posting them,,..
Sorry,,Im no help as to what boats thay are,,,...

Jon,

The boat at the far left in the first of the pictures is Capt'n Way's BETSY ANN. The second picture was taken from the decks of the CINCINNATI. That second picture was on the inside cover of the 1979 Lower Ohio River Navigation Chart set I got at the Corps office as a child to keep up with where the boats were on the river. Capt. C.W. Stoll taught me how to read them and I never turned back!

Speaking of the CINCINNATI, anyone know where the calliope she had for the Ohio Valley Improvement Association cruise came from? She had it the fall season of 1929 and all other pictures of her have it missing. It appears to have been a 32 note job...but, it didn't stay on her when she was sold to become the PRESIDENT.

~Travis~

John,
You are correct. The boat at the far left of the first photo is the Diesel split-sternwheel towboat BETTY. It appeared in our 2007 calendar as the boat for October (photo attached).

At the far right I see the steam towboat ALIQUIPPA, which I think was November in our 2003 calendar. Beyond the ALIQUIPPA (and partly obscured by it), may be the BESTSY ANN, as Travis was saying.

We do have a new calendar for 2009, and I will be posting information on it shortly.

Yes, the packet at the far right, amidst all the towboats, is the famous Str. BETSY ANN. Capt. Fred writes of this occasion in one of his books and said that, despite the fact the high pitched whistle of the BETSY was "lost" in the din of all the towboat whistles, he tramped the treadle with a zest anyway!

Here's yet another one for us:

This photo is from the Way collection, but is not mentioned in the Packet Directory. Any guesses?

A pure guess on my part, but I'm going to say on some Texas river. Do you have the answer, Jon?

Sorry Bob, I don't have the answer, unless INTERNATIONAL is not the boat's name. While I don't have answers, what I do have are more questions!

The next few postings include photos from the Decatur (AL) Public Library's photo gallery at Flickr.com. I'll post as much information as I can based on the photo captions, but I believe that none of these appear in the two Directories. All photos, unless otherwise noted, were taken on the Coosa River near Decatur.

1) HILL CITY locking at Greensport, AL
2) HILL CITY
3) JOHN J SEAY at Rome, GA with load of cotton

Again, all images from the Decatur (AL) Public Library taken on the Coosa River.

1) MAGNOLIA at Rome, GA
2) MAGNOLIA and ETOWAH BILL
3) WILLIE G (C?) WAGNON

The last one: the COOSA, which appears to be towing a dredging barge. The Steam Towboat Directory lists the COOSADA (T0502), owned by USE and operating on the Coosa River. Could this be her?

Jon: This is the easy one. The International ran on the Red River of the North. This photo was taken at Ft. Garry. Built 1862 at Georgetown, MN by J.C. Burbank Co. Her size was 136 x 26 x 4. Burbank sold her to the Red River Transport Co. which was a part of the Hudson Bay Fur Co. The others will take a little sluething.

Bob where I come from they call that a creek.