Topic starter
07/05/2011 5:26 am
Yet another twist to the MQ's fate...
If the Morganza Spillway is opened to alleviate the high water in New Orleans, here is the Corps' projection as to where that water would go - note Pierre Part is in an area projected to be flooded! What else can befall her????
Projections show Morganza Floodway opening would threaten more than a dozen communities | NOLA.com
11/05/2011 1:32 pm
Mississippi Queen Room Keys
Soooo sad to hear of the demise of the Mississippi Queen. Room keys can be purchased on Ebay. I asked the seller for a specific room key and he sold it to me. A very minor token of a Great cruise on the Mississippi River to say the least. Yet, I still have great memories, pictures, and video of 2005. Jim
Topic starter
21/05/2011 11:51 pm
Most current pix of MQ
I'm listing the posting here because I'm afraid some won't see it in its original thread. Thank you Dan Owens and friend Tom Waller for supplying these photos.
http://www.steamboats.org/forum/river-talk-cruises/4157-great-american-steamboat-company-post26042.html
Topic starter
22/05/2011 12:07 am
MQ artifacts
Its obvious the big stern nameboard is gone - I wonder if it was removed in one piece, and if so, if it will be sold at the auction whenever it will be held. If anyone reading these postings has contact with the owner or his representative, please tell them to make known the when and where of such an auction soon.... It appears the pilothouse and its technology are gone too, more stuff which would bring in some coin for the owner...
Topic starter
22/05/2011 11:21 am
High water apparently not around the MQ
When the predictions were released about the flow from the Morganza Spillway opening, they included Morgan City, which is near the Belle River scrapping site of the MQ. But I compared Friday's picture with earlier ones, and it doesn't look like the water level has risen at all there.
08/06/2011 3:36 am
Anyone seen any pictures or updates on the situation with the MQ? Seems the sternline telegraph down there has been put on finished with engines lately.
Topic starter
08/06/2011 4:23 pm
No news
I'm wondering if the opening of the Morganza Spillway ran off some of the workers or delayed the work. Pierre Part was in the target zone, although the last picture we got didn't show any high water. I'm guessing she's down to the main or cabin deck by now...
22/06/2011 7:25 pm
Still No News?
It's been many weeks now since we've seen anything about the MQ. I thought there would be no activity on the boat due to the high water, but since that apparently never happened, the scrapping must be far along since the last pictures. Anybody taking pictures out there?
Denny Hamilton
Topic starter
22/06/2011 9:06 pm
Last MQ pix available
Travis found this one on Facebook. It is from June 6 or so, supposedly. Obviously they didn't get the high water and have continued the project.
02/07/2011 8:38 pm
We had to at least say Good-Bye to the Queen
My wife and I made our way up LA-70 to say our good-byes to the Queen of the Mississippi. We have many, many fond memories of our cruise. These pictures were taken on June 29th, 2011, this past Wednesday.
Topic starter
02/07/2011 10:44 pm
MQ Pix
Thanks Jim. When were these taken? It looks similar to the shot from June 6, as best as I can tell. I would have thought it would be almost to the Main Deck by now.
03/07/2011 5:13 pm
Looks like my cabin is still intact.
Topic starter
03/07/2011 5:55 pm
Something is amiss...
If you compare Jim's shots of June 29th with the last one posted on June 6th, it appears that little has changed. Considering how rapidly the work had been progressing, she should be down to the Main Deck by now. I think the dismantling has stopped - but WHY???? Could it be the workers haven't been paid lately???? or....????????
03/07/2011 6:03 pm
Holiday Weekend
Could dismantling have stopped because of the Holiday Weekend? It seems that a lot of things stop on the 4th of July and Labor Day weekends.
03/07/2011 6:19 pm
MQ work stoppage?
As the pictures show, little has transpired since the first of June. This was a truly restorable riverboat at one time. If an aspiring cruise company was seeking to make a go in this industry, they would have to make a sizable investment to build a replacement for the Mississippi Queen. Why not just renovate the MQ??? Sooo why would the destruction of the MQ stop??? Definitely not the holiday weekend. Maybe, just maybe, someone has purchased the remains from the Chinese? I, for one, do not see how you could pay American wages to have her cut up and transported all the way to China just for the steel. Would it be possible that we do NOT have the real info on this venture??? Let's hope that someone out there has seen the need to restore the MQ to her majestic beauty.
Topic starter
03/07/2011 6:20 pm
No dismantling
I'm talking about the period between June 6 and 29 - 3 weeks with little action apparently... and prior to June 6, 3 weeks always showed great differences.
04/07/2011 1:54 am
A Towboat??
I'm thinking that the old gal is looking like a huge towboat now. Maybe they should just stop the scrapping right there and make it into a huge steam-powered towboat on the scale of the SPRAGUE (except for a smaller wheel...) The remaining rooms could be rented-out to the likes of us steamboaters...
All kidding aside, it's a shame what is happening here, but I'm glad that the MQ's demise is being documented by caring historians.
-Denny Hamilton-
Topic starter
04/07/2011 2:12 am
Recording history
Some may think it gruesome or unkind, but I see this as recording history, no matter how sad it is... I'm glad there are people like Jim Cline who have made the trip and have taken pictures. I won't be in NOLA until the beginning of August, but with this standstill, she might still be there at Belle River....
04/07/2011 5:51 pm
Sorry Judy
Sorry Judy - I misinterpreted what you meant until I re-read your post. I thought you meant from June 29 to now. I missed the part about June 6 to 29. My fault. Got it now. Thanks.
Topic starter
04/07/2011 6:00 pm
No apology necessary!
That's fine Jeff - at first we didn't know when Jim's pix were taken, and once he said it was June 29th, then the mystery began... I find it sad that this poor old gal has to have as many twists and turns in her ending as in her beginning. I wish this could be carried to a conclusion without more complications. And of course, we still have no word about any auction of the salvaged marine/signage items....
05/07/2011 8:50 pm
Headlines on the front page of the Morgan City Gazette
The Morgan City Gazette posted the front page headlines on Aug. 1, 2011 which read as follows: "IN A DARING MIDNIGHT RAID, A GROUP OF LOYAL RIVERTARIANS HAVE STOLEN THE MISSISSIPPI QUEEN RIVERBOAT". There are little clues to who the culprits were but there is a very obvious absence in front of the Belle River Salvage site. Sheriff Andy Taylor has empowered his deputy Barney (one bullet) Fife to sniff out any and all clues as to the whereabouts of the missing riverboat. Stay tuned for more news at 6:00pm on Channel 8. ;-)))
06/07/2011 3:31 pm
!
I know nothing................
Topic starter
06/07/2011 4:52 pm
Me neither!
Me neither! And besides that is the festive natal day of one CCH, so appropriate activities in NOLA should commemorate that (this is the year of the multitude of trombones, numerically speaking). Do you still carry your tools of the trade that you showed a shocked Fred Martin in the DQ pilothouse back in August of 79????
07/07/2011 3:44 pm
Highest Steamer in the World
Having on occasion been one of the 76 (although it is hard to round up that many trombonists), I would like to know more about the appropriate activities in NOLA. I will not be there as it will be too **** hot!!!!
I have no idea what this "tools of the trade" is all about. Besides, there is a dearth of old steamboats laying around up here in the mountains, although historically they were known to exist. See photo of IDLEWILD below, which was built 1881 and ran on Twin Lakes, nearby. And apparently a serious list was not an issue.
06/03/2013 4:02 pm
Resurrected Mississippi Queen Parts
On the following website you can see the restoration of the MQ's stern mounted Mermaids, Ships wheel, and some of the Paddle Wheel boards.