Str. Admiral for Sale

SS Admiral for Sale

Hey: If you won the Missouri lottery (say, $ 32,000,000) you could buy the Admiral, refit it to do excursions again, and keep doing that until all your money runs out.............

As much as I LOVE the SS Admiral I would be spooked at buying it, as it has had nothing but bad luck from the day it was the railroad barge Albatross
(which sunk, by the way).

Maybe win the Missouri lottery, buy the Admiral or the JBS and sell shares of it to others who would love to own an authentic steamboat or piece of history, but don't have the means to do so.
Kinda thinking along the lines of an employee owned and operated company. Then again thinking always gets me into trouble.

Spare Change

Here's how any true-blew steamboat buff can invest in a piece of the action of a real, live steamboat and still have change left over:

Support the very few remaining steamboats still operating- namely the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, MINNE HA HA, CHAUTAUQUA BELLE, and the NATCHEZ. Take a ride, invite your friends, or charter a trip (if you can afford it). Buy stuff from the concession stand, eat dinner, buy drinks. Frequent the gift shop- load up a bag or two of Fish Purses, L'il Skipper caps, etc. Make two, three, or more trips a season. Do this season-after-season and you'll get your fill of all the steamboating you'll ever want, and maybe you might help keep some small corner of steamboating alive for another day.

Book a couple of nights at the DELTA QUEEN Hotel. Support your local home-grown excursion boat. Nobody is going to win the lottery, and if they do, sure as shooting, they ain't going to sink the loot into some used-up derelict steamboat.

Yeah I know he is. Just day dreaming is all. Same reason I don't come down to the boat and gamble. I'll just lose more than I'll gain. One of these I'll make it down to the Belle of Louisville though.

HEAR, HEAR! Cap'n Walnut.

"One of these days". Chris, you're mighty close. One thing I've found out is that when you have a thought like that, you should JUST DO IT! Go down to the River Ramblings program at the Howard on Saturday August 21st and ride the BELLE with a number of others from this board. If you don't you will likely regret it. Just do it!

I just hope they dont put her on some Discovery channel show and cut her up like they did the President. That was sad to watch. Especially when I remember those friday and saturday night rock and roll cruises when I was in high school.

Mighty close I am, It's that time factor that I have issues with.
Would be happier to see the Admiral sitting on a concrete pad at a museum then seeing someone buying her for scrap. Seeing history chopped up for scrap is sad to see.

There is no time like the present. If you really want to do something time will work out for it! Don't forget the MINNE HA HA up on Lake George she, too is a true steamboat! We don't have many examples of true steam-powered boats left. Support them or lament them.

The Admiral was dieselized for several years while she was still cruising. What ever became of her steam engines? Are they still aboard her?

For all you billionaires out there who made your money by selling lots and lots of stuff, (and not sitting around and waiting to win the lottery), the Delta Queen would make a nice personal yacht. You would not have any trouble finding a crew. You could spend hours and hours cruising up and down the river and waving to the schmucks on the shore, and still conduct business while sipping a mint julip. Invite about 100 of your closest friends to ride along in private comfort. What?! None of you are billionaires! Multimillionaires? Go for the Jewelly Bell Swayin'. Needs a little fixing up, but she's not historic, so you could glitz it up any way you want. Not that rich, either? Well, see above thread about buying ticket, Coke, T-shirt, etc. and just pretending you are a rich tycoon. It works. Oh, and bring along some of your friends and family. Repeatedly. This will actually make you rich in ways you never imagined.

ADMIRAL'S engines

The engines were removed when Six Flags made her over into an amusement park. For those wanting to save her, there is little left in either accoutrements or structure dating back to when she was a steamboat. Six Flags added a deck, the casino added bulkheads, chopping up the huge ballroom, etc. At least when the PRESIDENT was casino-ized, her structure remained the same, and machinery was left aboard. There is very little to justify saving the ADMIRAL in her whole state now.
A huge thank you to those suggesting supporting the current steamboats - I have mentioned this many times, but with my vested interest in the NATCHEZ, I appreciate the good word from impartial sources too. While the NATCHEZ, BELLE, MINNE, and CHAUTAUQUA don't have the overnight accommodations, they offer a steamboater everything one could want in a steamboating experience, complete with the dedicated crews. But they too will go by the wayside if we don't patronize them. 'Someday' often never comes in one's plans - while I am of course upset with the premature and unnatural demise of the DQ's cruising days, I am at peace with myself because I rode her as much as I could afford, both money and time wise. I have no regrets for giving up other things in order to have taken those 41 trips, or in later years to have assisted her crews on her UMR visits. If you take the time to go ride one of the extant steamers, plan a multiple day stay so you can get in several trips and different experiences. If anyone ever wants to plan a NATCHEZ/New Orleans trek, I'd be glad to help plan it with you...

Steam engines in St. Louis

A quick Google:

The Admiral was built as a steam-powered side-wheel paddlewheel boat; it was converted to diesel-powered propellers in 1973. The original steam engines are on display at St. Louis' Museum of Transport"

Built St. Louis: The Admiral

prb

ADMIRAL machinery

Yes, it was the diesels that Six Flags removed -
However I can't remember from visiting the Museum of Transport if that is accurate about her engines being on display there - both of her pitmans, Popeye and Wimpy are on prominent display as you enter the grounds, but as to the engines, I'm not certain. In fact, I'm trying to remember if the engines themselves were removed when the diesel props were installed in her wheelhouses. The props weren't located where the engines were. Jim Blum???

I'll get to the Belle of Louisville soon. Just got to shake out a weekend that isn't preplanned and the money for the family to go. Might rope them into visiting a certain museum across the river to. Only a short drive from home

I don't know about her engines, but aren't her boilers still on board. I'm pretty sure I've read that a few different places

The word on the ADMIRAL's machinery

Capt. Jim Blum is unable to get on .org today, but he replied to my email questioning the disposition of the ADMIRAL machinery.
So here is the definitive word on the relocating/scrapping from one who knows:
Admiral Steam Engines left on board at conversion. (This was in the winter of 73-74)
Six Flags must have had them cut up. (This would have been after she was decertified, so she did have her steam engines on board while she ran as diesel.)
Boilers left on board at conversion and were used for air tanks for
controls, calliope, etc. Emergency generators were installed by 6 Flags in
former boiler rooms. (So I guess that means the boilers were removed by 6 Flags, again after going dockside.)

Steam capstan engines were removed at conversion to install electric motors for Capstans.(again in 73-74) At least one Capstan engine had the builders plate of Iowa Iron Works Company. (hmm... wonder where that went, not here) Thanks to Jim for this info, my comments in ()

So the bit about the engines being on display at the Museum of Transportation is false - just the pitmans Popeye and Wimpy are there. But that place in southwest St. Louis county is worth a visit. They have many types of transportation on display. The pilotwheel of the CAPITOL is displayed on the porch ( and is well-secured to the wall). In one of the railroad cars is Donald Wright (WWJ editor)'s desk. Lots to see, especially if you don't go when the temp is 105, as Keith and I did once.

Annie Blum here. I am disappointed that someone would regard the Albatross as a bad luck boat. She served her owners well, as both a railroad transfer boat and as an excursion boat. Everything gets old. I have researched the Albatross quite a lot using a few books and , especially, newspapers of the times. I have never read that she sunk and I would appreciate knowing the source of information. Now, there were other boats with the same name so maybe it was one of those. By the way, I have also researched the name. It seems that deep sea sailors considered the albatross as a good sign because these birds could fly quite far out from shore. Apparently the only time you got in trouble was if you hurt or destroyed one. Remember the Ancient Mariner?