ACL QOTM Calliope

Seeing as she's not a steamboat, my money would have to be on compressed air. As for a builder, I've asked on their Facebook, and they had no answer for me. In my mind, if they haven't called Dave yet, they're doing it wrong.

Matthew Dow;28808 wrote: Seeing as she's not a steamboat, my money would have to be on compressed air. As for a builder, I've asked on their Facebook, and they had no answer for me. In my mind, if they haven't called Dave yet, they're doing it wrong.

Perhaps, but compressed air is not the only option.

Volume

Well, its going to have to be loud so all those passengers ensconced in their staterooms watching the river go by through the floorlength windows can hear it!

Volume or, No Volume?

But maybe they don't want to hear it, and that is why they are ensconced in their staterooms.

Lexie i was thinking the same thing.

Ensconced passengers

I'm quite sure if they don't want to be bothered to be out on deck amongst the other passengers and river air, that they wouldn't want to be bothered by that monstrous noise either. And if they are lucky, they won't pass many vessels, necessitating the sounding of a passing horn!

Artizan Air calliope Ex. Kennywood 2 - YouTube

Steamer NATCHEZ steam calliope - YouTube

Which one do you thinks sounds better air or steam.

Air or steam? Point/Counterpoint

First off you have two instruments here that are built for entirely different purposes. The Artizan Air Calliope was built to be a low broadcast volume, low weight portable instrument, with an automated player mechanism for circus and large interior space operations. The Str. NATCHEZ steam calliope was built to be an out of door advertisement device broadcasting several miles from the boat clearly to advertise cruises for the vessel.

Thank you for linking the video of me playing the Str. NATCHEZ calliope for your comparative purposes.

American Cruise Lines have made it clear they are wishing to attract a different clientele for their QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI than the traditional steamboats will. This said…do they NEED a calliope (or for that matter a traditional steamboat whistle) at all?

There is room for both overnight operations out on the big rivers of America. I do not mean anything I am saying here to be misconstrued as negative intent to ACL at all. I hope that what I am about to write here will help educate ACL to make an informed decision for their successful operation.

In my 30+ years in the calliope business (performing and maintaining instruments in the Excursion Boat, Overnight Boat, and Circus venues operated by both steam and air) I have seen and worked on all types of instruments and know their high and low points.

There are in fact four very different possibilities that ACL should consider here for their vessel. They are as follows (with details as to why or why not I would recommend each for their use)…

1). Steam calliope operated with an air compressor unit. Because there is not approval for a steam boiler aboard the vessel that can accommodate the volume a steam calliope would need to operate, air is the only reasonable possibility. This would require a 1,500-gallon reserve tank with nothing less than a 15-hp dedicated air compressor unit to work. With electronic valves, most piano players could operate this instrument easily. It would be almost as loud as a traditional steam calliope, maintain better tune than a traditional steam calliope, and most likely require less maintenance and repair than any of the other mentioned instruments here. Regular message board poster David Morecraft of Peru, IN is the last of the authentic steam calliope builders in the world and I would go as far to strongly suggest that ACL contact him directly if they are at all serious about putting a calliope aboard the boat at all.

2). Circus Air calliope, air-operated on a blower. The different builders were Tangley, Artizan, Ori, and National and a few others like WurliTzer. These can operate on 120v a/c blowers. However, they are very low volume instruments. These carry approximately 2 city blocks from the location they are performing at. To use one aboard a boat and broadcast ashore would require a portable amplification system capable of near 300 (+) amps with multiple speakers. They are built primarily out of wood and are very succeptable to catastrophic damage in inclement weather conditions. To use one of these onboard a boat, it would need to be stored indoors and only brought out in good weather conditions. Most of these instruments came with player piano type roll playing mechanisms. Because of the additional weight to the vessel necessitated by adding an enclosed/climate controlled space to the boat this late in her construction I would not recommend this type of instrument for their use.

3). Electronic keyboard emulating calliope sound. This would not require any blower unit. This would not sound authentic and would still require the 300 (+) amp system with multiple speakers. The QUEEN OF THE WEST and EMPRESS OF THE NORTH featured something very similar to this (built by a builder in the Pacific Northwest). The fake sound was a point of contention with many passengers of the boats and they were rarely used because of this. Many passengers mentioned the sound was more like that of a “cartoon version of a band organ*” and not a calliope at all. The original electronic fake calliope aboard the QUEEN OF THE WEST was damaged due to being left on during a generator switch over and was replaced in the vessels first season at a cost of over $10,000.00. These would not appeal to the general public along the Mississippi River system because these people are very familiar with what a true calliope sounds like. Again, I would not recommend this to ACL for their use on the Mississippi River.

*= this comment came from a passenger comment card while the QUEEN OF THE WEST was operated by American West Steamboat Company given to me by her former Hotel Manager when they were considering a replacement calliope for the vessel.

4). Miner Manufacturing Company “Excursion Boat Special”. These units are very popular aboard excursion boats because of the relative low cost and ease of installation. The unfortunate reality is the electronics are very problematic. The blower unit requires a 220v A/C dedicated service and the player unit and associated electronics must be turned off any time the generators are switched aboard the vessel or they will fry. Because of this, I have made several thousand dollars over the years rebuilding and troubleshooting these units. A power spike can also erase the player discs…I made a lot off recording new discs for many operators along the rivers. Because they are reengineered low-pressure circus calliopes on high-pressure air operation the sound quality is very tonally squealy and are very hard to enjoy aboard the vessel. They do carry up to a mile from the vessel and are very effective as an alternative to a steam calliope. However, they are not very durable because of the electronic kit. If ACL wishes to go this direction I would suggest they have a system engineered to protect the vulnerable electronic kit and consider a dedicated electric generator for the calliope operation.

At one time there was rumor of ACL purchasing the former Streckfus Family excursion boat calliope from the Steamer WASHINGTON. This calliope is in a private collection in Sarasota, FL. I sincerely hope they do not make this purchase. The asking price for this instrument is 5 times that of a brand new instrument with a warranty. It is operated by a unique mechanical mechanism referred to as tracker action. This requires a keyboard artist to play with a heavy hand unlike any other keyboard instrument extant today. Most (if not all) piano and organ keyboard artists could not perform on it. Because it received a major alteration in the mid 1980’s it is no longer as historic as it once was and does not have the cache it once had. Unfortunately this instrument would require extreme additional expensive alterations to be useable aboard the QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI. I would not recommend this calliope to ACL for their purpose at all.

Then again, what do I know?

What noise?

The last few times I took a river cruise, there was little, if any, whistle blowing, and the volume on said whistle was pianissimo. I believe the CG has made whistle blowing almost obsolete, with radio contact being the substitute. And if someone wants to "let 'er rip" with a friendly greeting, they better pass muster with the volume police. Quite a change from one of my first trips on the DQ when Howard Tate, et. al., was blasting away all night long, and almost everyone was sleeping on deck due to an air-conditioning malfunction. Very little in the way of ensconcement on that trip. Very little sleep, as well.

Capt. Lexie, I'd have paid big bucks for that type of cruise. What fun! Whistles blowing all the time, sleeping on deck? More like an adventure! Who wouldn't want that?

Noise police and CG

Where are they when you run into or one drives within 1 mile of your home in a car going BOOM BOOM with car stereo? Also, what about the train whistles andhorns that are blown at all hours of the night. I would rather hear a calliope or steam whistle as well as these. Selective justice again and agaain...

Whistles lost

Yes, Lexie, it is sad how the radio has replaced the whistle and how the comfort of the passengers often precludes a whistle salute. The NATCHEZ often gets radio calls from passing pilots for a harbor salute, which she always obliges, unless the Dukes of Dixieland are playing outside on the dinner trip. One of our whistle tales from my days working on the NATCHEZ: we had a pilot who was trying to get into either the CRESCENT or NOBRA associations. So everytime we passed a ship, he'd give a whistle salute to ingratiate himself with that pilot. This irritated the longtime narrator, whose commentary was getting overridden a lot. One day I kept track of how many times the whistle was blown in the 2 hour trip: 21 times. That was the number of salutes/passing signals, not the total times the whistle was blown. Consider the NOLA harbor salute: 3 longs and then another long after the acknowledgement. So we were upwards of 50 pulls of the whistle cord that trip. We nicknamed that pilot Capt. Toot Toot...among other things!

Travis Vasconcelos;28835 wrote: 3). Electronic keyboard emulating calliope sound. This would not require any blower unit. This would not sound authentic and would still require the 300 (+) amp system with multiple speakers. The QUEEN OF THE WEST and EMPRESS OF THE NORTH featured something very similar to this (built by a builder in the Pacific Northwest).

Trav - The "calliope" on the Empress was hardly ever actually played by a keyboard player. The only time I ever even heard it was when we were taking on passengers in Portland, and then it was set on autoplay, making it nothing more than a very, very big CD player.

As a matter of fact, the only time I ever saw that thing actually played was a sing-a-long we had once, and only once, in the Calliope Bar.

Now, on the other hand, there was once a historic guitar/calliope duo on the AQ with me and Phil. I was doing Music and Margaritas and we were going through a lock. It never happened again. Perhaps we broke some law or something. :O)

Paul

I'm with Travis, that cruise sounds wonderful. Heck, I seldom get much sleep onboard anyways--if not topsides watching the night navigating, then down in the engine room swapping lies and sniffing cylinder oil! 🙂
I thought my comments in another thread about the QofM's "private quarters" design were not shared, but I can see by this thread that others share my idea of good Steamboatin.' Heck, I'd get lost in those big rooms! The ability to pack and adapt to the DQ bunk cabins is, IMHO, a badge to be earned! Besides, it's only a place to change clothes, gussy up, stash goodies, and--oh yeah--sleep.
Even though I've held that the AQ is too big for us, I'd love to be there with y'all, but it doesn't look like it will happen this year.
Bummer. . .
S'
Linda & David D.

David, while the AQ is so much bigger than the DQ, she does have so many of the DQ's qualities like the outside deck areas, and there are plenty of places where you can find solitude or a more intimate setting, especially outdoors. This was my biggest negative toward the MQ - so little viewing/gathering space outdoors.

All the cruises I've taken either as passenger or crew, were made more memorable by activities that were not on the itinerary. We all had good laughs about the "sleeping" on deck situation. We had to lay on these recliners they had, which could unfold flat. They had a woven plastic base and were actually pretty comfortable, except as the wind blew, the air would move through the plastic and remove whatever cover you had. (There wasn't much cover as it was summer.) And then the whistle would blow. I think that was the first time my parents rode the DQ, which added even more to the humor.

Noise Police and Texas

My favorite invention is a device that, by pressing a button, the boom box speaker on the offending car would self destruct. Or, one could use an invention that already exists, and I quote what was printed in the opinion column of an East Texas newspaper: "About them there Boom Box cars, they ought to do what we did out in Tejas Village on Lake O' the Pines. Every time they would come around we would take a .223 deer rifle and shoot their trunk full of holes. After a while they get the word and they don't come out no more. It sure is quiet out here now." There's your noise police.