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Save The Delta Queen


DennyG
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This doesn't involve an American road but it is very American and something I think most forum members can appreciate. The Delta Queen, the country's only remaining steam powered stern-wheeler, is about to be forced into retirement unnecessarily. The Queen is extremely safe (plus it's never out of sight of land) but, because of it's wooden structure, is subject to certain safety laws. For many years it has been given an exemption by congress but that is about to expire and is not being renewed for weak or unknown reasons. At the end of this post, I've copied an email that asks people to bump up the visibility of the situation by bumping up the popularity of a YouTube video. Just watching the video helps and is not only painless, it's enjoyable. Rating and commenting on the video does take a little more effort but is even more helpful. I hope no one minds this brief water excursion. The Delta Queen is an important piece of history that doesn't have to be lost.

 

The crew of the Delta Queen has produced a video asking Congress to save this National Historic Landmark -- and their jobs.

 

Please watch the video on YouTube as soon as possible, give it a 5-star rating, and leave a comment. And please forward this to everyone you know, and ask them to pass it on to everyone they know. Our goal is to generate enough action to gain attention from the national media. The first 24 to 48 hours of a YouTube video's existence are crucial to success, so please act quickly. You will need to register to leave a comment, but it will put you under no obligation, and you will not be put on a mailing list of any kind.

 

Here is the link to the video at Youtube:

 

Yours Sincerely

Franz Neumeer

www.save-the-delta-queen.org

 

P.S.: Also some great news here: ABC News Good Morning America Show will air a piece about the Delta Queen in October. They've just been on the Delta Queen filming for two full days. I'll let you know as soon as I have the exact date and time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Queen was in town yesterday and I took the opportunity to get some pictures. She'll be back on the 21st for what is her last scheduled visit. I hope to be there for the planned tribute that day. Although no event is scheduled, she will stop in Madison on the 20th and 23rd. Tribute events are planned for Louisville, Memphis, and several other cities as she heads home to New Orleans. All scheduled stops are shown here.

 

A shot of yesterday's departure is here

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The Queen was in town yesterday and I took the opportunity to get some pictures. She'll be back on the 21st for what is her last scheduled visit. I hope to be there for the planned tribute that day. Although no event is scheduled, she will stop in Madison on the 20th and 23rd. Tribute events are planned for Louisville, Memphis, and several other cities as she heads home to New Orleans. All scheduled stops are shown here.

 

A shot of yesterday's departure is here

 

Denny,

The Delta Queen has been in our plans for some future trips, but now it sounds like we will be denied the opportunity based on the decisions of bureaucrat and/or legislators. I took the time to sign the guest book. Who knows if the DQ can be saved, but thanks for giving me the heads up to try and help.

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The Delta Queen has been in our plans for some future trips...

Same here. I even toyed with the idea of taking a cruise this year when I first heard of the possible grounding but the money just wasn't there. Since the whole thing seems so senseless, I keep hoping that sanity will eventually prevail and that the exemption is restored. I still hope that and feel that next month's grounding is only temporary though that could be wishful thinking.

 

There may be more to it but and I'll admit to being biased but it appears to be largely political and at least partly the fallout from a labor dispute. Here is an article from about a year ago.

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. I still hope that and feel that next month's grounding is only temporary though that could be wishful thinking.

 

There may be more to it but and I'll admit to being biased but it appears to be largely political and at least partly the fallout from a labor dispute. Here is an article from about a year ago.

 

I sent out a bunch of emails with links to friends so and my Congressman to see if we can make this go away...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

You all know I am a strong advocate of the "old" vs the "new" - but in the case of the DELTA QUEEN I have to say I, in a sense, agree with the powers-that-be in closing down of this great treasure.

 

I base this on my 17 years in the Coast Guard and the training I recieved. I have assisted in inspections on more than a few vessels and I have seen, and learned, a lot.

 

Lets start with the fact that the QUEEN has a wooden superstructure. I don't beleive that has been replaced so we are dealing with old wood and probably tons of paint. Like the house I live in currently she's a floating time bomb, really. They can have all the fire supression systems in the world on board the old girl; bottom line is if she starts to burn, she's going to burn in a hurry. Example: During WWII at many military bases, particularly here in the south, wooden barracks were constructed of good old southern pine. I was witness to a demonstration of the burning of one of these old barracks - this one happened to be somewhere around 30 years old. We are talking about a wooden building some 50 feet long, 30 feet or so wide and two stories high. The fire was set, internally near the middle. Within an unbelievable 8-10 minutes the building was completely enveloped and collapsed within 12 min. I have also seen some of the old triple decker tenemant buildings in the New England area catch fire and burn - took a little longer than the demonstration barracks building, but to fast for the fire departments to save them.

 

The point has been made the QUEEN is never out of sight of land - the other side of that coin is you have to get to that land. And while you are doing it you have to convince the passengers that they are not going to be drowned or burned to death. Humans being humans you are going to have panic - and panic kills more people than the actual event.

 

I invite you to read about the SULTANA @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultana_Disaster - there are other links to other disasters on-line.

 

It is sad to see a piece of the past leave us - I'd like to see her parked somewhere and set up as a museum.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

Edited by Alex Burr - hester_nec
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Valid points, Alex. It is a fact that the Coast Guard has consistently opposed any exemption. However, even with the exemption, the boat has been and would be subject to CG inspection.

 

Since the only campaign is to save the Delta Queen, most available "news" is from that side of the story and it certainly has its share of "spin". But it is fact that the exemption has been kept in committee and no vote permitted. I don't really understand the workings of congress and its committees and I know that this sort of thing happens with regularity. But I don't have to like it. I'd feel better if 435 people made the decision instead of one.

 

If you'd like to see the big wheel turn or hear the calliope yourself, the Queen will tie up in Memphis on the 30th; just one week from today.

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This is a quote taken from countryroadsmagazine.com...........

 

"In 1966, Congress passed the Safety of Life at Sea Act, which forbade wooden ships from carrying more than fifty overnight passengers for reasons of fire safety. The Delta Queen, which has a steel hull but a wooden superstructure, can hold 174 passengers. SOLAS was intended to prevent tragedies at sea, but, because of the language, unintentionally applied to inland riverboats like the Delta Queen, too. Consequently, Congress voted six times over the next forty-plus years to excuse the Delta Queen from meeting all of the SOLAS requirements.

 

But that Congressional cooperation ran aground last year. Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, refused to let the exemption—which is due to expire later this year—come up for a vote. Oberstar cited safety concerns. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, has also opposed the exemption. Without an exemption, the boat is doomed to be docked. The Delta Queen’s parent company, Majestic America Line, has announced that 2008 will be the grand old lady’s farewell tour.

 

.....Some supporters say the Delta Queen’s real problem is politics—not safety. In 2006, the Delta Queen was sold to a new owner, Majestic America Line, which replaced the boat’s union crew with a non-union one. According to The New York Times, lawyers for the cruise line have suggested the jilted Seafarers International Union influenced the congressman’s decision. But Rep. Oberstar has maintained that passenger safety, not union pressure, is his only motivation for blocking the Delta Queen’s exemption. “To say that I would negotiate a deal to put peoples’ lives at risk in return for a contract for a union is not only unethical, it’s immoral,” he told the Times. The seafarer’s union also issued a statement denying any influence and blasting “the continued smearing of our names, along with those of Senator Inouye and Congressman Oberstar.”

 

 

Makes for some interesting questions.......

Edited by hutchman
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Truth is so often in the eyes of the beholder!

 

What most impressed me about this thread is that everyone has remained civil, and while not necessarily “objective,” has recognized and given respect to different views.

 

I, of course, have my two bits worth, which I will keep to myself…..but kudos to everyone who has posted!! This is a first class group!!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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C'mon Dave, cut loose!

 

Hutch,

 

You mean you want me to cut to the chase, belittle the irrational, scorn the shallow thinkers, run up the flag, shame the whiners, expose the corrupt, reveal the self serving, and tell it like it is?!

 

No way!!! :P

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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Uhhhhhhhh, why yes!

 

Hutch,

 

Oh, yah! It's in the mail!

 

As a little aside, I read recently where employers are now collecting applicants’ web comments and using them in the employment screening process. Ouch! I thought it was getting rough when my credit rating, debt level, and home value were a factor in employment. Now they will be looking to see if I am literate, and have the right attitude and views, based on my web postings!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

 

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I went down to the river today to see the DELTA QUEEN, here in Memphis. I've posted 3 of the better pictures in the Gallery. And while you're over there check out a new photo - Two Lane Blacktop. Just type in Two Lane Blacktop in the search box.

 

Do I know what I'm doing, here?? No, but that doesn't stop me from trying!!!

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

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I went down to the river today to see the DELTA QUEEN, here in Memphis. I've posted 3 of the better pictures in the Gallery. And while you're over there check out a new photo - Two Lane Blacktop. Just type in Two Lane Blacktop in the search box.

 

Do I know what I'm doing, here?? No, but that doesn't stop me from trying!!!

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

 

Alex,

 

Impressive shots of the Delta Queen!

 

And I did look at the new Two Lane Blacktop photo....50 gallons of "shine!" Man you must have been a guy who could hold his liquor! B)

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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Alex,

 

Impressive shots of the Delta Queen!

 

And I did look at the new Two Lane Blacktop photo....50 gallons of "shine!" Man you must have been a guy who could hold his liquor! B)

 

 

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

 

50 gallons of shine wasn't for me. Some nice gentleman paid me more for one trip into Memphis to the clubs on Beale Street than I made in a month in my Navy pay. LOL ROF

 

Man, most of that stuff I wouldn't touch. Even tequila was safer than moonshine, all to often. :D

 

Also, with the DELTA QUEEN - it was interesting to see where she tied up. There wasn't, as you can see any dock or bollards, cleats or whatever to tie her to. So they did it like they did back in the day - right to the nearest trees. You could almost close your eyes and hear the colored stevedores chanting as they carried the bales of hay from the plantation fields to the boat and smell the fresh cut pine logs that would have been piled near the river for use in the steamboat fireboxes.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

Edited by Alex Burr - hester_nec
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Thanks for the pictures. I'm not at all familiar with Greenbelt park (not all that familiar with Memphis in general) but understand it's at the northern end of Mud Island. Apparently the normal landing site is somewhere nearer the middle of the island's shore but was too shallow for the Queen this time.

 

You may have seen the grand finale, Alex. The passengers that boarded in Cincinnati last Tuesday went ashore in Memphis and the boat will proceed to New Orleans passenger-less. That was the last scheduled cruise.

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Thanks for the pictures. I'm not at all familiar with Greenbelt park (not all that familiar with Memphis in general) but understand it's at the northern end of Mud Island. Apparently the normal landing site is somewhere nearer the middle of the island's shore but was too shallow for the Queen this time.

 

You may have seen the grand finale, Alex. The passengers that boarded in Cincinnati last Tuesday went ashore in Memphis and the boat will proceed to New Orleans passenger-less. That was the last scheduled cruise.

 

That is correct - she had to tie up at the park because the river is so low she couldn't get into where she'd normally tie up.

 

There were several passengers standing around the parking lot while I was down there. There was nothing on last night's Memphis news broadcast (at least the station I watch) on her being in Memphis. Actually, I'm not really surprized. Memphis, as historical as it is, doesn't seem to care about it's heritage.

About all you see on the evening news is crime stories. We'll see what shows up on tonights news.

 

If you look closely at the photo's I posted there does seem to be an air of finality about the old girl. She looks a bit depressed. Maybe because they had to moor her where they did - somewhat out in the middle of nowhere. The north end of Mud Island conists of the park along the river and is part of the levee. On the back side of that area, to about halfway down toward Memphis proper, are condo's. I'm surprized the residents haven't petitioned to change the name of the island - I mean, you gonna shell out $250,000, minimum, for a condo you want to tell people you live on "Mud" Island?????? LOL

 

Maybe I'll take another run over this morning - I think she's in until later today so maybe there'll be something more going on. I really expected a crowd of sightseers yesterday, but at 10am there wasn't much going on. From what I read she's supposed to make a few more stops on her way south - Helena this weekend, I think, for one.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

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According to this article, the tribute was to have been at 4:00 yesterday. Cincinnati had a crowd of about 300 and it appears that - or less - might be typical. She will stay in Memphis today then make some additional stops, without passengers, on her way to New Orleans.

 

Your mention of her looking depressed reminded me of a comment made about her wheel as she left Cincinnati. Normally, the wheel, which see a lot of water, is cleaned and repainted at various times throughout the year. That was clearly not a priority in recent months and was noticeably overdue.

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Not having a whole heck of a lot else to do with my life, I decided this morning to take one last look at the venerable old gal. I got to her mooring spot - and didn't see her!!!! At first.

 

There was a big surprise at the Park - I've posted 3 more pictures on my Gallery site - take a look. :D

 

And, yes, Denny, I noticed the neglect of the wheel - maybe that and she looked a little shabby is what caught my attention.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

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