3. This is the m/v Laney Jones lightboat, as preparations are made to "turn" the m/v Lydia E. Campbell. (-turned- We took her N/B tow, and she took our S/B tow.) Photo Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny.

4. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal has low bridges such as this one here from Mile 300 in Lemont, to Lake Michigan on the Chicago River's North and West Branch. There is too much highway and rail traffic throughout the city and suburbs to lift (or in this case rotate) these bridges open for every vessel that navigates this area of the River. If a towing vessel is not equiped with a retractable pilothouse, then it is unable to procede beyond Mile 300 toward Chicago. The horizontal clearence under most of these bridges is around 20', and there are a few that are a mere 16' from the waterline to the lowest extreme of the bridge. It's not enough to lower the pilothouse to the main deck level. The antennas, flag pole, navigation lights, and radars all have to be lowered, and the exaust stacks have to be removed to clear these overpasses. Photo Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny.

5. This bridge shows 19.5' on the gauge. The twenty foot mark is still six inches under water. Even with the pilothouse and gear lowered, it will be a tight squeeze, as seen from the second deck of the m/v Lydia E. Campbell. She is headed N/B "lightboat" (no barges in tow) and is light on both fuel and potable water, which means she is riding almost 2' higher into the air than when her tanks are full. Photo Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny.

6. In the center of this photo, there is a small lighthouse marking the junction of the Calumet-Sag Channel coming from the Calumet River into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, as seen from the bow of the m/v Lydia E. Campbell lightboat. To the left is the path N/B to Chicago and the Chicago River. To the right is the path to Blue Island, the Calumet River, and Calumet Harbor at Lake Michigan. The Canal is referred to as "the Ditch" as it continues south from this point to the Lockport Lock and Dam, where it becomes the Des Plaines River above Joliet Harbor, and then becomes the Illinois River where the Kankakee River and Des Plaines River converge immediately above Dresden Island Lock and Dam. All of the above are parts of the Illinois River System. Photo Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny.

7. The m/v Lydia E. Campbell, a retractable pilothouse towboat, was built in Nashville, Tennessee by Nabrico (Nashville Bridge Co.) in 1973. Assigned hull number 550490, her hull dimensions are 35' x 144'. She is equiped with kort nozzels, and her twin screws are propelled by two, 12-645E5 General Motors/ElectroMotive Division diesel engines, and she is rated at 4200 horsepower. Canal Barge Co. has been her only owner. Picture Property of & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny.

8. The m/v Steve T. was built in 1971 at St. Louis, Mo. She is 50' wide x 198' long and her assigned hull number is 531157. Providing 8400 horsepower, her three 16-645E5 General Moters/ElectroMotive Div. diesels turn three screws equipped with kort nozzles. She was first named Leslie Ann, and in 1974 renamed Steve T. by then owners; Upper Mississippi Towing Corp. She is currently leased to Lawson and Lawson Co., Inc. in Wynne, Arkansas. She is one "Big Mama"! Photo Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny.

9. American Boat, a.k.a. the Alton Junkyard. Picture Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny. January 2002.

10. Lake Michigan at the Calumet Harbor Inlet and the Calumet River. Property & Courtesy of Mike (MacGyver) Kenny. January 2002.

Main header image is Tommy Towboater©
used with permission. First image is
Tommy Towboater©. Second image is
Fiddlinsue©. All backgrounds and
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None of this set is to leave this site by any
means.  Page created 3/13/05. Thanks