The Calumet River exits from southeastern Chicago. For Mississippi-bound watercraft, it also leads into the continent. I was thrilled to follow it a bit thanks to Christine Douglas.
Koolcat was the first tug we saw. She was shuffling barges, as Amtrak passed above.
Among those barges was strong evidence that we were no longer in the east, in a whole new watershed.
The Calumet flows under the former-Calumet Skyway. More info on her history to the present can be found here . . . believe it or not she’s currently owned by a consortium of Canadian pension funds . . . yup. But I digress.
Here was an interesting sight . . . a Hannah boat, and one that’s from the same WW2 yard as Bloxom.
Mary E. Hannah was hull #537; Bloxom was #519, launched just over a year before Mary E. Hannah. Interestingly, hull #538 was alive and well on the Columbia a few years ago here (scroll).
Going downstream from here, it’s a Great Lakes yard, which will be the focus in tomorrow’s post.
Louisiana is 101 years old and still ready to work. I’m curious about the tug in front of Louisiana, but have nothing to report.
All photos by Will Van Dorp. Again many thanks to Christine Douglas, more of whose work can be found here.
tugster: a waterblog 
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August 22, 2018 at 11:32 am
Erik Springer
I would’ve waved if this was back on the 17th! I was enjoying the Texas Eagle right until the train wreck 23ish hours later.
August 22, 2018 at 11:48 am
William Lafferty
Koolcat came to Chicago in 2012 after years of fleeting barges on the lower Mississippi. It was built as the Sean L. for Lalande Towing at New Iberia by Superior Boat Works at Greenville, Mississippi, 72 x 24, originally with twin Cummins Diesels, 1000-bhp. It was later Ray Eckstein for Eckstein Marine at Hanrahan and Koolcat for GNOTS Reserve at Destrehan. It was repowered with twin Detroit Diesels, 1200-bhp, in 1999. It’s run now by JAMATTCA LLC, an outgrowth of the old Kindra outfit, along with the Tanner.
August 22, 2018 at 1:55 pm
Jim
I wonder if that little blue and white tug on the dock in South Chicago might be an old “pond boat” built in Manitowoc for Consolidated Power and Paper Company- the “Cole.”