Locking Through #4
At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi River Lock & Dam #4 in Alma, Wisconsin a Marquette Transportation barge is locking through on their way up River – There were 11 barges total in this move, so the entire assembly would not fit inside this particular lock. - The first image is a member of the barge crew handing off a rope to a lock employee so that the first 8 barges can be tied off to allow the 3 rear barges and the tug to separate and back out into the clear. – Once the rear gates are closed the water level is raised within the lock, and then the forward gates are opened so that the 8 lead barges can be winched out of the lock and tied off again. – The second image is of the tug/tow boat “Ronald E. Wagenblast” in the lock with the 3 rear barges. - Since this whole process can be somewhat time consuming, it’s not hard to be able to catch a train and barges in the same shot with the BNSFs double track main line so close to the Lock & Dam site. – The final image is the now re-assembled lashed barges exiting the locks with the twin EMD 16-645E7B Marine diesels of the tug churning up the River waters to continue their trip up the Mississippi, and unless the final destination for this barge is Red Wing, then the next stop will be Lock & Dam #3 at Welch, Minnesota. – July 11th, 2020 ~~ Jeff Hampton Photographs ©
Locking Through #4
At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi River Lock & Dam #4 in Alma, Wisconsin a Marquette Transportation barge is locking through on their way up River – There were 11 barges total in this move, so the entire assembly would not fit inside this particular lock. - The first image is a member of the barge crew handing off a rope to a lock employee so that the first 8 barges can be tied off to allow the 3 rear barges and the tug to separate and back out into the clear. – Once the rear gates are closed the water level is raised within the lock, and then the forward gates are opened so that the 8 lead barges can be winched out of the lock and tied off again. – The second image is of the tug/tow boat “Ronald E. Wagenblast” in the lock with the 3 rear barges. - Since this whole process can be somewhat time consuming, it’s not hard to be able to catch a train and barges in the same shot with the BNSFs double track main line so close to the Lock & Dam site. – The final image is the now re-assembled lashed barges exiting the locks with the twin EMD 16-645E7B Marine diesels of the tug churning up the River waters to continue their trip up the Mississippi, and unless the final destination for this barge is Red Wing, then the next stop will be Lock & Dam #3 at Welch, Minnesota. – July 11th, 2020 ~~ Jeff Hampton Photographs ©