HOW IT GETS THROUGH, PART 2

 

In yesterday’s post, we saw how a push boat shoves the whole 3 by 6 barge flotilla into the lock. At this point, the front and back halves have been split and the push boat has (counterintuitively) pulled back the rear half. The lock’s huge gates begin to close on the front. If you can zoom in enough, you might see a tiny worker in a yellow coat on the right and compare it to the massive pistons pushing the gate in. When they are fully closed, the outer gates will open, dropping the water level of the barges.                     

POWER SOURCE

 

The power it takes to push a barge flotilla on the Mississippi - especially upriver - is almost unimaginable. I once toured one of these boats and the engine was, well, ginormous. There is a tricky way these things have to get through the lock, which we will come to.             

ALL HANDS ON DECK

This is the front of one of the 15 barge max size flotillas. It was heading downriver into the big side of Lock and Dam 27 as we left the small boat side. Our excursion vessel had to tie up along the side of the lock as the water rose. I'm sure this big one had to do the same in the opposite direction. Note the winches and the rope thicker than my wrist.

But, hey! Artica, STL's wacky outdoor alternative arts festival is this weekend and the weather looks good. I'm not exactly the house photographer. They call me the visual documentarian. There's gonna be a lot to document.       

ALL BOATS FLOAT ON A RISING TIDE

Well, actually, I was just looking for a catchy title. The title is supply-side economic Republican economic baloney but it fits the situation.

The view is upriver as the great gates seen yesterday closed behind us. This time the barrier is horizontal. It will lower slowly, raising the water level in the lock until a boat can proceed safely northward. The engineering and construction of these things is beyond me.      

LOCK AND DAM

You may or may not have them in your part of the world, but lock and dam systems are important in ours. The Mississippi River is the nation's central freight highway and of untold economic importance. You just don't see them much from the road, with a few exceptions.

When our tour boat slid into L&D 27, the last one on the the river's southbound course, big steel gates closed behind us and the water level of the lower river. This is the lock for small boats - we went through the big one on our way back. In front, a horizontal gate slowly lowered, letting in water from the north and raising the boat some 15 feet / 4.5 meters. I've seen these things from the side before (the next one up has a visitor's center) but never been through one on a vessel. 

If you are terribly curious, there is a long discussion about how these work around the world at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(water_navigation) .         

Life on The Mississippi: M/S Mississippi V

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A short break from the local artists portraits series:

The navigable rivers of America are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They are responsible for the channels, dredging and the complex lock and dam system. The Mississippi has 26 of them, from the northern end of St. Louis up to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The river is so flat between here and New Orleans that none are necessary.

This is the Corps' MV Mississippi V, the largest towboat on the river. Check the link for its specs. It held an open house last weekend at Lock and Dam 26 at Alton, Illinois, quite a piece of engineering by itself. When I took the picture at the top, I was standing just beyond where the two black walkways come together in the bottom picture. A crew member told me the boat could push 30 barges. Power.