Summary

Camera location	38° 16′ 37.53″ N, 85° 47′ 28.53″ W	View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap	38.277092; -85.791258

Looking NNW from 27th St. at McAlpine Locks
Towboat "Brimstone" entering 600-foot lock with second cut of tow (consisting of empty tank barges), downbound.

This 600x110 foot lock was completed in 1921. It was the main lock here for 40 years, but when the first 1200x110 foot lock was opened in 1961, the 1921 lock was relegated to auxiliary status, mostly used when the main lock was unavailable, as in this case. Its short length required large tows to be broken into 2 parts, or "cuts", which were locked through separately and then reassembled before proceeding, a time-consuming process. The 1921 lock was replaced by another 1200x110 foot lock completed in 2009.

At lower left is the blue control panel from which the lock operator opens and closes the lock gates and lets water in and out of the lock. At upper right is part of the swing span which crosses over the head of the lock. It must be swung aside to allow tows to enter or exit the lock. When the 2009 lock was built, this swing span and the bascule bridge over the 1961 lock were replaced by a fixed high bridge with plenty of clearance for tows.

Twin-screw towboat "Brimstone" (doc. # 277557, length 156 feet, width 38 feet, F-M 38D8 1/8 diesels, 4000 horsepower)
Built 1958 by Parker Brothers Shipyard, Houston, Texas
Originally owned by Texas Molten Sulphur Transport, Inc., Houston, Texas
Transferred April 1971 to Houston Barge Line, Inc., Houston
Sold May 1992 to Mississippi Marine Transport Co., Jackson, Mississippi
Sold July 1992 to Yazoo River Towing, Inc., Vicksburg, Mississippi
Still operating in 2017
_____________________
Ohio River mile 607
Louisville, Kentucky
October 1987
File # 87j072

scanned from 35 mm Kodachrome slide

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