Julia Belle Swain Whistle

Hi Mark,

Others will fill in the blanks from what information I don't have, but it's my understanding that one or more of the whistles she wore while owned by her designer, builder, Captain Dennis Trone were removed prior to her sale north to LaCrosse. This is why the sound isn't the same. For a good recording of her whistle as originally put together check out the 1984(?) version of Life on the Mississippi in which she played the rolls of several steamboats.

Aaron

Aaron,

You are right the whistle was changed when she was sold and the big yellow "T" was removed from her stack spreader bar. The two smaller whistles were removed. Although I do not have the exact measurements, the removed whistles were what I suspect to be a 5" and 6" Lunkenheimer. The original 3' rather narrow diameter single barrel whistle is still on her along with two single barrel whistles the exact same size as the original lunkenheimers. That said, she is missing 4 notes of her former 7-note whistle. Hence the lack of the characteristic warble. I miss it...it was her distinct sound. Hopefully the next owner will bring herback out and restore the sound...cause thise Lunks aren't hard to find!

Here's a link to a video I shot of the current whistle on her back in late July 2005 from the DELTA QUEEN.

YouTube - JULIA BELLE passing with Whistle salute

Travis

Thanks Travis

I knew something was not right. I wonder though did the new owners alter her or did Dennis Trone before the sale. She doesn't sound right.

Mark

Mark,

Capt. Trone changed the whistle and removed the big yellow "T" in the spreader bar on the stacks prior to the sale. Sorry I didn't clarify that in my post.

The few years Capt. Trone ran the JULIA BELLE SWAIN and the TWILIGHT together in the Le Claire-Galena trade the two boats met each other somewhere towards the middle of their run between the two towns. The whistles and calliopes blared out greetings and the excitement of the boats coming together mid-stream for a switch of crew was quite the event of the cruise for the passengers of each boat. The Passengers of the TWILIGHT probably rued their decision because of all the charming audio of the JULIA BELLE SWAIN. Between the whistle, the scape pipes, the wheel...they had to have steam envy!

The TWILIGHT still runs almost the same route, now a little farther up the river to Dubuque (the birth place of the JULIA BELLE SWAIN, as a matter of fact). I have secretly hoped the owners of the TWILIGHT would try and get the JULIA BELLE SWAIN and operate her like Capt. Dennis Trone did before the big 1993 flood. I guess in this economy, they are well fixed with one of these two beauties. Sadly enough the JULIA BELLE SWAIN is tied to the bank at La Crosse, WI, where she has been for almost two years, laid up...for sale...awaiting a unknown fate. One can only hope this is temporary and she comes back soon to entertain the steamboating public like only she can!

I bet his widow (Libby) still has those two whistles (the Lunkenheimers)...cherished mementos of the great life they shared on the prettiest little wedding cake of a steamboat on the river.

There was nothing like that sound of that whistle...it was a totally unmistakeable sound...it said S-T-E-A-M-B-O-A-T! Well, with a charmingly slurred lisp.

Travis

the JBS and TWILIGHT meetings

As Travis said, the two boats met about halfway to exchange entertainment crew. This was done at Savanna, Illinois (home of Sharon Reynolds and the Shrake family). The TWILIGHT today still drops her stage at Savanna to switch entertainers. it is done like clockwork, as was everything Dennis Trone did. Her current owners worked for Capt. Trone for many years and have not really changed anything, recognizing a good setup when they saw one (unlike new owners of other boats we know and love!) When the JBS ran out of LeClaire, it was 15 miles from me - and I never rode her until she moved to LaCrosse. Dumb. I know this will sound like heresy coming from me, a card-carrying steamboater, but Travis' comment about the envy of the TWILIGHT passengers as they saw the JBS, I don't know if that was so. The TWILIGHT is so much more passenger comfort friendly than the JBS, especially for a day long ride. Quite honestly for the pleasure of lounging out on deck for the duration of the trip, I prefer the TWILIGHT. Of course all the steam accoutrements to which Travis referred are great, in reality the JBS does not accommodate passengers with a preference for the outdoors well.
I'll throw this out now: we've got the SPIRIT OF PEORIA booked this summer, but how about another TWILIGHT trip next summer? That would give me enough time to shovel out the MUMR Museum for an open house, and the new LONE STAR exhibit next to the TWILIGHT landing is worth half a day in itself. Think on this, and email me sometime if you'd be interested. (I'd suspect that our evening in Dubuque would include some local entertainment by the Tschiggfrie steamboat historians)

Count me in. Maybe the young traveling calliope researcher can be persuaded to present the final results of his 13,000-mile travels these past two summers.

I remember the first time I heard that JBS whistle -- in fact, it was the first time anybody had heard that whistle being blown by steam on the boat. It happened on the afternoon of Palm Sunday, April 4, 1971 in the Ice Harbor at the DBBCo yards. That day Capt. Trone invited me down to witness the special occasion of the first time the JBS had raised steam. After checking things on the main deck and in the engineroom, we climbed to the PH where Dennis leaned out of the pilothouse window, reached up, and gave the whistle valve a long, hard pull. The whistle hadn't been connected to the foot treadle yet. I still remember that distinctive warble echoing from the hills around the Ice Harbor! I captured it all with slide film, but as usual, didn't have the presence of mind to capture it on audio tape! I finally did capture that whistle being blown in the harbor on videotape in 1997 or 98 when the JBS was making an extended cruise to Dubuque from LaCrosse. Unfortunately, the original whistle had been replaced by then.

More JBS questions

Thanks to all for the responses. I was wondering is the reason the JBS is mothballed and not selling because of the cost of operating. I know the JBS was much more expensive to operate than the Twilight. The same has to be true when you compare the JBS to the Spirit of Peoria. Plus if I am not mistaken, a steamboat requires more crew? When diesel fuel was five dollars a gallon a couple of years ago, it would give pause to any steamboat operator. I remember Dennis taking a stick and lowering into the fuel tank and checking the amount left. He cringed everytime the fuel truck pulled up to the foot of Main Street in Peoria, and that was in the 70's. A couple of years ago, you pay the fuel, you pay the crew (Pilot, engineer, deck hands, other employees) and suddenly you can't make any money. With that in mind, can the JBS ever operate and turn a profit where someone will buy her and put her back in operation?

inactive JBS

Mark, the main problem in running the JBS was an out of town owner. Bob Kalhagen lives in Madison Wisconsin, a couple of hours away from LaCrosse. He wasn't around to supervise or see the daily operations, and didn't really know the inner workings of the steamboat operation. I'm sure it was more expensive than he anticipated. They ran on a very tight budget, delaying minor repairs until they became major and more expensive. On 3 occasions I had booked overnight trips which were either cancelled completely or shortened drastically due to mechanical problems, all of which should have been fixed prior to the trips. I quit booking the JBS and didn't recommend her to out of towners, for fear they'd give up vacation time for nothing. I had been burned enough myself and switched to the reliable TWILIGHT operation. Now as to whether she could be run again and profitably, I think the answer is yes. With the demise of the overnight steamboats, there is a customer base out there looking for a replacement - last year we had 31 on the SPIRIT OF PEORIA 3 day trip to St. Louis, and this year we have 21 on her 5 day trip - and that was without trying very hard, just a notice on this board and word of mouth. Further, there are people who could afford a 2 day trip such as the JBS ran in her first LaCrosse days, who are not DQ orphans. Her first LaCrosse years she was scheduled almost exclusively with alternating 2 day/1 night trips up to Winona and down to Prairie du Chien. She also ran some 4 hour extended dinner trips locally. This schedule was due to her docking agreement: she could not duplicate the trips the established LACROSSE QUEEN was running. As years passed, her schedule became more local excursion or dinner trips, with only an occasional overnighter scheduled. And instead of a 2 day round trip, they made it a one -way with a day in between so if you wanted a round trip, you had to stay an extra night in Winona or PduC. I think LaCrosse is a good place for her, right in the heart of the beautiful UMR, with lots of tour companies geared to senior citizen travel in the 4/5 state area. As I mentioned somewhere else, the JBS, as beautiful and authentic as she is, is not suited for relaxed outdoor seating for extended trips. Denny realized this and made more outside space on the TWILIGHT. But she was popular, and got the car horns honking and cars stopped on the side of Hwy. 35 to watch her paddle by, her big red paddlewheel quite the sight. I think in today's economy, she could do well as a 'poor man's DQ' - if she had the necessary monies for proper upkeep and a well-informed office/reservation/PR team to promote her well. While the crew number isn't significantly higher than for the TWILIGHT, the big item would probably be finding a steam engineer for the season - although I think I know a few who'd be glad to 'volunteer' for shorter time frames in exchange for room and board... and then the final consideration is: in what shape is she in now after being laid up for a year and a half already?

Hey all,

Rather sad news to report here. Last night I have a rather extensive conversation with two former employees of the JULIA BELLLE SWAIN who are local and have been on her very recently.

The boat is said to be in horrible shape. Many things missing. Pilothouse brass gone. 3 whistles from the calliope gone. Almost all the engine room tools gone. Some indoor furniture missing. I was told the stacks have peeled to the point they are rusting now. The rubrails on the port side have split and are pulling away from the guards. One of the former employees was telling me of the myrad of mechanical things that needed replacement during the last season. The Texas cabin A/C unit, the cooler in the bar, the main Semple VA Power steam generator, much of her original house water system plumbing, ...ect. To quote this person " She barely ran at all the last season, we didn't have the funds to repair things, and the owner would rather see her sit at the dock when we needed expensive repairs."

It all adds up to a thought. Who would buy her? She has no COI (it expired last year), she is two years over due on her hull inspection, she needs a new boiler unit, many things are missing and would need replacement. Someone would have to buy her (the current price is $1.5 million, I understand...that includes the boat, and all her associated business and office materials), refrubish her, get a COI, replace the boiler. I am thinking it would be almost $2-3 million before you turn the wheel. And then you will have to get a business established, get ridership, build a marketing plan...all of which costs alot of money. Not to mention crew!

A person would have to start with almost $10 million to get this off the ground. Then there is the fact most businesses of this size don't start paying for themselves for the first 5 years. So they have to have enough capital to make it 5 years. Sadly, I don't see anyone willing to do this with no pay off in such a long term of investment. Imagine the risk someone would be taking to operate her!

The sad truth is it would be cheaper to build a new boat with better ammendities than the JBS. I hope I am wrong, dead wrong....cause she is the pinnacle of her builders artistic endeavours...there is no reason she can't run again....and there is no reason she shouldn't make money. In this economy she isn't feasible unless someone is looking to burn big money and wait several years (5 or more) for a return on their investment.

Sounds like she needs a rather industrious (and very rich) benefactor fast! Hit up your rich Uncles and Aunts...maybe a consortium of steamboaters could do it and do it right! All we need is a like-minded group of people with alot of money to get it started. And if they have patience and time it could work.

What ever we do if we are gonna do it, it needs to be fast....VERY fast!

Travis

2 points to ponder:

Note your sources confirmed what I had said about deferring maintenance until it became major - this has been going on for almost 15 years, so you can imagine the repairs needed. Secondly, the asking price is 1.5 mil???? Kalhagen bought her for $500,000 and what little business info he'd have to get the new owner started isn't worth a million! No wonder he hadn't sold it earlier, if this has been the asking price.
One further thought: she might have a better chance of being bought by an individual or company for private use, a la the KALITAN of the Mayo Brothers, or the Kent Feed houseboat in Muscatine. She'd make a great party boat for some rich person, who would have to know some steam engineers!

Travis, my information from a very reliable source indicates her COI is good until 2012. However, the years of deferred maintenance are indeed true and the sad fact of the matter. When Jonathan and I boarded her at Lansing in June 2008 to ride to LaCrosse, her departure was delayed several hours while the boat was waiting for some part to arrive, and her engineroom crew stewed and steamed about the whole affair!

David,

Your source is not only reliable, they are totally right, I stand corrected...here is the Regulatory File on the JULIA BELLE and I have found her COI to be intact. Thanks for pointing that out! It is another possibility for her to make it back some day to our rivers!

USCG CGMIX PSIX Vessel Details Page

Both my informants have told me what you experienced was almost normal operating procedure. She can be brought back...but someone needs to act fast. Judy was spot on as usual...some big company needs to have her as a party boat. That is if we steamboaters can't develop our own company to do it first!

Travis

Facing the devastating possibility that we may not see the JBS under steam again, here are three of my favorite photos of the "pocket packet" (Capt. Roddy Hammett's favorite epithet for the boat) after her return to the UMR above Dubuque in 1995. View #1 was snapped at Dubuque on September 12, 2007, on what we hope will not turn out to be her last ever extended cruise to Dubuque from La Crosse. Capt. Erik Dykstra is on watch in the PH and has just blown a farewell salute as he comes ahead. View #2 is shot from the lookout atop Mt. Hosmer in Lansing, IA, on June 18, 2008, the last season she has run to date. The boat's departure was delayed that morning due to mechanical problems, an habitual bugaboo over the last 10 years of operation from LaCrosse. View #3 was taken a month later on July 19, 2008, above LaCrosse during Lee and Kathy Havlik's wedding anniversary cruise. Gathered in the PH are three of her UMR pilots from her Kalhagen days: (L to R) Bo Inman, Carl Henry, and Erik Dykstra. I'm hoping these will not be the last pictures I'll take of this pretty little steamer underway.

Travis, This One's For You

And Travis, these next shots are especially for you (and anyone else who wants to look too.) After Jonathan and I finally tracked down the JBS's calliope pedigree through the Circus World Museum records, we then added these photos documenting the installation of the instrument on the boat. I shot all three of these thumbnail slides on the afternoon of April 4, 1971, at the DBBCo yards in the Ice Harbor as the boat was being prepared for her delivery trip to Grafton and then on to Peoria. This was the first day she had steam up, and the first day her whistle was blown. Her calliope could not be played that day, however, as the photos make clear. It had not yet been fully installed by then. But these views are historic shots of an instrument that we hope is not going to be silenced forever.

The owner should be tickled pink to get less than $500k for that boat now. I would like to see his justification for that $1.5 million price. If one is selling a business, they have to show due cause for the asking price, with facts and figures. It has not operated for 2 years and is therefore a defunct business, with the money maker deeply in need of repairs. The only thing of any worth is the boat. However, I do not think it would take 2 0r 3 million to get it going again, but a chunk of change, never-the-less. And a very involved owner who at least has a scintilla of knowledge about steam. It is very do-able.

It pains me to say this....STEAM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE STEAM. If you don't think so, just ask Dave Morecraft how much it costs to run his steam calliope for one day. Just hull repairs for the W.P.SYNDER, JR. is 1.5 million dollars and we all ask why the BECKY THATCHER couldn't be saved. At over $2.50 a gallon for fuel oil, there aint enough money in this world to keep steam alive whether it's the JULIA BELLE SWAIN, AMERICAN QUEEN, or especially the DELTA QUEEN (I bet the natural gas bill for just heating that boat was a real eye opener this past winter). Like Bill Clinton said "It's all about the economy."

David: Thanks for the pix.. I have many fond memories of playing the JBS CaLLiope , and Dennis & Libby

Jim: thank You for thinking of us . 🙂
and Lets not forget "INSURANCE" .. I buy ours "by the DAY" !! 🙁

This photo . Yours truly piloting the JBS near Peoria. Yes I got to blow her old Whistle several times..

Jim, I'm going to have to disagree with you on your statement that steam is dead. While many other boats have gone by the wayside, it was because of neglectful owners. I am proud and unashamed to say that we care for the NATCHEZ a whole lot more than the owners of those boats did. Even the owners of the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE are at least attempting to keep her up-to-date with what people want. Look at the new air conditioning system! Yes, it might look ugly, but if people want to sit in a cool area and not in the sun, they can, and that could affect their decision to ride or not. Just because the overnighters have been taken off the rivers doesn't mean we should forget about the excursion boats. I'm also sure that the other Mat on here would disagree with you as well. If he thought steam was dead, he wouldn't be busting his butt to replace most of the bow on the C. BELLE to keep her running into the future. And the MINNE, well, she's the most successful boat we have in Lake George. To everyone on this board: just because the QUEEN's are gone doesn't meant that steam is dead! Come hell or high water, I'll keep the NATCHEZ going until I'm 6 feet under because steam certainly isn't dead to me. Support your local excursion steamers!

Amen Matt!

Yes, unfortunately too many steamboats have stopped running in recent years, and also unfortunately too many people equate 'steamboat' to overnight boat. But as Matt just said, the NATCHEZ is still running, and she is a STEAMBOAT! I think I know what Jim is getting at, the era of steamboating is diminishing, but there are still steamboats out there, as Matt pointed out. For those of you who have never visited New Orleans or taken a ride on the NATCHEZ, please consider it. As I end my narration, I point out that the NATCHEZ is owned by a family, not by a conglomerate, and that she was really the first tourist attraction to resume operating after Katrina, and that we appreciate both the local support and the business of visitors. Its ironic that the 4 steamboats that ceased operating in the past few years didn't face any catastrophic situation, yet they folded (3 with corporate backing). And the NATCHEZ, bankrolled by individuals, survived the devastation of Katrina and is still rolling on the river! These individuals, ie. the Dows, know their boat and their business, and care for it as part of their family.
An aside: this Saturday the NATCHEZ' architect, L. Alan Bates, will be receiving an Achievement Award from the National River Museum in Dubuque. One of the reasons the NATCHEZ is in her 35th year is the thoughtful and knowledgeable design Alan gave her. Long live the NATCHEZ and the remaining operating steamboats!

Amen, brother! Last Friday we were on our way to Denver, taking one of our cats, with a life threatening condition, to a high dollar vet. So I was not in the best of moods. As we approached Silver Plume, I noticed plumes of steam coming from the RR station of the Georgetown Loop RR, and as we passed, glimpsed a steam locomotive, obviously not cold and dead. This was a true bright spot in an otherwisely gloomy day. All last year this little excursion RR was being run with a diesel, while they spent piles of money upgrading a steam locomotive. It would have been oh so easy for the owners to just scrap the steam idea, but they didn't. And this is not an exception. Even the mighty Union Pacific RR has 2 steam locomotives and they now have their biggest one, and I do mean big, trotting around the country on some kind of publicity tour, something they probably don't really need to do, but that they do on a regular basis. It's the people, as Matt pointed out, with no imagination, but curiously, lots of money, that are dead in my book. I know it can take lots of money to run these boats, but it takes lots of money to do just about everything. The River Barge isn't steam and it is laid up. And here's the grand finale. Flip a switch and remember what caused that light to come on.

Steam is NOT dead

I live in Spokane Valley, Washington far from the rivers of my youth. Five miles away the local newspaper has a paper factory where they produce the daily paper. At 7 AM a steam whistle announces the next shift, and my heart races everytime. It sounds just like the Delta Queen's whistle. Every steam whistle I hear I compare it to the Julia Belle Swain's. My memory is full of experiences of Denny at the wheel with John Hartford on one lazy bench and me on the other listening to the endless flow of stories, steamboats and humor. They were all punctuated with the sounds of the whistle, the roar of the paddlewheel and that great hiss of steam. The Queen's may be down, but NOT out. The JBS is waiting patiently for a new owner and another chance. But the Natchez is still going strong, so is the Chattaqua Belle, the Belle of Louisville and lets of course not forget Lexie's Graceful Ghost. There are steamboats and steam here on earth, they are in heaven as well. If I am lucky enough to end up there, and if I were to suggest that steam was dead, there would be a few steamboat Captains up there who would jettison me overboard. Captain Mark Twain, Captain Ernie Wagner, Captain Fred Way, Captain Dennis Trone and Captain John Hartford would all shake their heads in dismay as they collectively watched me float away down the river. Captains Twain and Wagner wouldn't even bother to take the cigars out of their mouths. Even if every steamboat on the planet disappeared in the blink of an eye, as long as we all have our memories of paddlewheels and whistles, steam will NEVER be dead.

In my own defense, I know the BELLE and the NATCHEZ are exceptions to my statement that steam is dead, but both those boats are very fortunate. Had the BELLE not been owned by the local government she would have gone by the wayside many years ago. My tax money as a citizen of Jefferson County has supported the BELLE for years. Jeffboat as a good corporate citizen has given the BELLE numerous breaks that they would not have done for private ownership and I'm sure the same is true for the Coast Guard. The air-conditioning installed this past winter with public funds is a "hail Mary" effort to try to boast deminishing ridership and charters.
The NATCHEZ is fortunate because of its location and ownership. Being in New Orleans the NATCHEZ was a never ending supply of tourists who spend big bucks to ride the boat. People on vacation spend more than they do at home. If the NATCHEZ were in Louisville they could never charge $64 a person for a dinner cruise or $24 for a harbor tour. And the Dow family has to be the best ownership a boat could have for they have believed in and stuck by the NATCHEZ through good times and bad and they have made sure that the NATCHEZ has always delivered a good product.

Just to Clarify

I did not intend to appear to admonish Jim in any way. I agree with his comments, I just tend to be more nostolgic. In the last post by Jim he seemed to defending his position. If I offended you, I am very sorry that was never my intention, my post was more a "never give up the ship" attitude about steam and the boats we all love. I may be reading more into this than is really there. That is the trouble with words a screen rather than face to face communications. Again I was not jumping on you, rather just adding to the conversation.

Warm regards to all

Mark