Topic starter
23/10/2009 12:35 pm
Ok, i'm not on the boat right now,and it's not even a Live from the Levee report, but I am just a block away from the river in a wifi place. With all the grim steamboat news this past year, here is a little relief, I hope. Imagine pulling into your driveway at 11:25, unloading the car and then zipping over to the levee to see the scene in the first picture: the Steamer NATCHEZ, with flags whipping in the wind, downbound on her 11:30 trip. Then later in the day, to be stuck in traffic while being serenaded by a calliope concert, and still hearing the calliope while bringing the groceries into the courtyard. Business has been pretty good this month, including a charter yesterday afternoon involving the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the Orthodox Christian Church. He is known for his environmental concerns, and he is spearheading a conference in town regarding ecological concerns along the river. This was originally scheduled on the AMERICAN QUEEN for a week, but... No word on how that went yesterday, as Capt. Don Houghton and I were out on the City Park golf course, but even at that distance we did hear the whistle a couple of times. Here are some pictures which hopefully will be new to many of you, and now that I have a digital camera and a wifi place, presumably more will follow on this trip.
Pix 1 from the Moonwalk as the NATCHEZ heads downriver into Algiers Bend.
Pix 2 That is Don Houghton in the pilothouse and Debbie Fagnano narrating on the roof. The pilothouse has such a great view due to its elevation from the roof. The reason for this is that the big pilotwheel on display in the Dining Room was bought to be used, and there was space needed below the pilothouse for its bottom half. The CG didn't permit the wooden wheel up there, but apparently it isn't a fire hazard in the Dining Room....
Pix 3 Back at the dock - River stage 11 feet, rather high, thanks to the recent Ohio contributions...
Topic starter
23/10/2009 12:45 pm
More NATCHEZ
Pix 1 and 2 A while back we talked about the new Toulouse Street Wharf, but I don't think I ever showed this - the new gangway which was put in place for the opening of the wharf. Previously, when the river reached 12 feet, the walkway was put down to the Main Deck, which made the hike to upper decks a good one, especially when hauling supplies. This also made the main part of the boat inaccessible to wheelchairs. So this new elongated walkway can be extended as needed to be able to keep boarding on the Boiler Deck. Its not as adventurous as the steep old way, but the main thing is getting aboard a steamboat!
Pix 3 from my rooftop seat - the flag of old Spain: Castille y Leon, my favorite, and the Louisiana state flag. We were in a very stiff onshore wind, and my thoughts were on the BELLE's recent allision - the NATCHEZ is so much more powerful and easier to handle, a necessity in the NOLA harbor, so that the wind was negligible in handling to the passenger, but certainly not to the pilot.
Sorry, don't know why the first two got turned sideways ...
Topic starter
23/10/2009 12:55 pm
More NATCHEZ, telegraphs
Pix 1 - between the sticks in the pilothouse
Pix 2 - the pilothouse telegraph which was from an old Navy ship
Pix 3 - the Engine Room telegraph, also from a Navy ship.
Originally they showed: 1/3, 2/3, and full, with no Finished with Engine. Several years ago Capt. Steve Nicoulin made the new indications.
Once again, sorry about the pix getting turned. No clue what is happening...
Topic starter
23/10/2009 1:04 pm
More Engine Room
We'll see how these post....
Pix 1 the tiller This is connected to the 3 rudders which were from the CLAIRTON. A section was added to the front of each to better conform to the rake of the NATCHEZ hull. They are repainting the rail on which this rolls, so usually you can see the degree indications from 0 to 40 on there.
Pix 2 One of the many displays explaining the workings of the machinery.
Pix 3 the port crosshead Shipyard should remember the time the DQ's port crosshead cracked. He was piloting the towboat which pushed us during the crosshead repair. This was 1980 or 81....
Topic starter
23/10/2009 1:11 pm
Obligatory paddlewheel shots
Pix 1, 2
Note the painted star on the pitman.!@#$%^&*( Its obvious that all of the vertical shots are being posted horizontally.... hope no one hurts your neck craning to see these. sorry.
Pix 3 Forward some 200 feet from the previous pictures, with the N.O. skyline in the background
Topic starter
23/10/2009 1:21 pm
Boilers
Pix 1 Thelma and Louise These are not the original boilers. Both were installed in the last decade, can't remember the exact years. One was installed one winter, the other the next.
Pix 3 front of Thelma and Louise\
Pix 3 I wanted to show you the rough times I go through to bring you these NOLA reports: this is the view from my apartment below the Beauregard Keyes House 1113 Chartres. Note the bag of beignets from Cafe du Monde - I had eaten the Croissant d'Or pastries the day before, so I decided to vary my menu..... hopefully more tomorrow, and again I'm sorry for the verticals posting horizontally. 3 hours until the first trip of the day.....
23/10/2009 3:05 pm
Great Stuff...
Great pictures and narration. Thanks for the free trip to New Orleans and the Steamer NATCHEZ.
23/10/2009 4:40 pm
All right for you, Judy! It's 45 degrees here with 20 mph winds, pouring rain, with possibility of snow showers tonight. And I just had to settle for a rather dry cinnamon scone at Panera. I really would like to wish you well on your sojourn down there in sunny New Orleans, in the heart of the picturesque French Quarter, with Cafe du Monde and Croissant d'Or nearby, and daily trips on the steamer NATCHEZ, and gorgeous days on the golf course, but I find it a bit hard to put my heart into it! Seriously, enjoy your time in the Crescent City and please give my greetings and best wishes to Capts. Steve, Don, Chief Scotty, and the crew. By the time you return to Rock Island, we'll probably have snow on the ground . . . Oh, the glories of late fall in the Upper Midwest!
Topic starter
24/10/2009 12:59 pm
Natchez ix
Shipyard Sam;19049 wrote: Great pictures and narration. Thanks for the free trip to New Orleans and the Steamer NATCHEZ.
Thanks Sam. As Fred said in another thread, today's generation on the river needs to be documented and I try to do that with the NATCHEZ when I am privileged to get down here. I also hope that the pix we posted this summer from our SPIRIT OF PEORIA trip might encourage some to try one of her overnight trips next year. While it has been a bad year for steamboats, there certainly is life on the river continuing, including thank goodness, one steamboat. More pix coming at the bottom of this thread....
Topic starter
24/10/2009 1:06 pm
More NATCHEZ, sheer and camber
Here are a couple of pix to show the graceful lines of the NATCHEZ, which our own Alan Bates designed.
Pix 1 the sheer looking forward from the port stern between trips
Pix 2 the camber looking toward starboard on the stern - If you have any pictures of Doc and others taken on the NATCHEZ, note that he tended to position himself right on the 'crown' to add a little height - Doc doesn't miss a trick!
Pix 3 neither sheer nor camber, but rather interesting lines as we passed under the Crescent City Connection, something rarely done anymore.
Topic starter
24/10/2009 1:31 pm
Mq = moldy queen
And here's why we were passing under the CCC bridges. Capt. Troy C. Delaney came upriver more than usual so I was able to get a couple of pictures of the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN at Perry Street. The lighting isn't bad, folks. That's her color now, gray. I have thought about driving over there to get some closeups, but frankly I don't want to go near that mold... The mermaids are still over the calliope, but I couldn't see the whistles yesterday. That doesn't mean they aren't still there, but I just couldn't see them this time.
In Pix 3, that's Debbie Fagnano playing the calliope as we head back downriver. Perry St. is across from Robin Street, which you wouldn't recognize now. Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World is in there, and the entire facade and wharf area has been remodeled. The CREOLE QUEEN, the diesel/electric excursion boat in NOLA, had been running trips from Canal Street to MG World in conjunction with Kerns, but is no longer doing this. She is doing an occasional day trip and several dinner cruises. Another change in the harbor is the discontinuation of the Jackson Avenue/Gretna ferry. It now runs during rush hours between Gretna and Canal Street, and is pedestrian-only. There are 2 other ferries in the harbor: the Canal St/Algiers, and Chalmette/Algiers. The state of Louisiana operates these and is planning to drop a few more ferries which run upriver, including the one by White Castle (Nottoway).
Topic starter
24/10/2009 1:37 pm
Potpourri
Pix 1 The NATCHEZ whistle and one of Larry Walker's acorns.
Pix 2 Capt. Troy C. Delaney and look carefully and you'll see Capt. Steve Nicoulin out on the wingbridge. The circular thing is a windshield wiper.
Pix 3 The certificate display in the pilothouse hallway. Note the 2 newfangled ones that look like passports. They've been put in a baggie and tacked up on the board, certainly not as picturesque as the old certificates, but as effective.
Topic starter
24/10/2009 1:43 pm
Friday departure
Here are shots from the wharf of the NATCHEZ' 2:30 departure. I was heading out to the golf course so I didn't ride this trip... bad decision, bad golf!
Oops, I thought I had taken only horizontals. Thanks to several people for telling me how to correct this, but obviously I haven't had time to try it yet.
Topic starter
24/10/2009 1:45 pm
The end, literally
Here are parting shots from Friday.
Topic starter
24/10/2009 11:57 pm
Boiler, machinery info
In talking with Capt. Steve, here is some more info on the NATCHEZ boilers:
These are indeed just her second set. The starboard(Louise) was bought in New Jersey and shipped here and modified. It was installed first. They had hoped to just repair the old boiler, but a new one was needed, ASAP, hence buying this one. The following year the port(Thelma) was installed. She was built specifically for the NATCHEZ. They work similarly, but not identically.
I also asked about the whereabouts of the MISSISSIPPI and NEWTON steam machinery. The company still owns them, but when they had to vacate the warehouse where they were stored, an individual stepped up, offered to store them and possibly put them into working order for an exhibit somewhere. He would return them to the company, still the owner, when (if )requested. No requests have been made yet, and the current exact location isn't known to him.
25/10/2009 4:17 am
Judy,
THese pics clearly show the calliope whistles missing. I had heard they were going to be removed prepatory to the auction...they are expected to generate alot of money, too! I suspect the main whistle is missing as well. Last I heard the auction of the connex boxes (the MQ's "Dusty Boxes") and the vessel are to take place the Friday after Thanksgiving. I would love to be there to see the disposition of this wonderful old boat becomes.
Last night I was feeling nostalgic, as a year ago yesterday the DQ left these environs...possibly for the last time. As the evening carried on, I looked through old S&D Reflectors and followed the concept to reality of the MQ. Then I re-read the trials of the DQ in the 70's...what blessed times those were for us all on the river!
Glad you are down there enjoying steamboating on the Mississippi...wish I could be there, too!
Travis
Topic starter
26/10/2009 2:55 am
Final session of NATCHEZ pix this trip
Here I am again in the Cafe Envie on Barracks and Decatur for their wifi. Its considerably quieter than last night when the Halloween parade was rolling by. Today we ran the 2:30 and 7 trips, with nice crowds, not overwhelming, but nice. Here are some more 'inside' shots one might not think of taking...
Pix 1 - the stars on the NATCHEZ bow. The new electric capstan is hidden, other than her starcovered top.
Pix 2 - Two things you never want to run out of on a boat: ice and house water. Note the blue hose from shore. This was hooked up between trips to top off the house water (bathroom, in case anyone isn't familiar with this term).
Pix 3 - The Saints flags were flying today in place of the regular historical ones. When we returned at 4:30, the flags, as well as our spirits, should have been at half mast, with the Saints down by plenty. But when we were ready to depart at 7, everyone and everything was flying high again with the Saints' great comeback and victory.... I promise I'll learn how to post verticals once I get home!
Topic starter
26/10/2009 3:00 am
Crew
Pix 1 is Pilot Troy Delaney. He complained that I only post pictures of him taken from the stern...
Pix 2 is the house/boat band, the Dukes of Dixieland, performing by the wooden pilotwheel which was too dangerous to be placed in the pilothouse...
Topic starter
26/10/2009 3:05 am
Scenes along the way
Taken from the roof, as I was narrating.
Pix 1 - some of the CTS harbor tugs which assist ships in docking. This is one of several tugboat firms in the harbor.
Pix 2 - The harbor fireboat GEN. ROY KELLEY
Pix 3 - The lighted Crescent City Connection bridges
Topic starter
26/10/2009 3:17 am
Beauregard Keyes Patsch House
I hope you don't mind if I post a few landbased shots. My apartment is under the back porch of the Beauregard Keyes House, 1113 Chartres. If you visit New Orleans, please consider a tour of the house. Like so many tourist attractions, business is down, and the BK is REALLY a non-profit organization!
Pix 1 - the front on Chartres
Pix 2 - the formal garden on corner of Chartres and Ursulines
Pix 3 - the view up Chartres when exiting our driveway. We are only 4 blocks down from the Cathedral.
Topic starter
26/10/2009 3:28 am
More residences
Inside my apartment - its not quite as impressive as the big house - ceilings are 6 1/2 feet.... This was Doc's first residence when he moved to NOLA to bring out the NATCHEZ. He lived here for two years before buying his house on Barracks. Roddy, Steve, and a few others bunked down in this tiny place too until they found their own quarters. Doc later became Treasurer, then President of the BK Foundation, which is how I happened into this great situation in May 1987....
The third picture is of Doc's place, and if you look carefully, you'll see him hosing down the sidewalk. He's just over the white truck. He bought this in 1978. He lives on the second floor, where the white old French flag is flying, and rents out the main level and the slave quarters in the rear. We had our usual 'fine dining experience', a meal over on the West Bank at Ruby Red's. Doc took a spill on his bike a week ago, suffering several lacerations on his hand and face, but is mending well now.
Topic starter
26/10/2009 3:32 am
In conclusion...
By the time you read this, I'll probably already be 1339 river miles away from NOLA back on the UMR. So I'll leave you with this wave, and as Capt. Sam Centanni always said: So long everybody!!!!!!!!!!
