Sprague Questions

Bruno, That 91 RPM is totally off base. 9.1 would be a lot more accurate. I remember reading somewhere that she did most of her work at 9 RPM. The world's foremost authority on the Sprague is Jack E. Custer of Louisville, KY. He has done vast amounts of research on her and years ago started, but never finished what was to be the worlds most accurate model of "big Mama" as she was called. Jack has sort of vanished into the woodwork in recent years but he and wife Sandy live in a big old home in Portland (KY). I don't even have the address and I haven't had any contact with them in several years. Perhaps some others on this board can bring us more updated info on them.

Bruno, the Sprague engines were 28 and 63 inch diameter with a 12 foot stroke. If you know the mean effective pressure of the steam there are formulae for calculating the indicated horsepower. Way says the boat was rated at 2,079 HP. The Sprague came out with an electric plant, condenser, condensate pumps, ship-up gear, hull syphons, feed pumps, two whistles and refrigeration, all of which consumed steam. As for the horsepower that actually shoved against the water to move the boat, try your house address number, your social security number or your license plate. All are equally accurate. Understand that the boat was indeed POWERFUL. Way says the wheel usually turned at 9.25 rpm. The Sprague started out with 6 Hopkins corrugated firebox boilers. They were removed and four Foster-Wheeler steam generators (water tube) boilers installed. The paddlewheel had 21 buckets and was originally 40' wide by 40' diameter. The diameter was reduced to 38' during a docking program at Howard's, I think.
I can testify that when the Sprague passed up the Mississippi the turbulence continued for more than a half hour and our fleet bucked like a herd of broncos. The reason for the two whistles was: the big one for signalling other boats, a smaller one for signalling the mate.
Today towboats handle bigger tows than the 67,307 ton tow she handled in 1907, but pilots like Captain Luke Moore admit that the Sprague's feat was probably more noteworthy because of the river and towboat improvements made since then.
You should buy Way's Diectories.
Two later towboats, the Alexander Mackenzie and the Jason were rated at 1400 hp with engines 16 and 32 inch diameters with a ten foot stroke. The safety valves were set at 370 psi. Sprague probably ran at about 200 or maybe 250 psi.
Send me a private email for Jack Custer's address. He can tell you more about the Sprague than any living person.

Incidentally, no riverman I knew ever called the Sprague "Big Mama" in my presence. She was the Sprague, without any fancy trimmings.

Bruno: There's a dandy booklet about the SPRAGUE that was sold in the boat's gift shop for years. It contains lots of great pictures and information on the amazing towboat. I think there's an extra copy of it lurking in my archives and, if so, I'll be happy to add it to your collection.

I first saw the SPRAGUE at Vicksburg in June of 1969, when I was barely 15 years old. They had just painted her and the boat literally gleamed. They said it took 300 gallons of red to paint the sternwheel which, by that time, had slats instead of real bucket planks, because they had devised a way for the wheel to turn when the boat was taken to Pittsburgh in 1959 for the Bicentennial celebration. This allowed water to flow through and caused much less resistance on the mechanism. There is film footage of the boat underway and it's interesting to note that big sternwheel is slowly turning, but the wheel wash looks like a tidal wave! Built at Dubuque, the SPRAGUE was notorious for swamping shantyboats and other vessels. In her first days she destroyed the showboat TEMPLE OF AMUSEMENT!

I remember the lady guide on the SPRAGUE telling us that the sheer of the huge towboat was really due to the moisture she had been exposed to for years on the river and the superstructure was badly warped. Oh mercy!

It was awesome to walk the decks of the boat and you could have held a party in the big pilothouse with its 13.5' pilotwheel. The engine room was truly fascinating. The River Hall of Fame was in the forward portion of the long cabin, with a restaurant at the stern. The boilers were removed to make space for the showboat theatre where the melodrama "Gold in the Hills" was presented for decades.

I got to visit the boat (intact) three times before the 1974 fire. Then, after she was beached in a field along the Yazoo, many steamboat fans (yours truly included) made pilgrimages to take pictures, etc. They later moved the boat back down the Yazoo with the intent of restoration, but due to her hogchains no longer functioning and the weight of the big sternwheel, her hull cracked and down she went. She was scrapped and many pieces of her (stacks, engines, etc.) still are lying along Highway 61 above the Vicksburg waterfront. The new Catfish Row Park on the riverfront utilizes a number of the capstans and other relics from the boat. Capt. Eugene Hampton, the longtime master of the SPRAGUE, probably would not appreciate seeing the artifacts from his beloved boat painted PINK and other garish colors!

Glad to hear that you and Deb will be with us in June! Looking forward to seeing you!

Hi, Bruno, John, Alan & Keith:
Interesting memories of the SPRAGUE. 'WAY'S STEAM TOWBOAT DIRECTORY' No. T2327 Pgs. 208-211 gives Fred's 'big blow' on the boat. I only saw the SPRAGUE once in 1959 on her way to Pittsburgh towed by the diesel LEIHIGH. Made big press here in all the papers and reporters came aboard to ride her up river to get their stories together. One reporter was set straight when he asked how many passengers she carried. The LEIHIGH was on her starboard side; thus she passed here appearing to be under her own power. One impressive leviathan and lots of people gawked from the Ohio/Kentucky shores. But wait.

I 'think' I'm correct in remembering Eugene Hampton being introduced to me on the DQ years ago at the old GL wharfboat by Mrs. Letha Greene. I recall his face now. We talked and in time he handed me a post card of the SPRAGUE after penning his name and the date. I long ago passed that card on to a collector interested in the SPRAGUE. When the old GREENE LINE wharfboat was cleared out

and moved across the river to Covington, KY temporarily during demolition of the Public Landing leading to the construction of then Riverfront Stadium, I was handed a metal box of GL photos and 35 mm. slides used in company advertising/printing/promos. Tucked in are several slides showing the DQ passing the SPRAGUE, probably at Vicksburg. Must have been a Mardi Gras trip as passengers are lining the rail gawking at the SPRAGUE wearing overcoats and hats. In those earlier years passengers tended to dress more 'up' even during the day on deck. There at the rail appears Brucie Edgington, veteran fixture and watchman on the DQ for years. Small world. Thanks for the posting.

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Landing Alongside the SPRAGUE, 1970

http://groups.msn.com/WillieandBustersWhirlwindTouroftheWorld/bigmommathestrsprague1970.msnw?Page=1

Thanks to all all...I think I'll continue my research a bit, the boat is just so intriguing to me. Capt Bates is helping to guide me a little with my quest...

And Sam, thanks for the link...but I want you to know, that I've looked at all the pictures in the Whirlwind Tour, many, many times...incredible collection of images.

Hey, Bruno:

I visited the Howard Museum last week and was privileged to peruse a 1909 SNAME paper authored by Charles Ward. He mentions the "Sprague" (among many others) and notes that she did "most of her work at less than 8 rpm" and never ran in excess of 9 1/2.

In other Howard notes, Keenon Coleman's model of the "Sprague" is for certain a most exemplary piece of steamboat modeling.

Bruno, I had been reading this thread for some time, and until Keith's post I never remembered that one of the old-timers told me that the SPRAGUE flanked almost EVERYTHING southbound. Eight RPM's northbound seems a little slow to me, but with that massive wheel, maybe so....