Blakely Island Slip

[mike]

Frisco Docks at Pensacola, Florida

[yardmaster]

The recent post on the Blakely Island car float operation triggered my memory. There's a good photo of #10 with idler car from eye-level view on the "Fallen Flags" website, from August 1979:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/slsf/slsf10abp.jpg

Best Regards,

[meteor910]

Look at the big mill gon on the car float in the Blakely slip pic. Wonder if that is one of the 70000's or 70050's?

Ken

[Rick Morgan]

Here are two shots of the Blakely operation with float "Pinto", in 1978. At this time traffic was pretty much all jumbo tank cars.

Rick Morgan

[friscomike]

Howdy,

Thanks for the float pics. Anyone know what color the barges were painted?

Best Regards,
mike

[meteor910]

Mike -

This is not a definite answer to your question, but ...

Per the February, 1994 "Railfan & Railroad", which had a feature on the Blakely Island operation, I would guess the carfloat barges were in a rusty boxcar red color. There is only one color shot in the article that shows part of a car float - it is BCR.

The pics I have of SLSF 11 and SLSF 10 that show a carfloat in the background suggest rust is the primary color - but they do look like they were BCR once.

Ken

[friscomike]

Thanks Ken, that helps. I'll work from that color group. Best Regards, mike

[TAG1014]

Also Mike--Nearly anything metal around a port would always be rusty to some degree. Boats, ships, containers etc.

Tom

[friscomike]

Thanks. The Pinto looks like it is sporting a few years on her. I am assuming the entire barge was painted BCR or oxide with waterlines left on the hull and top. ~mike

[HWB]

where did the float dock on the State Docks side and Blakely side?

[HWB]

Is there anyone in the Mobile area who has seen the car float in action?

[meteor910]

I've not seen it in action, but - as noted above, try to find a copy of the Feb, 1994 "Railfan & Railroad". The subject was in BN "gangreen" time then, but the article does a nice job of describing the Blakely Island/Mobile operation, including photos of SLSF 10 and SLSF 11 and a shot taken from "Pinto".

Ken