Archive for December 18th, 2024
Towboat L Dale Manns on the Mon
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While waiting for a train to show up, and standing on my formerly broken but still painful ankle for a couple of hours (today is exactly three months from the injury/surgery btw) in 25 degree weather, with a steady wind, your humble narrator was actually enjoying himself.
It’s been a minute…
The Towboat ‘L Dale Manns’ appeared on the Monongahela River, heading towards its intersection with the Allegheny River where the two waterways combine into the Ohio River. The water level here is referred to as ‘The Pittsburgh Pool’ by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), whose institution maintains navigability for maritime activity, with said ‘pool’ being maintained via the usage of a series of locks and dams both up and down the river(s).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Towboat ‘L Dale Manns’ was built in 1973 as the ‘Polar Explorer,’ in Louisiana, and has had several owners and incarnations since. It’s currently based out of South Point, Ohio. You can read all about it here – at tugboatinformation.com.
As you can see from this wide shot, they tow quite a large raft of barges hereabouts. The barges looked like they were transporting coal, but since I don’t know that for sure – minerals. I don’t say what something is unless I’m sure of it. This habit of mine has gotten me in some trouble locally, here in Pittsburgh, as there’s a whole lot of local politics and bitter feelings that rise up when the subject of coal comes up in Appalachia.
Saying that… seriously, I don’t know for a fact that what’s in those barges is coal so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Towboat proceeded along the Monongahela, passing under the Liberty and then Panhandle bridges on its way to the junction with the Ohio River. Your humble narrator wasn’t done quite yet, however, and despite the sun descending behind Mount Washington, I stuck around for a little while yet.
You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned ‘walking’ at all, as I wasn’t. Still not ready for a grand stroll, I’m afraid. When I got back to HQ, just standing around for a couple/three hours had resulted in me needing to apply ice packs to the affected limb to control swelling, for instance.
Back tomorrow.
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