Topic starter
05/08/2009 8:35 pm
The UW at La Crosse has posted a bunch of new photos of the original Julia Belle Swain sidewheeler on their digital online collection. He chimney configuration seems to change more than usual over time. The earliest photos show her with a single stack behind the pilothouse and a 'scape pipe aft of that. Later photos show either one or two, sometimes mismatched chimneys with or without a visible 'scape pipe, which also seems to change locations. One photo has no visible chimneys that I can see. (Of course, my eyesight is marginal at best....) Way notes that she burned her upper works and was rebuilt, but says nothing about new engines or boilers. Does anyone have the rest of the story about her?
06/08/2009 12:58 am
Do you have...
...the web address of that UW digital collection. I remember when the Julia Belle II came to Peoria, ILbefore it was moved to Clinton, IA. Now I see that Lacrosse has no cruises scheduled for it during 2009. Is it going the same way as the Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and the American Queen? I know the Delta Queen has been docked at Chattanooga, TN...but where are the Mississippi Queen and the American Queen. I've been out of touch for several years. Thanks for the info.
Tom Adams
06/08/2009 2:39 am
Current steamboats
The JBS did not run this season. Her owner has been trying to sell her for several years and thought a deal was imminent. It didn't work out, so he scrapped the '09 season. She is sitting in LaCrosse.
The AMERICAN QUEEN is in the MARAD fleet in Beaumont Texas, awaiting a buyer. Until then, we the taxpayers own her.
The MISSISSIPPI QUEEN has been at the Perry St. Wharf in New Orleans since 2006. Her interior was gutted, ostensibly to remodel, but she is just a shadow of herself. Her engines are still intact, but she is moldy and her hull is in need of repairs. She is basically a candidate for the scrap heap.
The NATCHEZ is running her excursion schedule in New Orleans, as the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE is doing in Louisville. They are the only survivors, not of the economy, but of clueless ownerships(their ownerships not being clueless).
Topic starter
06/08/2009 1:21 pm