DELTA QUEEN's 'delivery crew' from New Orleans to Cincinnati, Ohio, July 27, 1947. This picture is from the collection of the late Capt. C.W. Stoll, courtesy of Keith Norrington.
1. STANDING ON FLOOR (L) to (R): Ian Danthwaite - DRAVO CO., architect - Hazel Dietz, steward - Charles Dietz, Chief Engineer - Irwin Urling, deck hand - Homer Waxler, pilot - Capt. Fred Way, Master - Capt. Tom Greene, deck hand (and owner!) - Gordon C. Greene II, deck hand - Tom Greene II, deck hand - Mrs. Tom (Letha) Greene.
2. ON FIRST STEP (L) to (R) Bill Horn, carpenter - Fred Kramer, deck hand - Andrew Lodder, deck hand - 'Stogie' White, deck hand - 'Skyjack' (Floyd) Turner, 2nd Engineer - Cary Johnson, boiler fireman (suspenders/dark hat).
3. UPPER STEPS (L) to (R) Earl Seabrook - C.W. Stoll, pilot - 'General' - Jim Way, fireman - (?) - L.D. Poor - (?).
Staged race between the America and the Cincinnati in 1928. According to Way's Packet Directory the America was about to win, but prevented by management. The America was built in 1917 by Howard, the Cincinnati is from 1924. The hull of the Cincinnati is still existing - it's the hull of the President.
Scanned from a negative, collection of Franz Neumeier.
The Delta Queen in the Portland Canal at Louisville in 1955.
Jim Herron has sent this nice vintage view of the Delta Queen a couple of weeks ago. The picture is taken by Dr. H. R. Blackburn.
Captain Thadeus Thomas and his wife of Clarington, OH. Was Capt. of the City of Wheeling (Way's Dir. Nr. 1146), Ingomar (2761), Jewel (3013), Leroy (3427), Lyde H. (3651) which he bought from wellknown famous J. Mack Gamble, Regular (4711) and Telegram (5317).
Belle of Louisville. Have a look on the yellow colored pilothouse roof!
Picture courtesy of James H. King jr.
Comment from Jim Reising: The picture was taken in 1963, her first year of operation under the ownership of Jefferson County, Ky. The yellow crown on the pilothouse was Capt. Paul Underwoods doing. He didn't like the original blue, as blue is bad luck on a steamboat.
Fortunately the powers that be in county govt. (mostly C.W. Stoll and Clyde Glass leaders of the BELLE's operating board) didn't like the yellow, so it didn't last long. If you look closely at the photo you will see a bent pole on the bank, that was the pole that carried the shore power wire to the boat. It was not hooked up so whoever took this picture caught the boat between its daily trips.
race between the Julia Belle Swain and the Belle of Louisvile, most likely in the 1970ies.
Picture curtesy of James H. King jr.
Comment from Judy Patsch:
This is most likely the race of April 30, 1975, which took place right after the christening of the MQ. Note the red and blue pennants in the foreground, the pix was taken from the DQ. According to Fred Way's account in the June '75 Reflector(with the new Natchez on the cover), it was a rainy day. The Belle had the Indiana side, the JBS the center, and the DQ the Kentucky shoreline. The Belle won the race with the help of two towboats acting as her 'bowthruster' on the turn. There was disagreement among the judges as to the legality of this move, but the Belle was declared the winner over the JBS. Later all parties involved congenially gathered at Rock Hill for the post race party given by the Stolls.
Comment from Keith Norrington:
The JBS came to Louisville three times for The Great Steamboat Race (1975, 1976, and 1977). In 1975, when the MQ was christened, it was a dark, rainy and gloomy day - and the river was high and muddy. I think the photo was taken in 1976 - and the red, white and blue pennants are in honor of the nation's bicentennial.
This is a picture of the Natchez in Louisville leaving the McAlpine Locks in the spring of 1982 prior to the Great Steamboat Race in Louisville where she beat both the Belle of Louisville and the Delta Queen. It was her first time leaving her home port and her first time off the Mississippi River.
Picture was sent in by James H. King jr. and is courtesy of Travis C. Vasconcelos.
Comment by Judy Patsch:
You'll note that there are no canopies in this pix, they were added in '85. The smokestacks were taken down to the bottom third and a shorter top was put on for this upriver trip. I'm not sure how much shorter they were, but I'm guessing 12 to 15 feet, since the regular ones are 75 feet from the waterline. It was her first trip off the Mississippi, but not her first out of New Orleans. She did several plantation/picnic trips in her early years, and in 1976 the President Ford Reelection Campaign chartered her for a day-long trip down from Destrahan Plantation. Since '82 she has really stayed close to home, the farthest being some 30 miles upriver for the Christmas bonfires along the levee. Fog which obscured them(and a bridge) ended those cruises. In case anyone wonders why she won't come to Tall Stacks, it's very simple: October is the biggest convention month of the year and so she not only does a great daytime business but she is chartered a lot that month. The logistics would be a problem too, but the economic factor is the main reason.
Train ferry Albatross, built in 1907 at Dubuque, Iowa. Operated at Vicksburg and could load 16 railroad trains.
The Albatross was sold to Streckfuss about 1937 and was converted to the Admiral, which really is indeed Admiral that still exists in St. Louis.
