| Missouri Pacific 800hp diesel towboat NATCHEZ (#285833) docked at Vidalia, Louisiana after rail ferry service ended in June 1982. The vessel's dimensions were 70.5x28x8.7 feet. It was built at Leavenworth, Kansas in 1960 for service at Natchez, and was sold to the Plaquemine Towing Co. (Plaquemine, Louisiana) as the AARON BANTA after the ferry service was officially abandoned in 1984. Notice the MP boxcars on the east (Natchez) side of the river, behind the vessel's pilot house. The tall pilot house enabled the crew to see over the tops of the cars on the transfer barge. |