Topic starter
25/01/2007 1:58 pm
Dear Steamboating colleagues:
Hate to start a new 'thread' but Bob Reynolds posed an interesting question last night. Bob asks, "What landing/wharf charges were or are in existence in various towns and cities along the rivers for passenger/excursion boats landing and using facilities?" I don't think Bob will mind me posting to all of you who know more than I do. No doubt a number on this web have information--possibly Bill Judd, Jim Blum, Don Sanders, Jim Reising, Keith Norrington, Judy Patsch, Alan Bates, Richard & Mary Stewart etc. Doc Hawley would probably remember in a jiffy.
I do recall here in Cincinnati there were assessed charges for the GREENE LINE STEAMERS wharfboat. GL Purser Bob McCann muttered something about it years ago but, frankly, after all these years I can't remember. He quoted something like $40 [?], but I didn't know if that was by the day, week etc. HELP! on this one. The city administration here had for a while an on-again-off-again charge for municipal waste collection, water etc. The old GL offices did have city water, electricity. City services did keep the landing clean, put down salt etc. in the winter.
I'll talk to Joan Strader and ask if she can recall what the agreement was with the Public Landing here when the family gave 'Strader's Wharf' to the city for 'public use.' I have the impression that other cities and towns on our rivers 'may' have scratched the charges as an incentive to have the DQSB CO. boats, and others, land. There were wharfage charges in the old days. The GREENE LINE, as Bob Reyolds mentions, did have some 'issue' with Huntington, W. Va. at one time. I've an old, fuzzy B/W photo here of the Cincinnati landing on/around 1904-1906 showing a strange little wharf master's office like a wagon on wheels that could be moved up and down the landing according to the level of the river.
Per head 'port charges' on big, 'blue water' ships is per passenger head no matter if their ships dock at a pier or tender in from anchorages in the harbor. So, gang, ready, set, go.
Cheers,
R. Dale Flick
25/01/2007 5:23 pm
As far as I know, none of the cities up here charge the Queens for docking or water, with the exception of the one-time Dubuque water fee. That caused the boats to bypass Dubuque for a couple of years. In New Orleans, the dock board charges both passenger and cargo boats/ships per day according to their size. So even when the DQ Co. leased Robin St. they still had to pay the wharfage fee. This led to the boats piddling around and not arriving till after midnight, to avoid a day's fees. This of course was to the great consternation of both crew and passengers, who always wanted an evening in town. I have a feeling that to encourage the growth and now the regrowth of the cruise ship industry in NOLA, that they might give them breaks on the fees, but I'm not sure on that. After all, most of those ships would be socked quite a bit if they're in the 900 ft. range. And going back into the 1800s, boat owners had their wharfage fees waived if the boat carried the name of the town, which explains why there were so many town names on boats. The owner would decide which town would be used the most, and voila, the ROCK ISLAND, or whatever. I presume if the name were say, City of Rock Island, that that would count too? While typing this, I just got a phone call from Capt. Joy Manthey, who is sitting out by the NOLA Art Museum waiting for someone to join her...she's her usual busy self and sends greetings to anyone she knows on here!
26/01/2007 12:46 am
Judy, send greetings to Joy for me!!!
Sort of related...
I once heard the DQ got into a tiff with Wisconsin as Prairie duChien wouldn't let the bar open while the boats were landed unless they had a liquor license...and based off the size of the DQ (as in WI they used to take into account the size of the facility) for the few stops they made each year, they decided the bar should remain closed instead...
Someone (who I won't mention) had told this to Grandpa Zahn, my parents & me one of our UMR trips, back in the good old days!!!
26/01/2007 1:14 am
I think this is why most of the P du Ch stops are mornings. Considering the business the crew gave that one bar near the landing, that would have been more than enough to offset the license fee loss by the state! And along those lines, remember the hot shot local sheriff who boarded the DQ with guns pulled in Tennessee to confiscate the liquor and shut down the bar because they didn't have a license? That wasn't all that long ago, and Gabe was Master. Amazing what bigshot ideas some little brains get to make a name for themselves... usually the boat and company response to this harassment is to not land there again for a while. That usually wakes up the business minds in town!
26/01/2007 1:29 am
Judy Patsch;3458 wrote: I think this is why most of the P du Ch stops are mornings. Considering the business the crew gave that one bar near the landing, that would have been more than enough to offset the license fee loss by the state! And along those lines, remember the hot shot local sheriff who boarded the DQ with guns pulled in Tennessee to confiscate the liquor and shut down the bar because they didn't have a license? That wasn't all that long ago, and Gabe was Master. Amazing what bigshot ideas some little brains get to make a name for themselves... usually the boat and company response to this harassment is to not land there again for a while. That usually wakes up the business minds in town!
Remember Judy landing in LaCrosse where the mayor is out greeting passengers as they come off the boat...some of us up here are putting out the tourist shingle~~
It isn't like LAX is a sleepy crossroads either...
PDC back then was fun...sort of an "outpost" in it's day...who can forget the RoseGordon...
26/01/2007 6:12 pm
Landings Must Now Be Approved
Under the Marsec regs, the landings where the boats stop, now, have to have some sort of government blessing that they have applied for, found to meet the regulations, and then are awarded a USCG certification as an approved landing place for passenger-carrying vessels. After Cap’n Gabe brought the MQ into Rising Sun, the town elders were warned that they would have to get approved if they wanted the steamers to land there in the future. So they did, and Rising Sun, IN is now blessed by the boys and girls in blue as an approved stop. But I do not know if there is a fee involved for the application of such... usually is. However, Rizzin' Shine may not charge for, and should provide water and garbage pick-up for the boats. Also free bus service to and from the GVC&R gamblin' boat is always available. There's also a nice dive , or two, for the crew that are conveniently located up-hill and not far from the landing.
26/01/2007 7:48 pm
Okay, Shipyard Sam, I understand REAL clear that the boats that used to be the Delta Queen Steamboat (it's hard for me to say Majestic America Line), cannot land at "landings" such as in towns that do not have approval from the guys and gals in "blue", as you call them. But what about the need to "choke a stump". Do those landowners (or since it's on the riverbank - maybe those trees are owned by the Corp of Engineers), do they have to have the stamp of approval for the boats to tie to their trees? What I'm getting at in a round about way - is if there was a stop - not in a town - that the captain or passengers requested a stop at - say such as a park along the river - would the Captain get in trouble with the guys and gals in "blue" over that?