Saturday, February 5, 2011

29 barges ... a few more thoughts

I tried to get a good shot of the full tow of the Lee Synnott as it went up the Ohio River Thursday evening with 29 barges, but timing, light and geography worked against me. In case you couldn't tell from the photos, there were some loaded coal barges and some empties. There were chemical barges of some sort, and there was at least one barge filled with scrap metal.

... The barges were arranged six wide and five long, with one missing on the right (starboard) corner of the tow. A normal full-sized barge tow on the Ohio is three wide and five long.

... I try to get photos of oversized tows when I can. Like that 30-barge tow in 1988, or last year, when Adam and I saw the Jackson H. Randolph downbound with 25 and the Linda Reed  upbound with 25. If anyone knows of an oversize tow, particularly in the Greenup pool, please let me know. Sometimes Campbell boats push more than 15 barges, but often these are stumbo barges -- as wide as a standard and as long as a jumbo. What I'm looking for is a tow so large it would take two cuts to get through a 1,200-foot lock.

... It figures that the Lee Synnott would be pushing 29 barges. The Synnott has figured in some of my best photos, including two that I've not put on line. They're so good, I don't want them stolen.

... How do you pronounce "Synnott," anyway? Like "Senate"? Is it "sin-KNOTT"?