Wednesday, December 5, 2012

You can never have too many pictures of a Hillman boat

I thought there would be fog on the Kanawha River at Charleston WV when I got there to work this morning. After all, the Huntington WV area was thick with the stuff. But I was wrong.

Second disappointment: The sternwheeler Major had been tied up with some construction equipment at the riverfront park for several days. I figured I would get some more photos of it this a.m. Alas! It was gone.

Consolation: I saw a boat coming downriver pushing loaded coal barges. So I hung around to get some photos. It was the M/V Dr. Edwin H. Welch, built in 1959 as the John H. Elliott for U.S. Steel by Hillman Barge, later known as Brownsville Marine Products. Other notable Hillman boats are the Drema G. Woods, the Charleston and the Lelia C. Shearer.

They all have beautiful lines, although I admit I prefer the look of the Charleston to the higher pilothouses of the Welch and the Woods.

So here are a few shots of the Welch coming under the South Side bridge, passing my position and moing on.