Daily Archives: November 4, 2008

The 360 mile Erie Canal :A diversion

It’s pretty far removed from the election but is relevant to fuel issues .Also it’s just damn cool. Some creatures are evolutionary throw-backs that have through some strange series of events avoided extinction .The Erie canal may prove to be such a thing in the world of engineering .With the high cost of transporting large and heavy stuff,not only is the use of rail transport increasing but shipping(real shipping) by canal is too.It’s also proving cost-effective.

“Sixty percent of the people I meet have no idea the Erie Canal is even still functioning,” Mr. Dufel said. He is assistant engineer on the tugboat Margot and an owner of the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company, one of the largest shippers on the canal.

After decades of decline, commercial shipping has returned to the Erie Canal, though it is a far cry from the canal’s heyday. The number of shipments rose to 42 so far this year during the season the canal is open, from 15 during last year’s season, which lasts from May 1 to Nov. 15.



Once nearly forgotten, the relic of history has shown signs of life as higher fuel prices have made barges an attractive alternative to trucks.

The agency does not have money for advertising, so this year’s growth happened almost entirely by word of mouth. Much of the interest comes from new energy businesses. An old building in Fulton that has been converted into the Northeast Biofuels plant sits on the shore of the Oswego River, which serves as the Oswego Canal and connects to the Erie. The site will also include a carbon dioxide recovery plant, which required moving four large metal tanks there, said Eric Will II, one of the owners of Northeast Biofuels.

Moving the tanks by truck or rail would have required cutting them into pieces and reassembling them at the site, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the cost, Mr. Will said. Instead, the manufacturer delivered the tanks whole by barge.

“It’s a nifty thing to do,” Mr. Will said, “and it can be a very cost-effective.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11…