Rhine shipping: a bridge of boats, tugs and a harbour, 1937
Steam tugs open and close a pontoon bridge for a barge, a fisherman lifts his net from the river, and a crane loads a barge at a quay.
Across the glittering Rhine runs a bridge of boats; smoking tugs swing a section aside, a long barge slips through, and the tugs push the pontoons back into line until pedestrians can stream over again. Barges and a paddle steamer pass a tree-lined promenade, a tug trails black smoke past poplars, a fisherman heaves up a net on a bow-shaped frame and spills his catch into the boat, and at a quay laced with tracks a portal crane swings its grab over a barge.
The Rhine carried more freight than any river in Europe, above all Ruhr coal and ore. Where no fixed bridge stood, bridges of boats and ferries linked the banks; Koblenz crossed the river on one from 1819 until 1945.
Film Pedestrians on the pontoon bridge as it closes, 1937
Film Tugs open a pontoon bridge for a barge, 1937
Film Barges and steamers off a riverside promenade, 1937
Film Factory chimneys beyond a meadow, 1937
Film A steam tug on the Rhine, 1937
Film A fisherman hauls in a frame net, 1937
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