We have learned a bit more about the towboats. They were approximatly 95 feet in length and could carry up to 100 tons. The Canal had a downbound current of about 2 mph and the mules pulled another 1 – 2 mph. By my calculation, the team of two mules had to pull about 6,000 lbs, assuming negligible friction from the water. Although the barges would run 24 – 7, the mules were 6 on, 6 off.
The towboat had 3 sections, the stern section was the living quarters. Crews were usually families, but often a group of men. The living area was maybe 300 sq ft and not uncommon for 7 people to share this area. The forward section contained a stable for a second mule team. They would often switch teams at the locks, since the team was unhitched for the lock through and the boat was stopped. Remember, for these guys time was money and they barely made enough to live on.
The center section is the cargo hold. The cabin in the center is a hay barn. The mule tender also bunked here. 85% of the cargo was coal from western Maryland coal mines, destined for Georgetown. It was loaded from train to boat at Cumberland using a chute system, actually not that much different from what we saw last year with the Lakers. One boat could hold all the coal from one train. At Georgetown, it would be off-loaded by hand!! 200,000 lbs!! by a few guys using shovels?? Think about 85% of 500 boats every 5 days, thats a lot of shovelling. Believe it or not they could unload in 5 hours, with 4 men.
The picture below is a replica of a full size towboat built to allow you to experience the size and conditions. The stern is left.
Ok, so we were wondering… where does all the poop and garbage go? Hmmm… yep.. probably the best advice is don’t fall overboard. It has been in the 90s here the last few days. Ahh.. imagine the Canal fragrance of summer!
So we have begun our journey in Cumberland. Here, one of several dams are located to fill the Canal from the Potomac. In addition, a steam powered pump would pump water into the Canal if river levels were low. The target depth was 8 feet to allow adequate freeboard for the loaded boats. This place was a hub of activity. Boats were loaded, built and repaired. Tolls were collected for weight and type of cargo. Coal was a $2 toll for 100 tons going to Georgetown.
The next stop takes us to Lock 75 and the lockhouse. Here we learned about the life of the Lock Tender. His job sucked! He was on call 24-7. At peak, he rarely got 2 hours off. Often his wife would cover for him so he could get some sleep. His responsibility was to control the lock doors and the lock gate used to flood or drain the locks. Most locks were designed to raise or lower the water depth by 8 feet. He also checked load manifests and recorded date, time, and boat name. Boats announced their arrival with a bugle. Locking took about 1/2 hour.
This is a test. How many locks did we say were on the Canal? (Go back to Sept 8 post) yep, 74 locks. So whats going on?
There is no Lock 65. There is a series of locks in this area, so they increased depth in 3 locks by 2 feet and did not need to build Lock 65.
Next stop was our first aqueduct at Town Creek. A short single arch aqueduct. We will see several on our journey, they are a bit of an engineering and constuction wonder. In case you are wondering, an aqueduct is basically a bridge with a limestone “trough” built over another waterway. So you see the Town Creek flows under and the Canal crosses over.
Next stop is the Paw Paw tunnel. Recall the construction of this tunnel delayed completion of the Canal by about 4 years. Its purpose was to provide a straight passage of about a mile rather than follow the Potomac on its 6 mile meandering route in this area. Problem was the mountain terrain. So they burrowed a 3110 tunnel through the mountain. No easy task. Note the brickwork on the ceiling. Inside it is dark, dripping, and damp. (Note: its whimpy compared to the RR tunnel in Montana)
Going through, you walk the towpath used by the mules. You might wonder what happens if 2 boats enter opposite ends at the same time? Rules are, first boat sends a man to the opposite end with a lantern. That rule came about as result of a 2 day stand off of 2 captains that “met” in the middle and neither would move. With boats stacking up in both directions, a Canal Officer built a smokey fire of green corn stalks at one end of the tunnel. The tunnel filled with smoke and the stand-off ended.
One of the more interesting stops was in Williamsport. There is an aqueduct over the Conococheague Creek. In 1920 a towboat bumped the wall here and the force broke out the wall on one side. The boat, cargo, and mules went down into the Creek. It also emptied the lower 80 miles of the Canal. It was repaired with wood, which has since rotted away. Here is a picture:
This completes our first section of the Canal. We have found this interesting and have learned a lot. Brunswick is the next stop on Monday to explore the center portion.
No comments:
Post a Comment