Chenango Canal - Operation

Operation

The competition kept the freight rates low. Before the canal was built, it took between 9 and 13 days to ship goods by wagon from Binghamton to Albany, for a cost of $1.25 per 100 pounds. A canal boat made the trip in less than four days and cost $ .25 per 100 pounds. Records also show an example of a fare on a packet line that ran between Norwich and Binghamton. The fare was $1.50 per person, departing at 6 am, arriving sometime between 6 and 8 pm.

Many classes of boats frequented the Chenango Canal and included packet boats, scows, lakers and bullheads- the name for the freight barges, which were the most common boats seen. The bullhead was so named because of its blunt and rounded bow. They were about 14 feet wide and 75 feet long and were sometimes loaded so heavily that they would periodically drag along the bottom of the canal. The packet boats and barges were drawn at an average speed of four miles an hour by horse or mule teams on the towpath. The passenger boats were usually pulled by horses, which were changed every ten miles. The freight barges were pulled by mules, which were changed every 4 to 6 hours. Each barge had two cabins: one at the bow to stable the animals, usually horses or mules, that pulled the boat, and one at the stern which served as a living quarters for the captain and crew, and sometimes a whole family. The packet boats proudly bore names like “The Madison of Solsville”, with Captain Bishop or “Fair Play”, with Captain Van Slyck, and were manned by a minimum crew of 3. Each boat needed a Driver walking on the towpath controlling the animals, a Bowsman controlling the movement and direction of the bow and a Steersman on the aft deck. The passengers were seated in chairs on the top deck. When the boat would near a town, the crewmen shouted: “Low bridge!” and everyone would retreat to the lower deck to avoid being swept overboard by a bridge.