We ran forward to see the vessel.
She was a tug, and one of a very peculiar build and aspect.
….
As she went grinding and groaning by, we perceived the secret of her moving impulse.
This chain is laid in the bed of the river and is only fastened at the two ends.
It is seventy miles [one hundred and ten kilometers] long.
It comes in over the boat’s bow, passes around a drum, and is payed out astern.
She pulls on that chain, and so drags herself up the river or down it.
What miracle will man attempt next?
What Mark Twain described is known as a chain boat.
These boats were once very popular in European rivers in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Previously, boats had totowed along the riverby humans or beasts of burden.
The chain drive of these riverboats made optimal use of still relatively low-powered steam engines of that period.
Jacopo Mariano’s concept of ship haulage.
The concept was first visualized in the 15th century by Italian engineer Jacopo Mariano.
The cable was shown wrapped around a central shaft driven by two, side-mounted water wheels.
It consisted of two boats connected by a cable that went round a pulley anchored firmly to the riverbed.
One boat travelled downstream driven by large water sails and hauled the larger boat upstream against the current.
The large barge had two, side-mounted water wheels that coiled up the cable and increased its speed further.
This section of river was later to become the starting point for the first chain boats in Germany.
Model of a chain boat at Technoseum State Museum for Technology and Work.
This was wound around a rotating drum on board, which hauled the boat forward.
Six horses were used to rotate the drum.
In 1826, M.F.
Bourdon tested a variant with two steam ships.
One of the ships drove forward using a paddle wheel whilst simultaneously uncoiling a rope, 600 meters long.
The two boats then changed position and repeated the procedure.
After that, other French rivers and canals were also provided with chains.
By 1873, over 500 km of chain was laid along the Seine.
The chain of a chain boat at the Canal of Burgundy, France.
It regularly hauled barges up to 250 tons using an engine generating only 60 hp.
By 1871, the chain had extended from Magdeburg to Schandau on the Bohemian border.
Three years later the route was extended northwestwards to Hamburg.
Up to 28 chain boats rattled upstream over a total length of 668 kilometers.
The final section was closed only after the end of the Second World War.
A chain boat on the Canal de Saint-Quentin, France.
Chain boats became obsolete by the early 20th century as steam engines became more powerful.
The new paddle steamers were able to deliver greater traction for lower coal consumption.
Chain steamers were not able to take advantage of these compound steam engines because of their uneven operation.
Besides, chain shipping companies suffered from high investment and maintenance costs.
The building of dams and locks also created artificial barriers that prevented chain boats from operating.
A Kettenschiff (chain ship) on the Neckar near Heilbronn, circa 1885.
