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This is where we are today!
- Thread starter Brent H
- Start date
Chicken lights
Forum Pony Express Driver
When you say a cement barge do you mean a barge carrying cement or a barge made out of cement and how the heck do they steer that thing if they are pushing it?
Is the drone a part of the ships kit?
Craig
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Brent H
Ultra Member
LOL - the drone is some dude in Sarnia area - not sure who? The Cement barge is carrying the powder to be bagged and tagged at your outlet store....The tug is interesting.....
So they take an old Laker and basically neuter it (cut off the engine room), next they make a pocket that a barge can slip into - the pocket typically has connection points that the tug can pin itself to. Then the tug becomes the "engine room" Some tugs are just chained into the pocket.
Drones - we can't fly them without a pilots license and weeks of training etc etc - it is crazy - could have 5 or six beer convo about some of the silly regs we need to follow...but hey, joe public has an amazing drone - may post some of his pics if interested...
So they take an old Laker and basically neuter it (cut off the engine room), next they make a pocket that a barge can slip into - the pocket typically has connection points that the tug can pin itself to. Then the tug becomes the "engine room" Some tugs are just chained into the pocket.
Drones - we can't fly them without a pilots license and weeks of training etc etc - it is crazy - could have 5 or six beer convo about some of the silly regs we need to follow...but hey, joe public has an amazing drone - may post some of his pics if interested...
Brent H
Ultra Member
We were booking it through the slush at about 10 knots - there are speed limits in the river, not sure if they apply to the "ice months". Engines just really clicking - no real heavy load causing us some issues with retaining heat. The weather is -18 tonight so hopefully things get a bit more solid but no too solid!
trlvn
Ultra Member
In that kind of temperature, do you have to keep running up and down the river to keep it open? It must start to thicken up pretty quickly?
Between us and the Yanks, how do they coordinate who is going to break ice where?
Craig
(And I could watch that drone footage for ages. Excellent camera work!)
Brent H
Ultra Member
Hey Craig,
So we are running to try and break up a "track" that hopefully allows the big lakers and tug/barges to follow through and also allow the river current to flush the ice out to the lake (St Clair or Erie). Last week Huron dumped a load of the broken up ice into the river and clogged things up. The river system has a few tight "S" bends and once they get clogged the larger vessels can't make the turns. The ice tends to hold them, we go in and bust out the track and also shave off the corners so they can turn.
Typically the ice office (yep, they have one) will appoint the most experienced ship with the task of making the calls for traffic. As ships enter into the river system they are sort of ranked as to their ice capabilities - some are utter crap and should not be operating but they see us out there and decide to go for it - LOL. Our Captain right now is the river boss so to speak. So he will set up the order for transits and we escort the ships - Typically we will escort the ships through the more difficult areas of the river and then pass the escort to the Americans and then back to our other ship (Griffon) and then the vessel is out into the Lake Erie. When Erie freezes up the Griffon will escort from basically Peele Passage to Nanticoke or across the lake if required and we will do the runs from Sarnia to Peele. The US boats are smaller and have a bubbler system to help them break the ice. Most of them have gone through a massive vessel life extension - they work hard but are a bit small - a lot of their captains are inexperienced (2 year assignments) so they sometimes struggle a bit. One year they had guys driving that transferred from Hawaii - lots of ice there - LOL
So we are running to try and break up a "track" that hopefully allows the big lakers and tug/barges to follow through and also allow the river current to flush the ice out to the lake (St Clair or Erie). Last week Huron dumped a load of the broken up ice into the river and clogged things up. The river system has a few tight "S" bends and once they get clogged the larger vessels can't make the turns. The ice tends to hold them, we go in and bust out the track and also shave off the corners so they can turn.
Typically the ice office (yep, they have one) will appoint the most experienced ship with the task of making the calls for traffic. As ships enter into the river system they are sort of ranked as to their ice capabilities - some are utter crap and should not be operating but they see us out there and decide to go for it - LOL. Our Captain right now is the river boss so to speak. So he will set up the order for transits and we escort the ships - Typically we will escort the ships through the more difficult areas of the river and then pass the escort to the Americans and then back to our other ship (Griffon) and then the vessel is out into the Lake Erie. When Erie freezes up the Griffon will escort from basically Peele Passage to Nanticoke or across the lake if required and we will do the runs from Sarnia to Peele. The US boats are smaller and have a bubbler system to help them break the ice. Most of them have gone through a massive vessel life extension - they work hard but are a bit small - a lot of their captains are inexperienced (2 year assignments) so they sometimes struggle a bit. One year they had guys driving that transferred from Hawaii - lots of ice there - LOL
historicalarms
Ultra Member
I have two "locomotive horn on a truck" stories of two separate guys that I worked with, one funny as hell the other not so much.
One fellow I worked with bought a locomotive horn for his Fruitliner and mounted it in front of the boggies just inside the frame...he was a real dick...one evening I was following him thru a small AB. town we delivered to. There was a young lady walking on the sidewalk just in front of him. When he got right up beside her he cut loose with that horn. She was only 4 ft to the side. I seen her jump sideways 6 ft and instantly grab her ears in pain. I had to stop to see if I could assist her but there was already a woman from a house out to her and she was writing down truck names as fast as she could ( rightfully so in this case). The end result was that the clown was charged with assault & bodily harm (permanent hearing damage) but the damn lawyers got it reduced to a "noise bylaw infraction"...$75.00 fine.
The second one is funny, budie of mine had a horn installed on his gravel truck, one early morning we were sitting on loaded on a hiway waiting for the paving crew to set the paver up...it was sitting on a RR crossing and 8 men all busily concentrating on doing the set up. Stan says watch this and blew that locomotive horn...man you want to see 8 guys all of a sudden $hit themselves simultaneously....we almost got sent home by the superintendent over that one .
Dave, when you do hook that horn up, both guys I know said you have to run a full 1/2" line from a main manifold to get enough air volume. The regular 3/8 lines wont cut it.
I have a locomotive horn in my shop as a burglar alarm that I can hear from the house. it is hooked to a air line valve with a rope that can be attached to any door...if a door is opened when that thing is attached I can guarantee you that nobody is going to remain in that shop long enough to carry a socket out the door.
Post away.
Chicken lights
Forum Pony Express Driver
Brent H
Ultra Member
@Chicken lights : that’s the Sarnia crossing - we are down at the Ambassador Bridge - Windsor last night for water:
The “other ship” Griffon grabbing some fuel:
We will fuel next week - probably take on about 350000 litres. Too bad I don’t get Petro Points - LOL
Off into the ice:
The “other ship” Griffon grabbing some fuel:
We will fuel next week - probably take on about 350000 litres. Too bad I don’t get Petro Points - LOL
Off into the ice:
Chicken lights
Forum Pony Express Driver
You’re making me want to buy a boat and see if I can keep it from capsizing to see more of the waterways I drive by
Swharfin'
Out to pasture Red Seal Millwright
Thinking early Liberty ship are you?