DQ history and the continuing education...

I know during June 1979, on a trip up to Pittsburgh, Capt. Jim was out sanding the teak handrails himself. Jim was master of the boat, Harry Louden and Fontaine Johnson were pilots, Dick Weber was one of the mates, perhaps Mel Hartsough was the other,and God knows whom the chief was. C.W.Stoll and Lucy were passengers along with Capt. Jim's folks.

Handrails '76

I hired on the D. Q. March 1976. The outside hand rails were not painted but also not finished. During one of my early trips, Adrian Ohmrod (Sp) hired on. He had been a Shipwright in an northeast ship yard. He worked as a Fireman but ended up refinishing several sections of rails. I believe he left before finishing a complete deck but his work was the first I remember to really bring the Teak out to it's full luster. I do not remember who else helped him.
I'm sure this will add more confusion to this thread, but it's my main talent!

RE: TEAK RAILINGS/SIAMESE IRONWOOD:
Steamboating colleagues: Interesting thread RE: the teak railings on the DQ, interior oak wood paneling, brass fittings and floor coverings. I'm more than vague nailing down the exact date on when that restoration work was done...but remember it at the time. I never worked on the boat and was probably regarded as one of the 'wharf lice' that visited now and then in addition to riding the boat. I 'think' the CINCINNATI POST ran an article with photos at the time via Betty Blake's PR work for the company. I recalled that Betty Blake and Doc Hawley recruited some of their friends from up on the hill in Mt. Adams to come down and help with the restoration. Digging that old clipping out of the dusy boxes here is proving elusive at this point. That famous paint color often termed 'mint green' or 'apple green' was popular at the time. Back then all of the interior decks of the boat were not carpeted. In the aft cabin the deck was that unmistakable brown covering and furniture was minimal...but servicable. Every morning--at times twice a day--the crew swept, damp mopped, waxed and buffed. One droll local river veteran here said upon seeing the then new capeting on the DQ, "Well, I guess they'll carpet the boilers next."

The boat's Siamese ironwood and teak fittings deserve a repeat on the web. John Burns, son of old Jim Burns who built the DELTA KING/DELTA QUEEN, told me his father, and Capt. Anderson, head honcho of the 'California Transportation Co.,' talked/debated on the wood for the boat. The railings were originally not intended to be teak. In the early stages of construction on the two boats old Jim one day got wind of a freighter just in from Asia loaded with teak and ironwood that the contractor had defaulted on the order. Jim ran fast, looked it all over aboard the ship, and offered a price to take it off their hands...something like 20 cents on the dollar. He had it unloaded, shipped to the yards at Stockton and incorporated in the construction of the boats. A real windfall at the time.

For years you could still see the 'load lines' routed in the wood on the deck of what is now the Orleans Room. This used in stowing cargo and vehicles for trim. I don't know if those load lines still appear in the deck to this day or not. Who out there saw them back then and remembers? Well, what do I know?

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Early as 1971

The exterior handrails may have been stripped as early as 1971, the second year the DQ wintered-over at Avondale Shipyard. That was the same year that I begged Cap for permission to strip the paint off many of the numerous small brass fittings such as door stops and hooks. He allowed me to do so with the stipulation that they had to be kept brightly polished, and he warned me that I might be taking on more that I realized.

At first the crew eagerly jumped in and kept the brass sparkling bright, but after only a few couple of months their enthusiasm waned and this became evident by the lack-luster look of the brass, and it became more and more a chore to get the boys to keep the metal shined. It wasn’t long before the paint brush returned the fittings to the condition they were in before the stripper was applied.

Straight From the Doctor

What a treat it was when the switchboard operator, up at the General Store, rang our party line, here at the Rabbit Hash Shipyard, and it was The Doctor on the other end of the line. Whenever Doc calls, I immediately reach for a pencil and my note pad so I can take advantage of his sage memory, and today I gleaned the following gems:

The DELTA QUEEN splashboard was painted white before Captain Paul Underwood came aboard in 1957.

Also before Captain Underwood, possibly during 1956, the splashboard was either Black or a very dark IDLEWILD Green.

Cap'n Paul changed the coloration of the splashboard, the sunvisor over the brow of the pilothouse, and possibly the band around the smokestack to a US Army Corp of Engineer's Buff; his favorite combination of colors from his days with the Corps.

Big Cap and Doc painted the splash bulkhead a Bright Red, also my favorite color for the splashboard, as we all came from the excursion Steamer AVALON; consequently, the exciting coloration of what my father deemed the carnival boat followed the crew.

When Doc first started on the DELTA QUEEN, the interior was painted a Wedgewood Blue-Green, and he confirmed that it was, indeed, Captain Wagner who was responsible for initiating the restoration of the cabin back to its original classic look.

Bruno, the top 2 photos of the DQ are from 1949 or 1950. That was the only two years I know of when she had a White Splashboard. the B&W photo is FOR SURE taken in Evansville, IN. the Photo with the GREEN band around the smokestack is from I believe in Huntington, WV. around 1974 or 1975. I know she went to a YELLOW band in 1976. The LOCKS photo was taken at the Newburgh, IN lock and Dam. Thanks, Allen Dale.

Thank you, Sam! This is Gospel straight from The Source.

Thank you, Dale and Sam for your input on these subjects. I know Alan has asked in the past why we discuss the DQ and BofL so much when there were so many other boats....well, it seems the DQ is an almost endless subject in itself!!! The fact, too, that we can all relate to both these boats and that there are folks here and there who have worked on them and still work on them make the discovery of info. exciting. Keep it up, I say!

Cap'n B's Got A Point...

I'd love to discuss the AVALON, but Captain Doc and I are, perhaps, but two of the few surviving members of that by-gone era in steamboatin' (Captain Betty, thank you very much) history, and he stays clear of the web... regrettably.

Whenever I've been in concert with a bunch of those BELLE OF LOOIEVILLE boys and gals (like aboard JIM'S DREAM) I love to sit back and listen to them jaw about their glorious experiences on the BELLE. If there's no discussion about the BELLE on here, the Falls City crowd has but themselves to blame.

Mint Boxes

Found this in a dusty box in the basement, it's an article from "THE DELTA QUEEN'S CALLIOPE" which was a news letter E.J. Quinby put out occasionally in the 1960's. This picture was taken Sept. 2, 1960 and shows Capt. Paul Underwood standing on the starboart pitman inspectiong the boats mint crop.

DQ with Corps Buff Trim

Here's a post card I found which shows the Corps of Engineers buff trim which Paul Underwood applied. Note the stage boom and mast are buff. I remeber Capt. Underwood saying that the buff didn't reflect the light from the searchlight as bad as white or black does.
PS....I found a 1960 picture of the DQ which clearly shows the wing bridges coming from the side of the pilothouse. I really thought this was a later change which Capt. Wagnor made when he came aboard. But, what do I know.

Jim,

This is the first I have seen of the mint boxes not being placed abreast of the wheel mounted on the Cabin Deck guard. Now I am gonna have to pull old pictures! This explains the mount where the stern lines are sitting today, as it is a metal frame with a board over it.

What we learn from old pictures! Thanks!

~Travis~

Corps of Engineers Buff

Here's a post card I found with the boat trimmed out in Underwoods favorite color.....Corps of Engineers buff.