The "Fred Way" @ the John E. Amos Coal Power Plant

The tug boat "Fred Way" is pushing a barge full of coal past the power plant.

John E. Amos Power Plant (Wikipedia)

From the Madison Coal and Supply website:

"The older pre-1970 boats were built with heavier framing and have greater longevity," explains Nelson Jones of Madison Coal & Supply located on the Kanawha River at Charleston West Virginia. That is part of the reason that his firm made the decision to repower their 1945-built push boat the 145 by 27-foot Fred Way. The boat has its original Kort 19A nozzles but has gone through three sets of engines in its 59 years. Her original engines were a pair of direct reversing Cooper Bessemer JS8 that turned at only 310 RPM. In 1977 they were replaced with geared 12V149 Detroits which were replaced in turn in 1997 with a pair of 16V 149 on a new Twin Disc 5301 5:1 gears.

Now, in a major upgrade, the boat is getting a pair of Cummins KTA38 M1 main engines each delivering 1000 HP at 1800 RPM. The Twin Disc 5301 gears will be retained, but the original mild-steel nozzles are worn out. These will be replaced with Corning Townsent designed CT27 nozzles with stainless steel interior faces. Modern and efficient 67x57 five-blade new generation props have been fabricated to a Corning Townsent design to replace the original four-blade props. "We provide crewed vessels for contract towing to barge owners," explains Jones, "The fuel and power efficiencies of the Cummins engines and the nozzles makes these boats attractive and competitive."

It would appear that the Fred Way was named for Captain Fred Way:

Captain Frederick Way, Jr.

Captain Frederick Way, Jr. began his career as a mud clerk, then became a mate, a master, and finally in 1923, received his pilot's license. In 1925, Captain Way bought his first packet, and he put his experience hauling people and produce into his first book, The Log of the Betsy Ann (1933). In 1939, Way began the Steamboat Photo Company and gathered the largest collection of steamboat photos then known. Way joined with others to form the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen, laying the foundation for the Ohio River Museum in Marietta.

Among Fred Way's contributions to river history are The Allegheny as part of The Rivers of America series, the Inland River Record, the S & D Reflector and Way's Packet Directory. Captain Fred Way made a lasting and important contribution to America's river life by using his knowledge, energy and perseverance to publicize and preserve the heritage of America's rivers.

It is indeed ironic that a pioneer in photographing river boats now has a namesake working boat photographed for Flickr.

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Taken in: United States / West Virginia / Raymond City (show map)

Taken on: June 28, 2008

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Sets appears in: • John E. Amos Coal Power Plant

Groups appears in: • Tug Boats • Ships and Vessels more » • Dry Docks/Ships/Tugboats • Small Town America • Ships, Boats and Barges • Tugboats • Lakes Shipping • Ruralist School of Photography • Workboats, Tugboats and Ships That Work • Worldwide Ship Spotters (WSS) « less

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, f/9.5, 1/180 sec, 105mm (=157mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Pentax *ist DS
Aperture:	f/9.5
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/180)
Focal Length:	105mm (35mm equivalent: 157mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	*ist DS Ver 2.02
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