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Here's a view of a steamer and her consort positioned right next to one another. The Poe (old one), could typically accommodate between 4-6 vessels per transit.

Tugs were still used at the Soo Locks, even after the Sabin and Davis Locks were built for the consort barges.

The tugboat strikes at the Soo in 1956 essentially brought the consort barges to an end, though Upper Lakes Shipping used consort barges up until the early- to mid-1960s.

The Davis and Sabin Locks were built to 1200' to help facilitate the lockage of multiple ships including towing steamers and consort barges.

Back in the late 1800s and up through the 1950s when some powered steamers towed consort barges how were these vessels passed through the locks around the lakes such as on the Welland and Sault Ste. Marie. Were both vessels locked through at the same time or was the barge locked through separately with the use of tugs? I believe the locks were long enough to permit the passage of multiple freight vessels of the day so I'm assuming that both were able to lock through at the same time.