GOLDENROD showboat pix ...etc.

M/V AMERICA from the SPIRIT OF PEORIA

Just a couple of miles downriver from the GOLDENROD is the M/V AMERICA, a 8,500 hp towboat. The plans have been for a restaurant, and although painting and other work has been done, it has yet to open up. Its thought that the owners are living aboard, so at least it is being used in some capacity. Note the large screened-in area aft of the stacks, most likely an outdoor dining area or bar. That is Matt Dow in the third shot, taking one of his 1000 pictures this trip.

Lt. Lee, admiral, casino queen

3 more boats as viewed on Monday from the SPIRIT OF PEORIA:
1) the restaurant barge LT. ROBERT E. LEE, moored above Mullanphy Street in St. Louis
2) the late great ADMIRAL, in its sad casino state. News today was that the owners will not be allowed to automatically transfer her gaming license to a new barge, so if they want to assure themselves of the license, they'll have to keep her and maintain her...
3) the former gambling boat at East St. Louis. It is a two-piece unit, the power being in the rear section, the last third of the boat. This is one of four, I believe, built in this manner for gambling: the PRESIDENT IV,(or whatever number it was) for Mississippi, the BELLE OF ST. LOUIS/DIAMOND JO in Dubuque, this CASINO QUEEN, and one other which slips my mind now. She reposes in Mike's Shipyard in Wood River, where the PRESIDENT and AMERICAN QUEEN previously resided. Those are Marquette Transportation towboats fleeted with her.

Judy, it was more like 1,200 :). I'll get some up here when I get the chance

Are we talking about the same America that you said on another post was 10,500 hp? Just to prove that I am not losing all my marbles, I balked at both and confirmed that the hp was 9000, unless it was repowered sometime since the 1970's. Now I'm glad I didn't throw away all those old Inland River Records.

AMERICA hp

Your marbles are intact.... I had originally posted 10,500 without checking it. Keith corrected me to 8500, so I edited my posting. Now as to the 8500 vs. 9000 rating, I don't know.
What is the boat with the most hp still running today?

Riverboat Casino sale ad

I just noticed the Riverboat Casino for sale ad on the .org page and clicked to it. That is the landing barge which is idling just below the garishly painted casino boat and Spirit of America barge in Alton. Does anyone know where it was used originally?
Waterfront Ventures-River Boat Casino for Sale

Judy, I believe that this was the landing barge for the original Alton casino, which was replaced by the "colorful" one that is there today. For a few years, after being replaced, the barge sat, unused, down at Wood River. Someone tried to make a go at a restaurant/banquet center recently. Apparently, that has not worked out.

It's 9000 according to the 1978 Inland River Record, which is what I remember. I don't know if any of the 10,500's are still running or have all been repowered and renamed, so who knows. There has long been a tendency to lower horsepower, slower rpm engines, fuel economy, and letting the river provide most of the downstream motion, sort of reverting back to the old days. Ax Bob Reynolds. He prolly knows.

My information came from the 1958 christening booklet for the M/V UNITED STATES, several fancy brochures from Federal Barge Lines and a file folder of clipped articles and St. Louis Ship advertisements from The Waterways Journal. The UNITED STATES came out in 1958 and the AMERICA in 1959. At the time both towboats were touted as being the most powerful on the river. Since the AMERICA came out last, was her HP increased? When were the boats retired? I think my "youngest" Inland River Record is for 1969!

Keith and Lexie are both right. The UNITED STATES came out rated at 8500 h.p. and the AMERICA came out rated at 9000 h.p. Some public relations dude was probably behind all this. The newer AMERICA was then called the "most powerful river towboat".

Both boats had identical engines and reduction gears. Remember there were four engines per boat. The Cooper-Bessemer were LS-8-DRT rated at 2100 h.p. at 400 rpm. They were four stroke, direct reversing and turbo charged. The LS was made in 6,7 & 8 cyl. configurations. At 400 rpm the boats per Cooper-Bessemer would have been 8400 h.p. Now play with those rpm's and it would be easy to get 9000 h.p. Both boats were a fine idea that just didn't pan out.

That sort of explains why I got a strange number when I divided 9000 by 4. Would be curious to know why they didn't "pan out" as they seemed to be getting the job done for at least a couple of decades.

Now I know who to call for really old towboat information. Which brings me to a trivia- like question: What towboats/ steamboats have been featured on the front page, along with the title, of the Waterways Journal through the years? And why?

When was that picture taken? I see the arch is still under construction.

I checked last night and learned that I have several copies of the INLAND RIVER RECORD -- for various years in the 40's, 50's and 60's -- and the most recent one is the 1995 issue celebrating the 50th year of the publication. We also have numerous copies at the museum.

You need to ask Jack Simpson your question about the WJ covers. I suspect it was whoever wanted to spend the big bucks for the most prominent page of the magazine!

Ruth Ferris gave me the photo of the M/V UNITED STATES with the Gateway Arch nearing completion in the background and the packet/yacht GOLDEN ARROW in view at the levee, a la 1965.