Mississippi Watershed 4

This is the Speers-Belle Vernon crossing of the Monongahela River aka the Mon, which in Pittsburgh–which I visited in June 2008 here— flows into the Ohio, which at Cairo flows into the Mississippi.   The lighter bridge carries “rubber wheel” I-70 traffic, and the darker one carries Wheeling and Lake Erie “steel wheel” traffic.

Charleston WV-based Lawson W. Hamilton Jr. moves

a light barge downstream while

Darlane B moves a tow heavily laden with coal upstream.

Former names for the 1975 Mississippi-built vessel are East Wind, Ryan Patrick, Bud Spanier, Stone King, and Harry Collins.

At the dock is Consol Energy’s Burning Star.  More Consol vessels soon.  Here are some Consolidated Coal bulk carrier fotos from Auke Visser’s site.

North of the bridges, Lady Louise (ex-Chief Powhatan II) stands by at

a coal-handling facility in Monessen.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.   Related posts can be seen here and here.