Looking for clues in the background I see that the picture was taken during the summer as the trees in the background are full of leafs. So that tells me that this captain was willing to take the risk of running a top heavy vessel short distances during calm weather. However your concerns are spot on. The cargo on the vessel is worth more than the boat. Risky at best.
To me it looks like the cribbing the locomotive and tender are on is actually a stack of flat cars minus their trucks. It also looks as if there are a bunch more stacked up on the dock.