Col. Gaillard

Steam powered dredge
  • This is an old photo of the steam powered dredge, "Col. D.D. Gaillard", taken c.a. 1925, before it was upgraded to an oil burner boiler. It had a 4-1/2 yard bucket. After the upgrade it was equipped with a 6 yard bucket. In this photo the positioning "spuds" are in the raised position.
  • This photo was taken some time shortly before she was retired in 1981. In this photo the "spuds", the positioning columns, are in the lowered position. The attending barge obscures most of the dipper boom. You might be able to see a TV antenna near the flag. The two black balls on the mast are a nautical signal for a dredge, a vessel with a "limited ability to maneuver". This picture graces my computer monitor as the desktop picture.
  • This photo of the bow of the vessel was taken when I revisited her in 2004 . The boom had been mounted between the two steel structures that contained the forward "spuds", steel columns, about 2-1/2 feet square and about 30 feet tall. The spuds were lowered into the ground to hold the dredge in position. There were three spuds, two at the boom-end of the dredge and one centered at the stern. The operator's control levers were located behind the three windows. The TV antenna was still present.
  • The aft spud was raised and lowered with this winch driven by a two cyllinder engine on the stern deck. The spud engines for the forward spuds were located below decks. The two-cell flashlight shows the scale.
  • This is one of two auxiliary steam engines, one on either side of the superstructure, that were used to drive cable drums. These cables were used to position the barges that accompanied the dredge. These cables were strung around big shivs scattered around the deck. OSHA would not approve. This engine is hidden behind the operator seen amidships in the more modern photo of the dredge in operation.
  • This is a view looking down into the engine room. The crank of the engine is flanked by two flywheels. The connecting rod on the right is painted yellow on the end. Beyond that is one of the cylinders that happen to be in line with the camera. The spur gearing reduces the speed and distributes the power to two main cable drums. The cable you see on the near drum is one that lifted the bucket or the boom of the bucket. It may not look like it but that cable is 2" in diameter. The spur gears (you can see one on the left) on the winding drums are about five feet in diameter.
  • A good sized ancient drill press was in the forward control room. The motor was a DC motor.
  • This lathe that I judged to be of 14" swing was in the forward control room. As with the drill press it was driven by a DC motor.
  • The crew of 23 slept in bunk rooms like this one. It looks like they left without making the bed. In addition to the bunk rooms, there was a large galley area and a good sized central quarters for reading, playing cards etc.
  • This is the hallway in the crew's quarters. It was dark and unlighted when I was exploring this kind of spooky area. As I made my way down the hall the door you see lying on its side fell over behind me with a crash that I took notice of.
  • This auxiliary diesel engine drove an alternator/dynamo to provide AC and DC for various needs throughout the dredge.
  • This is one of the modern diesel auxiliary engines that had been installed. I believe this one drove a pump.
  • This photo is of the three oil burner guns that fired the boiler. The size is difficult to tell in the photo but each burner is about three feet in diameter.
  • This is one of the cylinder heads of the main engine. You can judge its size by the steps and the 30 gallon drum nearby. The other cylinder is to the left about six feet away. I have no other photos of the Col. Gaillard. Click here to go back to the home page.