Railroad Marine Operations tend to be overlooked by historians and museums, but many railroads had a Marine Department, particularly those on the East Coast. Paul Strubeck has researched many of the railroad tugs from their design to final disposition, and Garbely Publishing has put it into print in this superb book:

https://store.garbelypublishing.com/tugboats1/

Given that railroad book printing runs today tend to be small, I would recommend getting this title while it is available because it is a really excellent and comprehensive book.

PC

Preston, thanks for this post; during the late 1970's we operated the ex-PRR tugs Philadelphia and Chicago, diesel-electrics, powered by Cleveland 278-As between Cape Charles and Little Creek, VA.

The line, operated as the Virginia & Maryland was atypical, with about 90% of its traffic overhead (mostly export grain) moving between CR and connections in Norfolk.

At the time, the volume was significant for a regional, averaging about 8,000 loads annually.

The line - at the time - was a heavy duty dirt-road railroad, mostly 130# cropped PS rail, buried in the mud from end to end. Both tugs had severely worn cutlass bearings, requiring a complete bilge pump out on each arrival at port. The bilge was full of oil that leaked, dripped, and washed from every seal. The week before my arrival the tug Chicago had blown a hole in the Main Generator's armature for failure of the crew to pump the bilge at Norfolk. Neither tug had seen a drydock in several years.

Amazingly, the 278s soldiered on with a reduction to 700 rpm (IIRC), until we could put them in order.

I'm pleased to say I was able to place an order for Strubeck's book this morning.

Thanks. Ordered my book.

Most RR's bought new tugs after WWII (except NYC) and, like USN, they were Cleveland 278 or FM OP diesels. Be interesting to see what the book says.

Phil Mulligan

Preston,

Thanks for the mention. Yes, to those of you that want it, I advise ordering it. I do not know how many are left from the first run, but its not many.

To add a few things. The book covers not only the tugs themselves but how they were developed and operated, history of the various engine and propulsion packages and how each one actually worked and more. Just shy of 400 photos are in the book, with the vast majority of them never published before, along with maps, 22 blueprints and other drawings. A large appendix also covers all dispositions.

A short review is here: https://tugster.wordpress.com/2022/10/2 ... ats-vol-1/

I am maintaining an errata and additions here: https://vintagedieseldesign.com/tugbook/

Please feel free to shoot me a message with any questions/comments/concerns/etc.

R. Paul - Interesting story! Those tugs are most certainly featured in this book. I am not surprised to hear of their condition, as was the case with most former RR tugs of that time.

Priceless. Thank you for the heads up!

Here is the Big Daddy, a.k.a. the Reading's Delaware, laid up down at Marcus Hook...

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.826914, ... a=!3m1!1e3

Unfortunately new USCG regulations have pretty much pushed all of the older boats out of service at this point. There is only one commercially working railroad tug left in the northeast.

Used to be ... that was Harry Hay's old dock. When I worked for Turecamo Maritime (a fallen flag - now subsumed into Moran Towing), we used to take our tugs to Harry's because he had a floating drydock. It was handy for replacing cutlass bearings, thin steel, etc. The Delaware has been gone for some time now.

Funny story: before Harry went to that Big Wheelhouse in the Sky, Dave Griner and I took a day to go down and visit him and the Delaware. After a congenial tour and coffee in the galley, I asked Harry if the Delaware was for sale. "No," he said curtly. (Not that I had the means to purchase her. More than one retired marine engineer has purchased a tug for a retirement project, only to have the widow and/or the estate attempting to deal with an albatross ...) It is still a fantasy ... But unlike rail preservation, almost all of the tugs I worked on, with the exception of the Bart Turecamo and the Carly Turecamo have been scrapped. It's the way of the world ...

I take that back, my latest GE capture does have the Delaware extant just south of the bridge ...

Delaware/Big Daddy is still there, sitting tied up next to the beach. Seen photos of it from not too long ago. As far as I knew Harry is still alive as well..