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Jan. 26, 1937. "Fort Belvoir troops proceed to flood area. Company B of the 5th Regiment of Engineers, stationed at this Virginia post a short distance from the Capitol, mobilized complete campaign equipment today and prepared to entrain immediately for the devastated flood area near Louisville, Kentucky. One of the boats to be used is shown being put aboard a railcar." View full size.
The supervisors on the far left rail car are standing on what appears to be a stack of the road segments which will go on top of the pontoons being loaded.
I believe ausonius is right. This picture down from this page shows a 10-ton pontoon being manhandled by soldiers in 1941.
I don't know much about boats, but these look more like pontoon bridge elements than "boats" (so called in the quoted statement). Pontoon bridges would have been sorely needed in Louisville as the bridges over the Ohio river were largely under water in that flood.
The rounded cowl mounted radiator shell makes this a 3 speed pre 1923 truck still at work 15+ years later if this is the correct date of the photo. By 1923 the AC Mack became a 4 speed truck with a cast radiator header with square corners and cast wheels.
Look at that Mack half track crane truck. What a monster. Lifting that boat was probably child's play
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