Julia Belle Swain Update (Pictures)

Chris,

I'd love to see more...particularly the wheel and calliope area of her. This is the first proof I have seen that she is in pretty good shape. My sources have painted a pretty grim picture of her condition...she looks alot better here! Did you see if the stages are aboard her? What about the interior...do things look to be protected from the weather? Thanks for sharing these great pictures with us!

Travis

Travis and all,

I was in LaCrosse back in May, and saw the boat from a distance. I think the stages are not in place, but the wheel actually looked pretty good. I was busy and did not get a chance to see if the calliope whistles were in place. All in all, the boat did not look nearly as bad as what I had been led to believe from postings on this board. I have no idea as to her mechanical condition.

Just looking through the windows, I could see tables and chairs stacked up on top of each other. The calliope is covered with black plastic as you can see in a few more of these pictures. Living in La Crosse, many sources have said she's been sitting here for almost two years in this "hidden" location.

Chris and Capt. Reynolds,

Thanks for the pictures and update. I am looking forward to the day she rolls her wheel again and takes passengers out on that experience only she can do. Lets hope this happens fast...cause the longer she sits the more it will take to get her to run again!

Travis

Thank you VERY much for posting these and keeping us up to date. She's dearly missed.

I heard rumors she had mechanical "issues" the last time she ran, but I don't recall what was said-perhaps boiler problems? Does anyone know what kind (brand) boiler she has? I assume she has a packaged firetube system?

She has (or had) a Va-Power flash boiler.

Thank you for these great pics, I would love to see all that you have. I have to agree with Travis, I hope to see her rolling again soon!

Trivia for today: That Va-Power flash boiler was made by the Singer Corp. Somewhere in my collection is a B & W photo of it that I took in 1977. Denny told me once that it could get up a full head of steam from a cold start in three minutes.

Is it possible to get a picture of the boiler? If she has her original boiler, it looks like an overgrown water heater. It is possible that the boiler could be an issue if it is the original. Actually a pretty big issue.