LIRR Tugs n' Floats
LIRR Maritime Roster 
LIRR Marine Operations Schedules


1887 LIRR booklet freight cars on barge - Long Island New Flushing RR Freight Depot
Archive: Dave Morrison

Patchogue-tug_barge-starboard-side_produce-to-NYC.jpg (116449 bytes)
LIRR tug "Patchogue" with car float barge - view is starboard side crossing East River bound
with produce for NY City  Archive: Chuck Blardone

Long-Island-Tug-2_watercolor_Steven-Cyran.jpg (230908 bytes)
"Night Trick" watercolor by Steven Cyran - LIRR Tug "Long Island II"  Built in Wilmington, DL the second  Diesel-Electric acquired by the LIRR

 

LIRR tugboat "Patchogue" pushing loaded car float in NY Harbor - Boxcar roads are:
ACL watermelon,  C&O,  GA, and  SRR.  07/02/32
(Percy Loomis Sperr photo, Dave Keller archive)
LIRR Tug with two loaded LIRR carfloats - East River,  Brooklyn, NY
 Zoom view NE from Williamsburg Bridge  9/14/1932 (Sperr-Keller)
 
LIRR Tug Patchogue guiding a car float in NY Harbor (zoom)  7/02/1932 (Sperr-Keller)


LIRR Tug with two loaded LIRR carfloats - East River,  Brooklyn, NY LIRR Tug with two loaded LIRR carfloats - East River,  Brooklyn, NY
 Labeled view NE from Williamsburg Bridge  9/14/1932 (Sperr-Keller)
 

Meitowax with barges "on the hip", or alongside at East River Bridge 8/1960
 
LIRR Tugboat "Meitowax" pulling two loaded LIRR car floats in NY Harbor
4/23/1939 - (Percy Loomis Sperr photo, Dave Keller archive)

 

When you push a barge backwards (usually because of the skegs it handles better in the harbor/river (can't do this outside) it is called heads to tails. This picture is not heads to tails, The stern of a carfloat is the end with the bumpers. Never seen a carfloat (or any piece of railroad owned marine equipment) with skegs either. Since carfloats don't have skegs, and both ends are raked, it does not make a difference which way they go, until they get to the bridge, in which case they obviously need to go bow out.   Paul Strubeck

Any time I got full of myself, I just have to remember the tug operation at LIC. The tugs handled the barges as you see them in the picture. They split the 2 at the float bridges, tied one off and bridged one. This is all done while the tides are running, up or down. Being a RR engineer was a great and rewarding job, but if you can imagine handling the trains, without tracks. That is REAL judgement.  Ed Schleyer 
LONG ISLAND RAILROADER - Floating the Freight 
LIRRer June 1951 issue-cover.jpg (189529 bytes)
Long Island Railroader - Floating the Freight 
June 1951 		LIRRer June 1951 page-13.jpg (291001 bytes) LIRRer June 1951-page3 .jpg (285210 bytes) LIRRer June 1951 issue-centerfold.jpg (185146 bytes)
Long Island Railroader - Floating the Freight 
June 1951 Centerfold
LONG ISLAND RAILROADER - Tracks Across the Bay 

Long Island Railroader - Tracks Across the Bay November 1953 		LIRRer Nov 1953 issue 003.jpg (307417 bytes)

ModelingLIRRTugboatsFeb2000MikeBolandpage2.jpg (174854 bytes)
Modeling LIRR Tug boats LIST "Semaphore" 
Feb 2000 Author: Mike Boland		 ModelingLIRRTugboatsFeb2000MikeBolandpage3.jpg (154444 bytes)
Modeling LIRR Tug boats LIST "Semaphore" 
Feb 2000 continued. Author: Mike Boland

lirrgardencitytug.jpg (90801 bytes)
LIRR Tug "Garden City" Collection: R. Mcenery

meitowaxtug.jpg (51190 bytes)
LIRR Tug "Meitowax"


Garden-City-tug-port-side_SteveLong.jpg (49244 bytes)
LIRR Tug "Garden City" port side view Photo/Archive: Steve Long

 LIRR Tug Patchogue - LIC - 10-44.jpg (67769 bytes)
LIRR Tug  "Patchogue" LI City  October 1944
Fred Weber photo, Archive: Dave Keller 

Float-Docks-LIC_c.1955+_bw.jpg (102579 bytes)
 LI City float docks c.1955

Float-Docks-LIC-Meitowax-zoom_c.1955+.jpg (86369 bytes)
LI City float docks zoom on LIRR  "Meitowax" pilot house c.1955

Tug Stuff
scans2136.jpg (162663 bytes)
The 2 NYNY&H tugs, Cordelia and Bumblebee (in the ad) were powered with Clevelands. They both made quite a few runs to 65th Street  back in the day as they were NYNH&H  main tugs.
Info: Paul Strubeck 		TUG    TUG NAME:        Registry #         Build Date
Gladiator               86020                 1888
Wrestler                30869                 1889
Montauk                                            1895
Syosset                116895                 1899
Patchogue           204384                 1907
Cutchogue          271845                 1918
Quogue                219419                 1919
Talisman               22000                 1920
Meitowax            226219                 1926
Long Island         229322                 1930
Garden City         240341                 1941
 Info: "Steel Rails to the Sunrise" Ron Ziel

The Late Great GARDEN CITY-StevenCryan.jpg (160424 bytes)
"The Late Great GARDEN CITY"  watercolor by Steven Cryan

The MEITOWAX Off the Battery-StevenCryan.jpg (148202 bytes)
"The MEITOWAX Off the Battery" watercolor by Steven Cryan
LIRR-tugs_1958.jpg (152376 bytes)
LIRR tugs operated at LI City 1958 - PRR KEYSTONE VOL 26 N0 2, by Nick Kalis 		Steel-Car-floats_1-01-1954.jpg (175703 bytes)
LIRR Steel Car Floats 1/01/1954 -  PRR KEYSTONE VOL 26 N0 2, by Nick Kalis

03/25/2024