The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-21
FIRST WARRIOR TOW OF FIVE BARGES WAS DUE YESTERDAY AT POWHATTAN, , p. M.
Transportation on the River Begins With Shipping of Coal to Mobile and
 New Orleans

barges in tow, the first to be put in service on the Warrior river under government control, was due to arrive at Powhattan at o'clock yesterday afternoon. The barges will be loaded with coal from the Franklin Mining companys mines and then start on the return trip to Mobile.
 The Clio, with four empty, barges, will start from Mobile on her initial trip today. Self-propelled steel barge No. , left New Orleans Thursday night des- tined for Powhattan, where it is due to arrive on Christmas day. No. 1 of the steel barges will start from New Orleans on her first trip to the Warrior coal fields on January l.
 CONTRACTS FOR SHIPS
 Contracts for steel ships, recently au- thorized by Director General McAdoo, will be let the early part of next week. These ships will be 275 feet long and 49 feet wide. Each vessel will have a ca pacity of 200o tons of freight. with cargo houses divided fore and aft with capacity of 600 tons package freight allowing 50 cubic feet to the ton. These cargo houses will be constructed to protect cargos from rain and bad weather, being just as safe in that respect as railroad boxcars.
 These new ships will have a speed of IA miles an hour and can make four round trips a month between the head of navigation and Mobile, allowing ample time for loading and unloading at head of navigation on the Warrior and at the gulf ports. They will be capable of mak- ing the Mississippi sound, Lake Borgne and by staying close to shore can go to Pensacola and Tampa from Mobile.
 All of these ships will be ready for de- livery within six months.
 In addition to the six self-propelled steel boats, contracts for which will be let early next week by c. A. Tomlin- son, director of inland waterways of the United States railroad commission, boxes which can be loaded at the wharf, lifted onto the barges now in use on the War rior, and from the barges to terminals along the river theHce by rail to the door of the consignees, will be built for the Warrior service. Henry T. De Bardeleben, manager of transportation on the Warrior let the contract for 20 of these boxes a day or two ago to the River and Rail Transportation company at St. Louis. Others will be bought as business may require.
 DESCRIPTION OF BOXES
 These boxes. MT. DeBardeleben says, will be eight-foot sections designed to fit into railroad boxcars. They will be loaded the wharfs and by means of derricks lifted onto the barges. At the river destination derricks will again be brought into use to transfer them from the barges to boxcars, and thence by rail to the point of destination where the goods will be delivered to the purchaser M the original boxes.
 le accompanying cut shows the boxes ta open railroad cars, the one at the op showing the boxes closed and the Aer with one box being removed Four
 these boxes will fit into a stand ard railroad car. The contract for the boxes calls for their delivery within a few weeks.
 fhs present equipment of the Warrior, ., If which will be in operation by the middle of January, has a capacity of about 2S5,000 tons a year. one way, and , six steel ships to be contracted for t t week, with their capacity of 700,00t tt.is, will increase the total to little os CT 100000 tons year, one way.
 Mr. DeBardeleben stated yesterday