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Wyatt Decker, 6, from Rockford, takes on the captain’s seat of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Motor Vessel Mississippi Tuesday when the giant towboat was opened up for public tours at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam 26 in Alton.
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People line up to tour the engine room that controls the 6,300-horsepower diesel engines Tuesday afternoon.
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People make their way from deck to deck aboard the Motor Vessel Mississippi Tuesday in Alton.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ huge towboat, the MV Mississippi, visited Alton on Tuesday.
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ALTON — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Motor Vessel Mississippi on Tuesday offered public tours at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam 26 in Alton.
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Built in 1993, with a length of 241 feet, it is the largest diesel towboat ever built in the United States. The 6,300-horsepower boat spends most of its time helping to roll out large concrete anti-erosion structures along the banks of the river where needed.
The towboat is the fifth built by the Corps of Engineers to bear the name Mississippi.
On Tuesday it was stopped in the auxiliary lock at Melvin Price to allow the public to tour the large and well-maintained vessel. Children and adults alike were fascinated by the size and the room in the ship that doubles as a meeting place and ambassador for the corps.
The MV Mississippi can carry up to 152 people, including a crew of 35, and has 43 state rooms. Most of the boat’s time is spent in the Corps of Engineers Memphis District.
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More photos can be found online at thetelegraph.com.