Monday, December 26, 2011

M/V Onward in 1947

This was referred to me by a blog reader named Robert about two years ago, so it's time it got another mention. It's a YouTube video, and the title says it's the towboat Onward at the Hillman Brothers Barge & Construction Co. yards in 1947, when it was owned by O.F. Shearer and Sons. The Onward was built in 1947. Today it's known as the Charleston and is owned by AmherstMadison.


Two boats

There wasn't a lot of boat traffic in the Greenup or the Robert C. Byrd pools today, at least from what I saw, I did see the M/V Wally Roller ...




... at about Mile 294 and the Nell ...



... at about Mile 281. Usually I see the Nell close to the mouth of the Kanawha River, but every now and then I see it downriver. A couple of summers ago, Adam and I saw it help the Chuck Zebula take a 25-barge tow through the R.C. Byrd locks.

Another hydroelectric plant coming?

Could another hydroelectric power plant be coming to an Ohio River dam, this time at New Cumberland? Perhaps so, as a company known as Hydro Green Energy LLC has announced plans to file an application this coming week to build such a plant.