The McAlpine Lock

I didn't realize that these locks existed and my mom told me about them. 

 The first set of locks appeared here in 1825 and were built as the Louisville and Portland Canal.  They were 190 feet long by 50 feet wide and enabled boats to get around the Falls of Ohio.  They were taken over I 1874 by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Recently they were lengthened to 1,200 feet to serve some of the newer vessels.

 There are a series of locks that enable river traffic to go from Pittsburgh to Cairo on the Mississippi.  A variety of goods are moved but I think the bulk is coal.

 A shot of the control tower.

 One boat leaving the other lock as one enters.

 If only I had a shot of a train in this shot.

 A closer shot of the towboat.

 This lock enables towboats to carry about 1000 feet worth of barges and I'll have to admit this was pretty cool.

 An almost side shot of the towboat.

 The pilothouse.

 A shot of the towboat as it leaves the lock.  This is a pretty typical configuration of towboats that ply the Ohio River.

 This shows some of the flood heights over the years.

I believe this boat used to be used to service the locks.