Chessie System Tug in N and Z Scales

[pnolan48]

The Chessie was a compact 95-foot powerhouse built in 1984 for the Chessie Systems marine operations. Twin diesels driving twin propellers and a Kort maneuvering nozzle produced a total of 4000 HP. While only 95' long, the tug weighed in at a hefty 280 tons. It and its sister, the Seaboard, operated around Philadelphia; they were purchased by McAllister Towing & Transportation and operate today out of New York and Norfolk in the company's red. black and white colors.



The model captures the handsome and hefty lines of the prototype. It features custom photo-etched brass railings with closely-spaced stanchions, fold-down mast and antennae, custom 3D printed towing bitts and water cannons, and  bulwark ribbing. Doors are positionable. The hull is built up from precision-cut styrene. Z Scale model shown.



See them at nscaleships.com. Kits are $79 plus shipping.

[jimmo]

Nice little tug, Pete.

[pnolan48]

Reminds me of a Mississippi River system towboat, modified with a bow. I'll have to paint one up with MacAllister colors.

[GonzoCRFan]

The Chessie was a compact 95-foot powerhouse built in 1984 for the Chessie Systems marine operations. Twin diesels driving twin propellers and a Kort maneuvering nozzle produced a total of 4000 HP. While only 95' long, the tug weighed in at a hefty 280 tons. It and its sister, the Seaboard, operated around Philadelphia; they were purchased by McAllister Towing & Transportation and operate today out of New York and Norfolk in the company's red. black and white colors.

Pete,

Out of curiosity, do you have any additional info on what these tugs did in the Philly area? To my knowledge, the B&O/Chessie never had any carfloat operations in the area, and I doubt there was any sort of remaining lighterage by the mid-80s.

[pnolan48]

Sean,

This is what the Tugboat Information site has to say:

Built in 1983, by Jakobson Shipyard of Oyster Bay, New York (hull #469) as the Chessie for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad of Richmond, Virginia. In 1986, she was acquired by McAllister Towing of New York, New York. Where she was renamed as the Brent K. McAllister. In 2004, the tug was renamed as the G.M. McAllister.

The Chessie page is at: http://www.tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=2542

So it's a puzzle to me too. I've been told the B&O had at least one of the Large Army Tugs (the same 145' that I make for ATSF and PRR) and did track down three of them, if my memory is correct. No pictures, just listings by the manufacturers.

[ljudice]

Photos seem to show it next to coal dumpers - perhaps they handled barges of coal offloaded from railcars???

[pnolan48]

Or maybe the other way around?

[Blazeman]

Pete,

Out of curiosity, do you have any additional info on what these tugs did in the Philly area? To my knowledge, the B&O/Chessie never had any carfloat operations in the area, and I doubt there was any sort of remaining lighterage by the mid-80s.

No B&O car floating on the Delaware. Believe RDG had one though. Rick773 would be a good authority for that.

[ljudice]

Or maybe the other way around?

Pete, those ramp things in the back look like a dumper....

Tug looks terrific BTW....

[GonzoCRFan]

No B&O car floating on the Delaware. Believe RDG had one though. Rick773 would be a good authority for that.

The Reading had two on the Delaware. One ran out of Port Richmond and accessed both Petty's Island/Camden, NJ before they acquired trackage rights across the Delair Bridge in the early 60s. The float apron on the Philly side is still standing. They also had one out of Wilmington that gave them easier access to the DuPont Chambers Works over in Deepwater, NJ.

[pnolan48]

I'm not sure where this historical note is from, but my European customer found it:

In 1983, what was by then the Chessie System was looking for a way to downsize the tugboat fleet at Newport News while still being able to dock the new large colliers that were being built and calling at the coal piers. By then, the 1980 merger with the Seaboard System into CSX had created a new all-rail routing into Norfolk and Portsmouth from the former C&O Railway. Thus, the need for the cross harbor car floats was eliminated. The only job left for the tugs was docking and undocking ships.

An order was placed with the Jakobson Shipyard of Oyster Bar, New York for two new tugs. They are among the most powerful tugboats ever built. Costing $3.3 million each, they were 105 feet long and had two General Motors diesels with 3,900 horsepower. At the request of and with financial help from Newport News Shipbuilding, the new tugs had twin screws and special thrusters called kort nozzles that enabled them to have greater thrust and maneuverability. The new tugs were called Chessie (second) and Seaboard. These were the last two railroad tugboats built in the United States.

At the height of the tugboats usage in Newport News there were 124 men working on them. Each tug had three daily crews with up to six men on each crew. The car floats had a captain and a fireman and the house barges had a deckhand. The reason for the captain and fireman on the car floats was that they could be steered to assist the tugboats while docking and undocking at float bridges. The fireman manned a small boiler that provided the “power steering” to move the rudder.

[dmassey]

The July 2010 Railroads Illustrated has a 6-7 page color article about the Chessie and Seaboard and their operations in Newport News and Hapton Roads area of Virginia.