Steam specialists, we figure, are attracted by all uses of steam
for providing power so we think you’ll be interested in the
operation of the Mississippi Queen, biggest steamboat on any United
States river.
We took the trip from New Orleans to Vicksburg and back with a
group of Montanans from Helena and Great Falls. We saw the whole
compound, condensing steam engine.
The Mississippi Queen is operated by the same company which runs
the Delta Queen, the famous steamer that is half a century old. On
the trip we took, the two Queens met twice at Natchez, they tied up
together and passengers could exchange boat visits.
To give you some idea of the Mississippi Queen’s scale, here
are some of the vital statistics:
Length, 379 feet; beam, 68 feet; draft, 8 feet; cost of
construction $24 million; passenger capacity, 400 number of
staterooms, 218; crew size, 125; gross tonnage, 4,500 tons; steam
engine horsepower, 2,000 HP; cruising speed, 12 MPH.
Fuel oil tankage totals 430 tons; fresh water tankage, 440 tons
plus 150 tons daily; fuel consumption in service, estimated 335
gallons an hour; auxiliary generator capacity, 3,000 KW; steam
pressure, 500 pounds.
The Mississippi Queen also boasts the ‘biggest steam
calliope in the world.’ It can be heard for miles around when
it is giving out with its tunes. It is placed high on the rear top
deck. Sometimes it gets out of tune, and a wrench is used to tune
it.
On the voyage we took, the calliope was played by the skipper,
Captain Gabriel Chengery, who has a certificate attesting to his
qualifications.
The Mississippi Queen has two boilers forward, producing steam
to be sent back to the engine, which has a high and a low pressure
cylinder on each side. The steam is condensed, changed into water
and recirculated.
The drive power for the boat is provided solely by the huge
stern wheel, kept revolving by one Pitman arm on each side. Each
stroke of the arm produces one revolution of the paddle wheel. At
full speed, the wheel makes 12 or 13 revolutions a minute.
The boat is equipped with evaporators which take river water and
distill it before it is fed into the boilers.
Two 1,500-KW steam turbine electric generators supply all the
electrical power for the vessel. A 500-KW diesel generator on the
top deck is kept on standby, to be used only if the steam turbines
both develop trouble.
Enough electricity is generated on the Mississippi Queen to take
care of a small town. Close watch is kept on fuel use, for energy
conservation.
Information on the use of steam was provided by Captain Chengery
and Fred Klein, first assistant engineer.
The Delta Queen celebrated her 50th birthday in 1976. She has a
fascinating story all her own. She is smaller than the Mississippi
Queen, 285 feet in length; with 2,000 steam engine HP, and a
passenger capacity of 192.
President of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, which operates
both boats, is Betty Blake, 46, a graduate in commerce and business
administration from the University of Kentucky. Headquarters is at
Cincinnati, Ohio.
MISSISSIPPI QUEEN-HER MAIDEN SEASON IN 76
The $20 million Mississippi Queen is the first overnight steam
wheel steamboat to be built since the Delta Queen in 1926. From
stem to stern, from capstan to fantail, from her landing stage to
her giant red paddlewheel, she embodies a renaissance in steamboat
design. Her exterior is as traditional as the famous Natchez or
Robert E. Lee. Her interior is a blend of nineteenth century grace
and contemporary elegance.
The designing and planning of the new sternwheeler took more
than six years with the major initial problem being finance. In
1969, when it became apparent that it would require far more money
than was available, the stockholders sold The Delta Queen Steamboat
Company to Overseas National Airways (ONA).
The shipbuilding contract was let in March, 1973 to Jeffboat
Inc., Jeffersonville, Indiana. Of historical interest is the fact
that from 1840 to 1880 more than 4,800 steamboats, including the
Natchez of Captain Thomas P. Leathers, were constructed in
Jeffersonville at the Howard Shipyard, making it the most prolific
riverboat yard of the nineteenth century.
The Mississippi Queen design is a progressive development in the
tradition of the steamboats that once plied the Mississippi River
System. The Grand Staircase, the Grand Saloon, the Cabin Lounge,
the pilothouse, the raised ceiling down the center of the main
public rooms, the paddlewheel, the steam engine, the tall twin
stacks and the calliope relate back to the old riverboats.
But the new steamer is outfitted with conveniences and
facilities unknown to the oldtime riverboats. She has a swimming
pool, sauna, exercise room, movie theater, beauty salon, two
passenger elevators and air conditioning throughout with individual
room controls.
The Mississippi Queen has been built to comply with the latest
Coast Guard requirements. All bulkheads, decks and overheads have
been constructed with steel, Marinite, and other fireproof
materials. Major compartments are separated by electronically
controlled, automatic doors.
