Thank you so much for posting this video. My great-granddad was Edward C. Mays, the guy who ran Mays towing company inc. He died in 1991 following a train accident, where then my granddad took over until 2005, when the company was broken off and the boats sold. Being born in 1999, I never got to meet him but constantly hear about him and how much I'm like him. We all called him "Red" Mays because he was really fond of the color red (Note the red-on-white scheme on the Carrie). All I've got from him is his old work truck - 1964 GMC Fenderside, painted red in his honor. Anyhow, when i was very young, my granddad took me to walk through the boats before closing out the company. I remember one was the Edward C. Mays, the other was either the Capt. Zac, the Carrie, or the Connie. Your video is the ONLY video I have of seeing our company's boat operating under the same Name, Color, and Under the direction of my great granddad. It's hard to beleive I'm seeing a time when he was alive and calling the shots for this while it was in the family. It's also very possible the man on the barge tying it up is my granddad. Sorry for the super long comment but I just stumbled across this. Thanks!
Mr. Bizwell, Thank you so much for providing the historical perspective of Hays Transportation and your family. As you may have noticed this channel mostly features railfanning subjects, but a common interest among at least some of the viewers is the diesel propulsion engines that are common to both towboats and railroad locomotives. Carrie Mays had two EMD 12-567BC 1800 HP supercharged 2-stroke engines (probably not the original engines as BC engines were a modified design that didn't come along until 1953). These would have been similar to the two 12-567 engines used in an EMD E-8 locomotives built in the early 50's. 12-567 engines had 12 cylinders, 567 cu. in. per cylinder. The towboat gallery website shows the towboat still operating as Carrie Mays. Thank you again for taking the time to contribute to this post.
Hey, thanks for the follow up! I also like trains and the Diesel engines such as you mention. Maintaining the engines was actually my granddad's job when working for my great grandfather here! That's how he found he loved engines as a matter of fact. He spoke primarily of the Caterpillar D-398 & D-399, but he also kept up the EMD's heard in this video on the Carrie. I showed him this video, and he was astounded to see this! He told me that when we first bought the boat, we were told that there was a special guidance system installed, which was to be kept secret. He mentioned that "it used to haul them missiles in the 60's." Turns out, this was one of the only inland towboats which carried the Saturn V moon rocket stages to Cape Canaveral!!!!! It went through the Mississippi, then through the gulf of Mexico to the launchpad! He said it had a remote control pilot house which would be placed on top or in front of the rocket barge, as the barge was taller than the boat itself. He said at the time we bought the boat, the remote pilot house was removed but there was "some gadgets that nobody but me and EC (great grandfather) knew about"!!! Another cool fact: My granddad remembers when the Carrie was at mud island at this time, as he remembers a time in the late 80's when the river got very low, and the boat was there for lone star industries. He said the Carrie eventually ran aground due to the low tide, and that it was probably only within days or weeks of this video!!!
That's a great story!!! I'm going to find a way to put it in the title/description. I found a site that you're probably familiar with that has some pics of Carrie Mays doing NASA duty as the Bob Fuqua. A couple show the remote control pilot house. LINK: www.towboatgallery.com/Carrie_Mays-0262029.php?pic=21&tnc=1&mnu= I really appreciate your providing the info and personal slant to this noteworthy vessel.
im just seeing this video. Cole, we bought the Carrie Mays two years ago. She still has her same name but its painted all white. We love the old boat and we plan to keep her running for many more years . i have plenty pics and videos of her on my FB page
