Steamboat-Style Riverboats

This riverboat galleries are dedicated to the many riverboats in a paddle-wheel steamboat style all along the US inland rivers that remind us of the original, historic steamboats plying these waters just a few decades ago.

In this list you’ll find information about each of the boats, picture galleries, calliope music, whistle recordings and some videos.

American Empress (ex Empress of the North)

Columbia, Snake Rivers Beginning in April 2014, the AMERICA EMPRESS, ex EMPRESS OF THE NORTH, will run again on the Columbia and Snake Rivers for the American Queen Steamboat Company after about six years of lay-up. The American Empress is…

Louisiane (formerly Columbia Queen)

Mississippi River The LOUISIANE was originally built as COLUMBIA QUEEN in 2000 for the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. at Leevac Shipyards, Inc. of Jennings, LA, and was completed at Cascade General, Inc., in Portland, OR. She was built in the…

Queen of the West

Columbia, Willamette, Snake Rivers In 1995, the year of her launch, the QUEEN OF THE WEST reintroducing the tradition of sternwheelers to the Columbia, Willamette and Snake Rivers. At the time, the Queen of the West was the first paddle…

Memphis Queen III

Memphis, Tennessee The Memphis Queen III is a beautiful paddlewheeler on the Mississippi at Memphis. Capt. Tom Meanley designed and built this boat in the backyard of his little farm in southwest Shelby County, the Memphis Queen Shipyard, in 1976…

Columbia Gorge

Columbia River The sternwheeler COLUMBIA GORGE is located at the Cascade Locks Marine Park in the Columbia River. The boat is owned by the Port of Cascade Locks and operated by the Portland Spirit. Built by Nichols Boat Worksin Hood…

Grand Victoria II

Rising Sun, IN The Grand Victoria II, since 1996 is the center part of the Grand Victoria Casino & Resort in Rising Sun, Indiana. While the boat is “the finest diesel-electric sternwheeler ever built” (Capt. Don Sanders), she is permanently…

Twilight

LeClaire, Iowa The Twilight was designed by Capt. Dennis Trone (see also Julia Belle Swain) in the style of the great old passenger boats. The boat was built by Levac Shipyard in Jennings, LA, and finished by Dennis Trone in…

Majestic

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The Majestic is a sidewheeler style riverboat at Pittsburgh and part of the 7-boats Gateway Clipper Fleet. A maximum of 1,000 passengers may cruise with her on the Ohio River, the Monongahela River and the Allengheny River. The…

General Jackson

Nashville, Tennessee The General Jackson is called “the largest show boat in the world”. The four-story, 300-feet long boat is one of the main attractions of the Opryland at Nashville, Tennessee. The General Jackson was built in winter 1983 until…

Spirit of Dubuque

Dubuque, Iowa The Spirit of Dubuque is an authentic dual paddlewheeler designed by Robert Kehl and built in 1976-1977 by Scully Brothers Company of Morgan City, LA. The construction began on July 1, 1976. The boat was christened on May…

Capitol (ex Spirit of Peoria)

homeport: unknown The Spirit of Peoria, now renamed Capitol and no longer located at Peoria, is a nice, detailed stern wheel riverboat built in 1988 by Walker Boat Yard, Paducah, KY. She has three decks and is 100 feet long…

Mark Twain

Hannibal, Missouri The Mark Twain is a sternwheel riverboat built in 1964 by Dubuque Boiler & Boat Works, Dubuque, IA. She is 120 feet long and 33 feet wide. She has a capacity for 400 passengers. The Mark Twain has…

La Crosse Queen

La Crosse, Wisconsin The La Crosse Queen is a little sternwheel riverboat with a split wheel. The wheels are run by a twin diesel engine that powers hydraulic motors which turn the paddles. She has a capacity for 150 passengers.…

Celebration Belle

Moline, Illinois The Celebration Belle is the largest paddelwheel boat on the Upper Mississippi River. She has a capacity of 800 passengers. She is running since 1998 from Moline, IL. She is offering dinner, brunch, theme, sightseeing and charter cruises.…

Kings Ransom

Lake Conroe, Texas The Kings Ransom is 96 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, 3 decks, 2 inclosed decks, over 1200 ft. enclosed area and split paddlewheels. The engine is a 471 Detroit single main turning. 3 hydraulic pumps: 1 per…

Lt. Robert E. Lee

The Lt. Robert E. Lee was built in the late 1960s by the James B. Eads Corp. using an old U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat. She burnt on March 21, 2010, at St. Louis, ending her 40-year life abruptly.…

Catfish Bend Riverboat Casino

Fort Madison, Iowa The Catfish Bend Riverboat Casino at Ft. Madison, IA, is a nice Mississippi River style riverboat, but temporarily closed at this time.

City of New Orleans

(New Orleans, LA) For a long time this boat was called “Jumer’s Casino” and was serving, well, as a floating casino at Rock Island, IL. The boat is decorated in the old steamboat style and has a very nice interior.…

Lady Luck under-the-Hill

Natchez, Mississippi The Lady Luck Natchez under-the-Hill is the only full scale, authentic recreation of a great 1860s sidewheeler of the Mississippi ever built. The replica seems to be built very authentic. She is now owned by the Isle of…

Belle of Cincinnati

Covington, KY The BELLE OF CINCINNATI is the biggest riverboat in Captain Alan Bernstein’s BB Riverboats fleet, located in Covington, KY, on the Ohio River right opposite of Cincinnati OH. The BELLE OF CINCINNATI is taking part in the Kentucky…

Magnolia Belle

The Magnolia Belle is a real paddlewheeler, built in Dubuque, Iowa in 1969 by the renowned Dubuque Boat & Boiler Co.  She is an authentic calliope, and is has a passenger capacity of about 150 guest for excursion day cruises.…

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