Solvay 4

Solvay 4, registration NY2294F, was built at Frouard in 1908.  In 1927 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 and was then scrapped. 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.

This picture of Solvay 4 was taken after exiting lock 25 at Laneuveville-devant-Nancy. The canal on the left is the start of the Embranchement de Nancy. The boat is heading towards Nancy and no doubt joining the Moselle afterwards.  We have spent many a day moored above this lock.  The houses still look the same on the right but there are now large blocks of flats on the left.

A family portrait on board Solvay 4:

Solvay 4 moored alongside Solvay 57 in the 1950s: