Steamboats for steamboat's sake.

Thanks

Wow. Thanks for finding and sharing that Ron! I'm sure the timing strip was there to prevent anyone from copying and using it, but I wish it hadn't been right in the center... at least the LONE STAR appeared completely underneath it, even the locking scenes.

Great Footage of Steamboats!

Thanks Ron! I think this footage is from the camera of Bill Warrick, who captured a lot of scenes of steamboats, some of them in their last days. Great images of the BELLE of LOUISVILLE, MISSISSIPPI (later BECKY THATCHER), JAMES Y. LOCKWOOD, LONE STAR, etc. The scenes of the crewman heaving the lead line into the river were made aboard the Str. MISSISSIPPI. Also some great scenes of Capt. Fred Way and his little sternwheeler LADY GRACE.

This excellent footage and more is available in both VHS and DVD as "IRON CROWNS and PADDLEWHEELS", compiled by Jim Herron in 2003. You can purchase them at Railroad video, herron rail video productions, railroad, railways, steam engines. We also have them available in the Howard Steamboat Museum gift shop.

Keith, yes at least some of that video is from Bill Warrick - the color footage of the Lone Star and the Lockwood I know for sure is his footage. Those shots of the Belle were taken in hear early years before the new bow was put on. I've got that Iron Crowns and Paddlewheels video but haven't looked at it for years. I'll have to drag it out.

John, take a close look at the BELLE of LOUISVILLE footage. In some of the scenes she still has the old stage from the ISLAND MAID, and in others she has the new aluminum stage that, I think, was installed late in the 1964 season.

After service as the gangplank to the wharfboat RENOWN, the old stage was hauled to the Louisville city dump in the early 1970's. C.W. Stoll used to drive people out there to see the relic! It's probably long gone by now.

I have long believed that the first two minutes of this clip were filmed at Evansville and are the events described by Captain Bates in his book Belle of Louisville, appearing near the bottom of page 127 (in my copy, which is from the June 1973 second printing). This was on the return leg of the boat's 1964 Green River trip.

Keith to Keith! I think you are exactly right -- owing to the "huge clouds of sooty smoke towering above her" and the "roustabouts" posing with a steamer trunk. And if you look quickly, I am pretty sure that's Alan on the wing bridge!

Y'all are correct. This is Bill Warrick's footage from our video "Iron Cowns & Paddlewheels", a DVD that we sell. Of course, the DVD has a full sound track and no time code inserted in the picture. Bill Warrick created the show with his film and more that he acquired and I added some video that I shot to round it out. Bill wrote the script and narrated the show.

The You Tube version linked above is from a stock footage company here in Tampa that handles some of my footage in the commercial market. Once in a long while, they find a client who needs a clip or two for a commercial or other broadcast shows. When that happens, Bill gets a cut of any funds realized. The time code allows users to identify the scenes they want.

As Keith noted, the show is still available and, in fact, I sent one to a customer yesterday. Today, it is on DVD only. If anyone wants a VHS copy please let Keith know as I no longer have any VHS available and no longer make them.

We have released eight shows, seven of them on railroading, that Bill Warrick produced. Now in his '90's, Bill is retired and lives in northern Indiana.

-Jim Herron

Two questions from the back of the classroom at SB 101:
1. Is the Lone Star preserved somewhere?
2. In the opening scene of the video the BELLE is really smoking it up. One steam locomotive excursions they will often sand the flues to get that effect. What was happening on BELLE to get that smoky?

Thanks!

Wesley

Wesley,

The wooden hulled LONE STAR operated until 1967 and was hauled out onto the bank at Le Claire, Iowa to become part of the Buffalo Bill Museum. She nearly deteriorated into oblivion until they finally built a "case" around her and began restoration work. Visit the website at Buffalo Bill Museum in Historic LeClaire, Iowa on the Mississippi River

I'll leave the smoke question to our expert steamboat engineers!

Keith

I don't know how the smoke was generated for the movie shot but I would assume it was done by either cranking up the oil flow or throwing in a lot of coal, depending on how the boilers were fired at that time. Surely, it was done for the movie shot at the request of the film director. No self-respecting chief engineer would allow such an operation in real operation.

-JH

Cranking up the oil flow or choking off some of the air supply will give you all the smoke, insulating soot on the boiler tubes and grief from the EPA and front office you can stand! As you well know, Jim, steam locomotives use the exhaust steam to increase draft through the fire and the condensed steam provides much of the visual effect. That draft often carries with it cinders from the fire...thus the goggles and neck protection often seen on the hogger and his understudy, the fireman. Cap'n Walnut

You are absolutely correct, those shots were taken in Evansville on our return from the Green River trip on the Belle. Archie Johnson was the fireman. When he was asked to make smoke for the movie shots, he said if they want smoke, I'll give 'em smoke." He certainly did. They had to shot scene of the boat approaching twice....the first time all that billowing black smoke blew forward and blanketed the camera. So Capt. Underwood backed the boat back out and did the approach again, luckily by that time the wind acted perfectly.
The two deckhands carrying the suitcases were Tommy Couch and a fellow we called Chico. Yes, that is Alan Bates on the wing bridge.
The best part of that day was not having a movie made, but the Sterling Brewery picked us all up in cars and took us to brewry for all the beer and sandwiches we could eat and drink (Sterling at the time had several commercials featuring the BELLE). By the time they brought us back to the boat, they had to literally pour us out on the levee. When one is under the spell of golden hops and barley, everything makes sense and seems like a good idea, so we took the BELLE's yawl and rowed over to the sand bar in the middle of the river (this was before the highlift dams) and spent the night sleeping out on the sand.

Jimmy: who were the crew on that fracas??

Let's see...Paul Underwood, Capt, Charles Y. Duncan lll, Pilot.....for the Green River portion of the trip we hired a Green River pilot from Crounse, I've forgotten his name. Charlie Duncan had license on Green River. Alan Bates was mate. Dave Crecilius and Chet Foster, engineers. Kenny Howe and Chet LaHue, strikers. Bob Bradford and Archie Johnson, fireman. Myself, Jim Marshell, Darrel Decker, Tommy Couch, Chico, Alan Thomas, "Doggy" ......, and several others, deckhands. The O'Hara family ran the concession stand and cooked. C.W. Stoll rode along on the Green River portion as second mate. That's about all I can remember...it's been OMG 49 yrs. ago!!!!!

Capt. C.W. Stoll's color slide collection contains a number of images taken on the historic 1964 Green River tramping trip.

Speaking of Capt. Charles Y. Duncan, his 1971 book entitled You're Looking at MY RIVER has been reprinted and is again available. It is a 150 page paperback cartoon book depicting life on a river towboat. Capt. Charlie, nearing 80, left the river and moved to Newport, Rhode Island where he operates a sign company.

The book is available for $8.95, postage paid, from The Waterways Journal, 319 North Fourth Street, Suite 650, St. Louis, MO 63102. The telephone number is 314-241-7354. It is also now possible to subscribe to an ONLINE edition of the WJ.

Sigh~! My thanks for the input. Good thing the Statute of Limitations kicked in long ago! Jimmy, what was the purpose of that tramping trip? Publicity? Was it ever repeated? I understand the dam a Woodbury washed out years ago and was never replaced. Can you get THAT far up the Green today? Cap'n Walnut.

Not real sure the reason they sent the BELLE to Green River, at the time they said it was to promote improving naviagation on the Green River. At the time there was a lot of oil drilling going on around Bowling Green. I really think the BELLE's operating board at that time had several river people on it such as C.W.Stoll and Clyde Glass and I think they wanted to play with their boat. Did the boat make money on this tramping trip; No I don't think so but it didn't loose much either.
The BELLE could go up the Green to lock 3 about 110 miles, but the old antibellum lock was too small for the boat. Woodbury, which did collapse in the mid-60's, was the next lock above lock 3. At that time the only traffic on the Upper Green was Hines Towing taking a barge of gasoline once every week or so to Bowling Green, Ky.
The next year we went to Maysville....they had a charter there. But, I believe the real reason was to show off the BELLE in Cincinnati.

Thanks, Jim. I have a friend at Woodbury and they turned the lockmaster's house into a museum for the County, I think. Was that the state or the Corps of Engineers, there on the Green River? Cap'n Walnut.

TOM: I was lying low waiting on Jim, but he must beoff on some great project. The Green River locks & dams were under the Corps of Engineers and still are today. They placed Green River locks #3, what was left of #4, #5 and #6 in what they term a caretaker status. Also Barren River #1. The locks were closed off with sheet pile at the upper ends in case of gate failure. There is a move under way by the "green" people to demolish #6.

Here is an interesting page with photos and status of Lock #3 and #6.

Kentucky, abandonded locks on the Green River and Tributaries - ADVrider

Wesley

Bill Warrick gave the Saturday evening program at S % D years ago - I don't remember what year. In the footage there were some nice shots of the last Hudson River side-wheelers - the Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton and perhaps others. I don't remember if those made it into "Iron Crowns and Paddle wheels" or not.