Solvay 18, registration NY2103F, was built at Frouard in 1909. In 1928 it was motorized with a 20 hp Deutz engine. All information on this page is obtained from Vagus-Vagrant.fr unless stated otherwise.
It ended its career as a Panama barge in 1962. The small Solvay barges assigned to the Dombasle-Sarralbe service and the return trip carrying coal from the Saar to Dombasle were called the "Panamas". These boats didn't have a permanent crew. Their drivers were employees of the CGTVN (Compagnie Générale de Transports du Nord), the electric loco barge towing company, and later of Bargest. They would swap boats mid-journey when they met another one coming from the opposite direction, as did the locos. The control centre for this traffic had its office in Dombasle near the Pierre Escuras bridge. The first person in charge was Alfred Piant, whose sister ran the Spar grocery store at lock 22 in Dombasle. Two or three large Solvay barges ended their careers this way. Often, after years as Panama barges, they were scrapped in the dead end of the Dombasle port.
An undated postcard of Solvay 18 on the Oise-Aisne canal:
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