Pictures from the Mighty Mississippi

[Laura's Babies]

I took my camera when I went to work last time and took some pictures. Thought some of you might enjoy and get a better feel for what it is like out there..

This is my galley where I work and the pantry in the background. It is very nice and we have everything there that you have at home, just on a resturant style basis.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1229.jpg

Looking out the deck locker door at the front of the boat on the first deck at the barges. This was approaching Baton Rouge.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1227.jpg

New Orleans, GNO bridge.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1221.jpg

The Delta Queen. We see a lot of these cruising up and down the river. People PAY to ride these boats and I laugh.... Our company pay US to ride ours!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1224.jpg

One of my most favorite pictures of the boat I work on..
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid100/p38aa7a2370307f9dff5678e18600f507/f9e526d1.jpg

[QueenScoopalot]

That looks like such a neat job Laura! I love the water be it ocean or river...whatever, I'd love to have a job like yours. Being away from your kitties and home must be difficult though. What does the barge carry? The barges we used to see around here were loaded with trash, and garbage to be dumped way out in the ocean. I'm glad they no longer do this though. Great pictures, and the galley looks like a great place to cook. :D :) ;)

[Laura's Babies]

QSL, we push a lot of different stuff, whatever need to be moved, we'll push... corn, grain, chemicals, coal, scrap iron, pig iron all kinds of stuff that I have no clue as to what it is or used for...

Yes, I love how that galley is set up on this boat and I really enjoy working in it. There is even a dishwasher in that island facing the sink... I love those stoves but they are old and hard to get parts for and the oven is always a problem.. Takes TWO hours to get hot and the cooking temp is constantly changing in it.. Right now if you want to bake a cake at 350* you have to set it for 400* but when I go back, even 350* could burn it to a crisp.. Soooo, I cook most of my cakes in the microwave... They are equal to the old fashioned wood cooking stoves and I have always loved those...

[Cinder & Smoke]

W:cool:W!!

The M/V John M. Donnelly / Ingram Barge Company

http://www.towboatgallery.com/uploadj/John_M_Donnelly(C)MSH-01.jpg

The JOHN M. DONNELLY, built 1980

Position: Mile 804.3 on the LOWER MISSISSIPPI (2/05/05)
Net Tonnage: 761 Tons (1119 GROSS)
Engines: 3 x GM 16-645-E7B | 9180 HP | 900/930 RPM
Tow Size: 40 Barge Maximum Tow
Boat Height: 53 ft (Highest Fixed Point: 53 ft)
Length/Width: 200X50 ft
Boat Draft: 9 ft

WOW! :eek:

Now that's a BOAT!! ;)
..

[kimlovescats]

Very cool, Laura ... thanks for showing us where it is you disappear to for 23 Loooooooong, lonely (for US) days!!!:D

[Laura's Babies]

WHOA! Phred, you found our company web sight?? You are one smart fella! Did you find Boat Positions where you can keep up with where the boat is??

http://www.ingrambarge.com/barge_positions.asp

The boat is almost up to Great Rivers in Columbus Kentucky (right now), that is mile 900 something. It should turn and head south once it gets there, drop it's cargo and gets a southbound cargo. Baton Rouge is about mile 230..

[QueenScoopalot]

See how you are Laura? Even when you aren't at work, you're keeping track of your boat lol! :D :D It is a very fancy looking barge. :) Too bad the stoves don't work properly, but it sounds as though you keep up very well. ;)

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by QueenScoopalot

It is a very fancy looking barge. :)

:eek:

BOAT... Fancy lookin BOAT!! ;)

She rides & cooks in the Boat...

The Boat pushes the BARGE!
The "stuff" rides in the Barges.

:D
:D
..

[Laura's Babies]

LOL! Phred, the main reason I took those pictures is because Mike tells everybody I cook on a "barge".. I showed him the picture from the front door where you see the barges and told him "See? Barges!" Then I showed him the galley shot... "See? Galley! Galley is INSIDE the boat, not on the barges!" But everybody says that I cook on a barge, I guess because they hear more about barges than boats...

QSL, Yes, I keep up with it when I am off, ESPECIALLY when it is getting close to time for me to go back to work..so I will know if I should plan for a short drive to the boat or a long one.. Nice to know that since I don't do road food... I pack a lunch!! (I have a very fussy tummy)

[QueenScoopalot]

Originally posted by Cinder & Smoke
:eek:

BOAT... Fancy lookin BOAT!! ;)

She rides & cooks in the Boat...

The Boat pushes the BARGE!
The "stuff" rides in the Barges.

:D
:D
.. OK..I'm confused (nothing new though lol):rolleyes: Why is the company called Ingram Barge? It should be Ingram Tugboat, or Ingram Fancy Yacht ...something along those lines then. ;) :D

[Andie]

Nice to see the river looks the same (if you go south at least)

I'm going to wave at every barge that comes by now.

[Laura's Babies]

It is called Ingram Barge because it is a barge business... The barges are what make the BIG $$$$$$... Wish I could remember the stats on what one barge earns on one trip..

The boat.....that is just a big hole in the water that they pour money into.....:D
Had to replace 2 of the 3 wheels this last trip.. can you imagine what these things COST$$$$$$$$... this is the one they didn't replace. (I think)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1209.jpg

[Cinder & Smoke]

Whttp://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/cool.gifW!!


The M/V John M. Donnelly / Ingram Barge Company


http://www.towboatgallery.com/uploadj/John_M_Donnelly(C)MSH-01.jpg


The M/V JOHN M. DONNELLY, built 1980


In the 1970s ...

The Ingram Barge Company was run by John M. Donnelly, a businessman who started with the company in New Orleans. Today, Ingram's flagship towboat, the "M/V John M. Donnelly", is named in his honor.

The Ingram Barge Line traces it's roots back to the 1850s ...
Read the Company History at:
http://www.ingrambarge.com/barge_timeline.asp

"We operate nearly 4,000 barges powered by the best towboat fleet in the industry. With over 100 linehaul vessels ranging up to 10,500 horsepower and approximately 40 boats under 1800 horsepower, Ingram can accommodate a wide array of shipping needs. We transport cargoes including coal, grain, aggregates, fertilizer, ores, alloys, steel products, and chemicals."


Photo Position: Mile 804.3 on the LOWER MISSISSIPPI (2/05/05)

Net Tonnage: 761 Tons (1119 GROSS)
3 Main Engines: 3 x GM 16-645-E7B | Total of 9,180 HP | 900/930 RPM
Tow Size: 40 Barge Maximum Tow
Boat Height: 53 ft (Highest Fixed Point: 53 ft)
Length/Width: 200 x 50 ft
Boat Draft: 9 ft
Built By: St. Louis Ship Co.; St. Louis, MO

WOW! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/eek.gif


Now that's a BOAT!! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/wink.gif
-------------------------------

6/27/07

I always wondered "Who Mr. Donnelly was?" ... guess I found out today =
He was da BOSS!

More Boat photos on Page 1 of this thread.

/s/ Phred

[Freedom]

When does a "boat" become a "ship?"

Can you put in a requisition for a new oven?? Maybe if you just start serving burnt everything -- with a side of under cooked everything else? Nah, never mind. :D

Laura, thanks for starting this, it is grand to see where you work and some of the sights from your view point.

[cyber-sibes]

Hey, you're working on a pushboat*? Cool! I met a few people who worked on them when we lived on the Mississippi in Quincy Illinois a few years ago. We loved to sit by the river and overlooking the lockes and watch them. Those boats are awesome how they manuver around all those barges! (I was blown away seeing what - 12 or more barges all strapped together being floated along by a pushboat!) Must be an interesting job. Take lots of pictures up & down the Mississippi!

There was a flood a decade ago & the Missouri side of the river flooded way way inland...there is a single barge that came to rest about 1 1/2 miles inland across from Quincy - :eek: what a HUGE, HUGE thing it is! Unbelievable, if you've never seen one!


[[i]Tow Size: 40 Barge Maximum Tow
/s/ Phred
Did I read Phred's barge info right - your boat can push up to 40 barges at once?!? Wowzers!

*the locals call them "pushboats" :)

[Cinder & Smoke]

When does a "boat" become a "ship?"

:D

Sorta depends on WHERE you go sailing. :p

Sail on an inland RIVER or LAKE ... and chances are they're gonna say they're on a BOAT.

Sail on the high SEAS ... and most folks say they're on a SHIP.

"Size" doesn't really matter.

:D

[ramanth]

How neat! I always envisioned you worked on a boat that went out to sea (for fish or whatnot).

Very cool that you get to go up and down the mighty Mississip. :D

[Cinder & Smoke]

Did I read Phred's barge info right -
your boat can push up to 40 barges at once?!? Wowzers! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/smile.gif

Yuppers!

The UPPER Missippi, Illinois, and Ohio Rivers limit "tows" to 15 barges ---
stretching 1/4 mile front to back!

" A Typical 15 Barge Tow, which operates on the Upper Miss, Ohio & Illinois, is restricted in size to a Maximum size of 15 Loaded or 16 Empties. This rule applies to all tows - above St. Louis, which must pass through - Locks & Dams to reach upper points, because the rivers is more narrow. Plus the limited space within locks, allows only a certain amount of tonnage to fit within them. A tow of 15 - Hopper barges, lashed together ( 3 - wide ) and 5 - Long ( "Lashed End To End" ), are equivalent to a 1/4 mile in overall length with the boat included, being approximately 1145 feet long. If Loaded, a 15 barge tow carries a "Whopping 22,500 tons of cargo, more than 4 1/2 times what the average Cargo Ship - carries!"

On the LOWER Mississippi (below St, Louis) there aren't any Locks & Dams to restrict things ...
so the tows are lashed up 8 barges wide (280 feet) by 5 deep ahead of the Boat! Whttp://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/eek.gifW!

"Below St. Louis to the Gulf of New Orleans, tows can attain numbers of over 40 to 50+ barges in a single tow. Pushed by a single vessel. which is the largest class of Long Haul - boats. Rated above 6000 to 10500+ horsepower in the biggest vessels, powered by Twin, or Triple Screws as the ... "The Big Boys" of PUSH. With no locks to restrict - tow-size below St. Louis, the only restrictions or exceptions that reduce things are restrictions by the rivers conditions, depending on safe navigation rules, set by the Coast Guard. For Example - during low water or high water - flooding, or in towing accidents, or when the river channels are being dredged, or during bad weather .... Such things can and often do, reduce barge tow sizes or can halt traffic completely. Otherwise the vessel and/or its Capt, or owners, set the towed number of barges that it will push - safely, naturally following the CG - laws for safe navigation. So occasionally when there's a bottleneck of barges in a fleet, a boat with the power to handle massive tows, gets a chance to show it stuff. The results, a record size number of barges, pushed at one time, which boggles the mind to its massive size!"

Information from:
http://oldriverbillzumwalt.members.ktis.net/barges.htm

/s/ Phred

[Cinder & Smoke]

:(
For some reason Ingrahm Barge Co removed a lot of the individual Boat Photos
from their web site; BUT they now link to a very neat Video shot by Fox TV 17.
NOTE: This is NOT Laura's Boat featured in the video - hers is a LOT Bigger,
but the video gives a nice snapshot of what the Towboat Crew does 24/7 for 28 days.

Let's go for a Boat Ride >>> Roll Video >>>
http://www.ingrambarge.com/default.aspx?v=barge/Resources/media

[RICHARD]

LOL,

NOw I am really confuse!

I'd laugh because a dear friend would always correct me when I said something like, "Hey, nice boat!"


"NO, A BOAT GOES ON A SHIP"!:confused::D

---------------

I was expecting a caption for the first pic to be something like, "This is where the magic happens!":D

[Cinder & Smoke]

A dear friend would always corrected me when I said something like, "Hey, nice boat!"

"NO, A BOAT GOES ON A SHIP"! :confused: :D

"A Boat goes on a Ship" ...
Not always. :p ... Sometimes 'little boats' ride around on 'BIG Boats'. :cool:

It depends on WHERE you go sailing with your Boat or Ship - the Where determines
if you're sailing a Boat or a Ship.

If you're out on the High Seas, sailing in Oceans ... you're probably sailing a SHIP.

BUTT ... if you're puttering around on the Great Lakes, any other Inland body of water, or
one of the major (Inland) Rivers, you're fur sure driving a BOAT - regardless of
how BIG or small it may be. A giant Great Lakes Ore Boat, measuring a huge 1,000 feet long,
(and a lot bigger than some ocean-going "Ships"), is very affectionately called their "Boat"
by the crew, it's never called a "ship".

Likewise, Laura cooks on a Mississippi River "Tow Boat" (even though it always *PUSHES* it's
cargo barges, never "tows" them), it's a TOW Boat - and the crew refers to the vessel
as "their BOAT". And it's a pretty darn BIG "Boat".

:D

[Andie]

On the LOWER Mississippi (below St, Louis) there aren't any Locks & Dams to restrict things ...
so the tows are lashed up 8 barges wide (280 feet) by 5 deep ahead of the Boat! Whttp://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/eek.gifW!


And they do! I'll have to get a pic a the barges on the river down here sometime. It's a sight to see.

[Medusa]

Boat, ship, barge, whatever. This is really cool and thank you so much for posting it. It's so nice to have such interesting PT friends! :)

[G535]

Down here a ship is a passenger liner or a cargo ship, fishing vessels are boats even if some are the size of a small ship. Anything travelling only on the river is generally called a boat, tugs are boats except for the large offshore oil rig tenders which are sometimes called ships.

Confusing it is! :)