Well . . . I was on a schedule to get to Dubuque, so the title provides alliteration if not accuracy.
Our timing was such that we could watch a tow make its way upbound at Lock & Dam 11, aka Eagle Point.
M/V Aaron F. Barrett was pushing twelve cement barges to St. Paul.
It was soon apparent to me that this would be a double-locking.
My estimate of barge length was about 200′.
There area just up from the lock was off limits, so I had no opportunity to see the mechanism that moves the non-propelled barges forward along the approach wall. Anyone help with details here?
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who’s now working on part 2.
tugster: a waterblog 
6 comments
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September 10, 2018 at 11:28 am
eastriver
Standard river barge is 195 x 35 x 9 max draft.
September 10, 2018 at 11:29 am
Lee Rust
Just behind the guy in yellow, it looks like there’s a trolley/winch mounted on rails along the edge of the lock that pulls the barges forward.
September 10, 2018 at 1:46 pm
Daniel James Meeter
But then what pushes them beyond the lock?
September 10, 2018 at 5:58 pm
Lee Rust
It appears that the tow is re-assembled on the other side of the lock once the tug gets through:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lock+and+Dam+No.+11,+Dubuque,+IA+52001/@42.540278,-90.6463557,711m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x87e32b2f4b5f2947:0x42f4fdbc82fc8581!8m2!3d42.540278!4d-90.644167
September 11, 2018 at 10:22 am
Daniel J Meeter
Right, I get that. I didn’t ask the question right. What pushes the first set of barges out past the lock to clear it until the tug and second set can get through.
September 11, 2018 at 11:21 am
Lee Rust
There seems to be a trolley system along the western extensions of the lock wall that pulls the first barges out of the way until the rest of the tow gets through the lock.