Locks in the Heartland

2021-07-03 admin Comments 0 Comment

3-Jul-2021 Saturday Above Lock 22, Hull IL (~UMR mile 302) to Burlington IA (~UMR mile 402) (91 nautical miles 104.7 statute miles)

40°46’49.8″N 91°04’45.6″W
40.780490, -91.079324
Elevation: 518 feet Elevation change: 60 feet
States (3): Illinois, Missouri, Iowa

Locks (3):
Lock 21 – mile 32,5 Quincy, IL
Lock 20 – mile 343, Canton, MO
Lock 19 – mile 364, Keokuk, IA

Destination Mississippi River Pool 2 Statute Mile 830
Remaining Statute Miles: 428
Remaining number of Locks: 18

Along the Way

Looking back at Lock 22 – mile 301, Saverton MO

Hannibal MO

The Lover’s Leap story goes … It was given this name about 1840, by some genius who applied to it the scene of the oft repeated story of the Indian Maiden who dashed herself down from a rock precipice rather than wed a warrior she did not love. Since the whole story is an invention of a romanticist, the Indian maiden could have really married the “buck” selected for her by her father, and is indifferent about the matter altogether.

Triple Crown (TC; a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern), is a bi-modal transport network servicing the eastern part of the United States. It uses a hybrid technology combining specifically designed trailers with rail bogies (called RoadRailers) to form trains. The trailers also have truck wheels. The load units (trailers) are not transferred from road to rail (and vice-versa) like a usual train. Instead, the load units (trailers) are simply assembled in rail convoys at the origin and disassembled into truck trailers at the destination.

Inside the levee.

Outside the levee

Lock 21 – mile 32,5 Quincy, IL. Most of the locks on the Upper Mississippi River follow a similar design. They have an iconic set of 4 large pillars near the center of the lock.

4 large pillars near the center of the lock (on left side)

The buoys have take a beating this year. So many are missing and so many are out of places.

Lock 20 – mile 343, Canton, MO

I wonder how the logs got on the top of the pole?

Heartland

Many of the towns along the Mississippi River through Missouri, Illinois and Iowa remind me of ‘Steampunk Cities’.

Lock 19 – mile 364, Keokuk, IA

Construction of the privately built Keokuk dam began in 1910, and was completed in 1913. The movable portion of the dam is 4,620 feet long with 119 separate 30 feet rectangular, steel-skin plated, sliding gates. The gates are either installed or removed and river flow is controlled by the number of gates installed. They are removed by a gantry crane that travels on the service bridge above the dam. At the time it was completed it was second in length only to the Aswan Low Dam on the Nile River.

Barge exiting the lock

Stupid little boat! The tow captain was most unhappy with the stupid little boat. The little boat sat right in front of the barge to watch it come out of the lock. The tow captain knew the little boat was there but the little boat was too close to the tow for the captain to be able to see him.

After the tow’s initial 1 prolonged blast warning I am leaving the lock the little boat did not move out of the way. The tow captain had to issue two different sets of 5 short blasts (danger!!!) before the little boat finally moved. Stupid little boat!

Keokuk Lock. I like this lock. It’s interesting.