Topic starter
30/01/2011 9:28 pm
Greetings From New Orleans ,
Ever since the Str. Mississippi Queen went into mothballs the rumors have flown hard and heavy about her eventual future and outcome . These same rumors have ranged from one extreme to another ; from her simply being scraped to her one day resuming cruises on America's river system . All these rumors were further fueled and blown out of proportion when the Str. Mississippi Queen was towed from the Perry St. Wharf in Gretna , La. , to an abandoned site on the Harvey Canal .
Over these last few months and for that matter , the last few years undisclosed deals have come and gone to have her either purchased or to simply have her scraped and dismantled for her few remaining assets .
Also , over the last few months I have been working with two major players whom have showed interest in purchasing the Queen and it now appears that a deal is imminent to actually purchase the boat and to refurbish her and to return her to cruising the rivers ! From what I have been told there are a still a few minor hurdles to be made but for the most part all the majors players are now in place to make this happen .
At this point there are no time tables in place and there are still a wide range of issues that have to be resolved but at this point and time it does appear that the Str. Mississippi Queen will be purchased and eventually placed back into service !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
30/01/2011 10:16 pm
That is good news for a change......
30/01/2011 10:51 pm
This is good news indeed! As I have said not only here, but a few other forums, I'll believe it when I see a sign on a building saying you can buy cruises on her inside. I keep hearing this elusive sign will be along Main Street in Louisville by the 14th (for what reason that date is being bandied about I don't know) of February this year. I drive Main Street at least two or three times a week and so far nothing. I really want to believe this...and I really want to believe I will have a career there again. Hopefully, I will soon!
31/01/2011 12:13 am
First issue that comes to mind is the state flag issue. Once a commerial vessel is reflagged to another country a person can play hell getting the flag switch back to the U.S.
Topic starter
03/02/2011 3:56 am
Thieves Have Struck Once Again !
Greetings From The Harvey Canal !
It is with a sad heart that I have to report this ! Once again thieves have struck yet again and have removed even more of the the remains of the Str. Mississippi Queen ! I was out on the Harvey Canal to personally check on the overall condition of the MQ and much to my dismay some one or some people have removed the MO's stern name board letters ! The original letters were bright red and their absence literally stuck out like a sore thumb !
Will the pilfering ever stop ? Will the vandalism ever stop ? Will the out rage over these criminal acts ever come to a head and will some one please step up and do something to stop these criminal actions ?
Hopefully my contacts are correct and the MQ has been purchased and eventually saved and restored to her original beauty and glory !
The world is full of talkers but are there any actual doers left ?
Not So Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Ted Davisson;24457 wrote: Greetings From New Orleans ,
Ever since the Str. Mississippi Queen went into mothballs the rumors have flown hard and heavy about her eventual future and outcome . These same rumors have ranged from one extreme to another ; from her simply being scraped to her one day resuming cruises on America's river system . All these rumors were further fueled and blown out of proportion when the Str. Mississippi Queen was towed from the Perry St. Wharf in Gretna , La. , to an abandoned site on the Harvey Canal .
Over these last few months and for that matter , the last few years undisclosed deals have come and gone to have her either purchased or to simply have her scraped and dismantled for her few remaining assets .
Also , over the last few months I have been working with two major players whom have showed interest in purchasing the Queen and it now appears that a deal is imminent to actually purchase the boat and to refurbish her and to return her to cruising the rivers ! From what I have been told there are a still a few minor hurdles to be made but for the most part all the majors players are now in place to make this happen .
At this point there are no time tables in place and there are still a wide range of issues that have to be resolved but at this point and time it does appear that the Str. Mississippi Queen will be purchased and eventually placed back into service !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Topic starter
03/02/2011 6:20 am
Where Is The Outrage ?
Greetings From New Orleans !
First of all , WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE !
Secondly , I hope and pray that the new owners track down the THIEVES that have stolen all the items that could not be nailed down and proscute them to the full extent of the law !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Ted Davisson;24508 wrote: Greetings From The Harvey Canal !
It is with a sad heart that I have to report this ! Once again thieves have struck yet again and have removed even more of the the remains of the Str. Mississippi Queen ! I was out on the Harvey Canal to personally check on the overall condition of the MQ and much to my dismay some one or some people have removed the MO's stern name board letters ! The original letters were bright red and their absence literally stuck out like a sore thumb !
Will the pilfering ever stop ? Will the vandalism ever stop ? Will the out rage over these criminal acts ever come to a head and will some one please step up and do something to stop these criminal actions ?
Hopefully my contacts are correct and the MQ has been purchased and eventually saved and restored to her original beauty and glory !
The world is full of talkers but are there any actual doers left ?
Not So Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Topic starter
03/02/2011 7:01 am
The Missing " Name Board " Signs !
Greetings From New Orleans ,
For those of you whom have as short a memory as I do , this WAS the MQ's , name board sign on both the port and starb's quarter of the boat , before the THIEVES stole them as well !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Ted Davisson;24509 wrote: Greetings From New Orleans !
First of all , WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE !
Secondly , I hope and pray that the new owners track down the THIEVES that have stolen all the items that could not be nailed down and proscute them to the full extent of the law !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
03/02/2011 2:22 pm
MQ lettering
Richard Reiff posted pictures of those missing letters on here last month. http://www.steamboats.org/forum/steamboats-history/3896-visit-mississippi-queen-11-dec-2010-a-post24389.html#post24389
Since they are made of metal, the most likely prospect is not that they were stolen but rather that the current owner had them removed for scrap value, as has been much of the other metal/brass items.
03/02/2011 3:16 pm
What a sad scene...left for dead, scavenged for parts, uncared for. I wish I had been so bold and brave when I went to see her last December. I could have preserved part of her in my collection. Alas, I wasn't so bold. The good angel on my shoulder (and all those men taking things off her and milling about on that blustery 72 degree Saturday morning) scared me off.
I still wonder...how did someone walk off with that huge Lunkenheimer whistle and all 44-whistles of her calliope. And no...for those of you wondering, I have none of them in my collection, nor do I know where they went. I have my suspicions. And Lord knows the first time I hear that instrument anywhere, I will be able to identify it!
Here's hoping she can sail again some day...but, I have to say, the prospects don't look too good.
Travis
03/02/2011 6:57 pm
Whistle
When somebody was still working for the company and had legal access to the boat, it would have been very easy to add to their collection. I'm sure the MQ whistle isn't lonely, being among various DQ souvenirs in that collection. As to the calliope, who knows if it too resides in the same collection - what about that auction of it in November of '09, Travis?
03/02/2011 7:34 pm
Whistle & Calliope
I immediately noticed the lack of whistles on her too. There was always the giant 44 note calliope by Davis Calliope Works, which was billed as the world's largest. It would be quite valuable for this reason alone. I believe the original whistle, a 3 bell chime, was also built by them. I also remember the 10" Lunkenheimer chime, which in itself would be quite valuable, as Lunkenheimer no longer makes chime whistles, but only plain bell whistles up to 6" diameter.
http://www.lunkenheimercvc.com/images/CVC-Engineered-Specialties.pdf
Travis Vasconcelos;24513 wrote:
I still wonder...how did someone walk off with that huge Lunkenheimer whistle and all 44-whistles of her calliope. And no...for those of you wondering, I have none of them in my collection, nor do I know where they went. I have my suspicions. And Lord knows the first time I hear that instrument anywhere, I will be able to identify it!
Travis
Topic starter
03/02/2011 7:40 pm
No Kidding !
Greetings From New Orleans !
" NO KIDDING " !! Why else would they have been removed !!
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Judy Patsch;24511 wrote: Richard Reiff posted pictures of those missing letters on here last month. http://www.steamboats.org/forum/steamboats-history/3896-visit-mississippi-queen-11-dec-2010-a-post24389.html#post24389
Since they are made of metal, the most likely prospect is not that they were stolen but rather that the current owner had them removed for scrap value, as has been much of the other metal/brass items.
03/02/2011 8:34 pm
Well Ted if it makes you feel any better I went back and looked at some old original pics from the 70's and early 80's and those letters werent there. I guess being old fashioned and somewhat adverse to change I still like the old original plain Jane look from that era. but I too hate the pilfering and scrapping that I keep hearing about and I very much hope your info about the re-birth of the MQ comes true. They need to seal a deal before there is nothing left. Do you know if the plans are to run her again or to turn her into another stationary Hotel or Casino as they have done some of the others.
Topic starter
03/02/2011 9:14 pm
Time Will Tell !
Greetings From New Orleans ,
Mel , I am in total agreement with you on the " old style " , of name board lettering on boats , regardless of their class and style !
Furthermore , the last thing I was told by the three perspective buyers of the Str. Mississippi Queen was that they have every intention of refurbishing the boat and returning her to service on the Mississippi River system . Having said that I am sure that there are a number of variables at play in this some what lengthly and awkward transaction .
So time will tell my friend but I will keep you posted on how this matter develops !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
03/02/2011 11:18 pm
I agree. The clean lines with little adornment that James Gardner, her original architect, gave the MQ were much nicer than the tarted up look of her later life. Gardner also was in charge of the design team for the Cunarder QUEEN ELIZABETH 2, and even a casual glance of the two vessels would reveal many of the same design traits inside and out. Both ships clearly shared the same DNA.
The deluxe staterooms up on the Prommenade Deck were added for the 1984 season to handle the influx of passengers also visiting the New Orleans' World Fair that year. Hopefully, they will be removed if she returns to service. During December 1985 she sank after making physical contact with the towboat CRIMSON GLORY, and when she came out from the shipyard after the accident in March 1986 most of the round portholes on her main deck were enlarged as they are now. Then, I believe, in 1989 the colorful stern transom nameboard and lettering on her sides were added along with some other exterior changes. April, 1996 her stacks scraped a bridge in St. Louis and fairly well destroyed them. The smaller scale stacks that she carried to the end were added after the mess on her roof was cleaned up.
Like the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 had numerous alterations to both the interior and exterior. Photos of the QE2 can be fairly easily dated by looking at her boot top color, running line and hull color, and changes to the superstructure made over her 39 years of service. A quick glance of a photo can even reveal if she is a steam ship or a motor vessel at the time the photo was snapped.
04/02/2011 1:16 am
Im glad Im not the only one that sees it that way guys. Yes I hated when they added those rooms on the promenade deck the year before I left and later when I saw photos of her after they turned her into what looked like a floating carnival wagon it made me sick. The same sick feeling I got when I saw what they did to the DQ's bow and the area around the pilot house. Greed sure can mess up things that were fine the way the were.
04/02/2011 8:39 pm
Letters
I have a jigsaw puzzle from Hoyle called Steamboatin' on The Mississippi Queen and Delta Queen from 1986 and her name board is painted. This can be seen in my post a puzzling puzzle. I always hope she will be rescued and want to see her returned to glory. The good thing to look at her now is she is a blank canvas to be reborn.
12/02/2011 4:04 am
I have been keeping tabs on her and visited ever since she left Perry and never given up hope through all the twists and turns of this saga. And as always, like Travis, I am cautiously optimistic but yearn for her revival. As for the calliope whistles, I believe they were gone before she even left Perry.
22/02/2015 12:10 pm
MQ&DQ question
I have seen photos on internet of the DQ and the MQ together at perry street wharf,does annybody know why the DQ was there?
22/02/2015 2:21 pm
at Perry St.
They were both there due to the bankruptcy of the company, and were awaiting their next site. In better times, the DQ would be over there temporarily for repairs, as the AQ has been doing recently. But the situation to which you refer was the bankruptcy. Vessels have to pay a daily dockage fee in NOLA and that became an issue when the fees weren't paid for Perry St. The company that had leased that wharf held out for some fees/retribution. By this time, the DQ had moved over to Chattagnooga and then the MQ was towed over into the Harvey Canal, where they told those dock owners it would be only for a matter of months. But of course it ended up being several years...