Ducky time

August 28, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Tour Pittsburgh from land and water

By Bob Downing

Akron Beacon Journal

PITTSBURGH

I’m a quacker.

My wife, Pat, isn’t.

But we enjoyed the 60-minute land-water excursion aboard the duckies that tour Pittsburgh, where passengers are encouraged to quack as loudly as possible.

We were a noisy crew quacking our way through the heart of the one-time Steel City. Yes, it was a little kitschy, but the kids aboard loved it.

Our guides, Captain Al and narrator Garrett, took great delight in having us quack as loudly as possible when passers-by were talking on cell phones along city streets. The natives really loved us.

Just Ducky Tours owns and operates six of the DUKW vehicles that date back to World War II. Reservations are needed because the narrated tours from Pittsburgh’s historic Station Square are very popular, with five trips a day on weekdays and six on weekends.

The duckies cruise downtown streets, cross the Allegheny River on one of Pittsburgh’s 446 bridges (more than any other city in the world) and then enter the water near the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers form the Ohio River.

The duckies drove down the paved bank at Allegheny Riverfront Park on Pittsburgh’s North Shore not far from Heinz Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and into the water.

We cruised past parks, the Carnegie Science Center and the Rivers Casino before doubling back.

We floated past the World War II submarine USS Requin (SS-481), anchored at the science center. We also passed a bronze statue on the shore dedicated to the late children’s television host Fred Rogers, a Pittsburgh native.

Two duckies exited the water but the third had mechanical problems and got stuck on the steel-lined ramp. A replacement was called to retrieve the passengers and crew.

The amphibious trucks have a colorful past.

The six-wheel-drive vehicle was designed and built starting in 1942 by General Motors and Sparkman & Stephens. It is a modification of the two-ton Army “deuce” truck.

A DUKW is 31 feet long, 8 feet, 3 inches wide and 7 feet, 1 inch high. It weighs 6.5 tons empty. It can travel up to 50 miles per hour on land and 5.5 knots on water. It is estimated that 21,137 DUKWs were built during World War II.

In the designation, D stands for being designed in 1942; U, for being a utility vehicle; K, for being an all-wheel-drive vehicle; and W, for two powered rear axles.

Ducks were first used in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and were used in the D-Day invasion of France and in March 1945 to cross the Rhine River into Germany.

The first American ducky tours were offered in 1946 in Milwaukee and they’ve become famous in Boston, Baltimore, Seattle and other cities.

Pittsburgh is a city of 311,000 with a compact and very walkable downtown, world-class museums, distinctive architecture, a strong cultural scene, excellent shopping, cutting-edge galleries, 89 distinct neighborhoods, high-quality restaurants and a strong industrial history that is being celebrated.

The downtown is marked by glass-and-steel skyscrapers like PPG Place. There is even a public art walk.

Pittsburgh has a surprisingly pretty and green urban setting, with more trees per capita than any other American city.

For more information, contact Visit Pittsburgh at 120 Fifth Ave. Place, Suite 2800, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, call 412-281-7711 or visit www.visitpittsburgh.com.