J. Russell Jinishian Gallery
In 1846, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted a charter to a new railroad called the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to build a private rail line that would connect Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. In the following decades, the “Pennsy” would become the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the United States, controlling more than 11,000 miles of rail line at its peak.
The company also operated a large fleet of floating equipment, including steamers, tugboats, ferryboats, car-floats and barges for use in harbors and waterfront terminals. This painting by maritime artist Joseph Wilhelm depicts the Pennsylvania Railroad Company’s tugboat Cincinnati.
The Dravo Corporation built Cincinnati in 1959 in Pittsburgh. The steel-hulled vessel measured just over 98 feet in length. Her main job was to support the Pennsylvania Railroad Company’s marine logistics for rail operations by towing car-floats (large barges carrying loaded railcars) across rivers and harbors to link rail terminals separated by water.
In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company merged with the New York Central Railroad Company, forming the Penn Central Transportation Company. Cincinnati kept her name until 1978, when she was sold to the Crescent Towing and Salvage Company in New Orleans and renamed Rebecca Smith.
In 2008, Crescent Towing rebuilt and repowered the vessel. Her single EMD 12-567C diesel engine was also replaced with twin 8-cylinder General Electric 228 diesel engines. The tugboat was renamed again as Margaret F. Cooper.
Artist Joseph Wilhelm’s detailed knowledge of 20th-century commercial vessels came from decades spent photographing and cataloging ships on the Mississippi River. Born in 1923, he was a native of New Orleans and went with his father to see his first steamships at age 6.
“I remember well holding his hand crossing the street, the ships blocked from view by the freight sheds, with only their masts towering above,” he recalled. “We waited for a steam engine with some freight cars to go by, and then walked out on the docks to a breathtaking sight. I had found my true love.”
Wilhelm began his career as one of the country’s preeminent marine ship modelers before turning his attention to painting at age 51. His early work in ship modeling helped him develop a feeling for scale, proportion and detail, which lent a photorealistic quality to his paintings.
He was a member of the Steamship Historical Society of America. He painted commissions for steamship companies, covers for magazines and portraits for ship lovers. In his later years, he also painted trains. Wilhelm died in 2003. Today, his work is included in public and private collections around the world.
January 2026
