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 The Delta Queen is one of America's remaining classic riverboats although she was built as recently as 1926. The gleaming brass, Tiffany style stained glass windows, ornate woodwork, a melodious steam caliope and, down below, surrounded by the aroma of steam and hot oil, the wonderful smoothly working machinery steadily turning the great stern paddle wheel are just some of the features of this grand boat. Reminiscent of the steamers of the 1800s, the Delta Queen still
sails the inland waters of America's heartland calling at the river cities and towns from New Orleans to St.
Paul to Pittsburgh. |
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In earlier days along the river, the mighty Mississippi River, the Packet Boat
Belle of the Bends stops at the landing in Vicksburg, MS transfering passengers and cargo
coming from or destined for other Mississippi River ports.
The steamer St. Johns, along with her running mate the Drew provided
the People's Evening Line's red plush and tassel overnight service on the Hudson River between New
York City and Albany, NY. The St. John was 385 feet long and powered by a massive walking
beam steam engine with a 76 inch cylinder and 15 foot stroke. The boat burned in January, 1885.
During the first half on the 20th Century, the overnight boats on the Hudson gradually
gave way to daytime runs to the steamers such as the Robert Fulton. and a thriving, lively daytime
excursion business.
The excursion steamer Hendrick Hudson departing from the Day Line's Hudson
River landing at Poughkeepsie, NY heading downriver to New York City earlier in this century.
The waters of San Francisco Bay were home to many large ferry boats carrying
passengers and vehicles for most of the 20th Century. For commuters and travellers to towns around the
bay, the pilot house on the Eureka was a familiar sight as they glanced upward while boarding
the boat.
Once aboard, the banks of benches inside provided comfortable seating on those days of
foggy mornings when being outside might have been too cool . Today, the Eureka survives at the
Maritime Museum near San Francisco's Fisherman Wharf waterfront area.
Many large inland lakes have a long history of water transportation that the served shoreline towns and individual properties before major road transportation projects and the automobile took over. One such enterprise started operations on Lake George, New York in 1871 as the Lake George Steamboat Company which became a part of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad in the same year. The first of the company's lake steamers was a large, fast side-wheeled steamer 195 feet long with a 30 foot beam powered by a walking beam steam engine giving the vessel a speed of 20 MPH.
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| Positioning the Mohican II over the cradle. |
With various vessels, the company continued until 1945. It then had one aging steel hulled steam powered vessel called the Mohican II, a small dock and a small shipyard with a marine railway. The owners that took over in 1945 began a steady effort to rebuild the company and its facilities. Now, with three first class excursion vessels, passenger service in season is again popular on Lake George. The stern wheeler steamboat Minne-Ha-Ha was the first vessel built by the new management at its shipyard on the lake in 1969. She was later extensively enlarged and improved in 1998. The company's next major ship construction program at its lake front shipyard created the 189.5 foot long diesel powered Lac du Sacrement. It is a remarkably accurate recreation of the old Hudson River passenger steamer Peter Stuyvesant in 3/4 scale.
Maintaining vessels is a never ending part of the business and the company's marine railway is a key element. In 2000, the Mohican II, originally built in 1908, was again due for overhaul and improvements and was taken out of the water using the marine railway.
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The process took almost three hours to accurately position the vessel over the marine railway's submerged cradle and then pull them both toward shore riding on the tracks until both were completely out of the water safely high and dry. |
Last Updated 07/02/08
Author : Richard O. Aichele
© 2008. All rights reserved by Information Works inc., Saratoga Springs, NY. 12866
