I had a chance to sail on the Belle at Tall Stacks'95 in Cincinnati that October. It was against the Delta Queen in the Race for the Golden Antlers. Quite an experience. Never bet against the hometown boat, the Queen pulled out a victory at the last minute. I wish them well.

the Belle is back!
https://mailchi.mp/1d320eb8b122/welcome ... 1c0a9f8b17

So the Belle of Louisville is operating this year with modifications due to the covid-19 concerns.

But, what about the long term?

Thanks for posting the updates on the Belle and Delta Queen. I use to follow them closely and I subscribed to S&D Reflector for many years as well as a couple of other Western Rivers steamboat publications. In the last few years I've been downsizing my life as I get older and they have fallen by the wayside.

When I checked the Belle site and this message thread, there was no doubt about operating sometime this year. The problem is they don't have a budget set aside for the coming 5(?) year overhaul/inspection.

Having said that, a lot of money has been invested in the Belle over the last 20 years. She sank at her dock 20 years ago, and an enormous rebuild and upgrade occurred then. In the last 10 years air conditioning was added to the main deck.

It doesn't hurt to make some noise about funding her maintenance cycle, but I have a hard time believing they will walk away from the Belle.

I'm not so sure. I think most people view it a just a big party boat no different than other riverboat operations. Even though that appreciate its history don't seem to grasp its significance as the ONLY original surviving Mississippi River style steamboat. Even their own website does a poor job conveying that in my opinion. Its one thing to be an operating antique, but another to be the very last of something in existence from such a famous era in American history.

Actually, there are quite a few riverboat enthusiasts who follow her and support her operation. She is also well known by calliope fans-youtube has numerous videos of famous rivermen playing her calliope.

Louisville's budget is coming out better than expected after COVID-19. There is more negotiating room.

https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/metro-government/2020/06/15/louisvilles-budget-not-hard-hit-covid-19-feared/3191069001/

Rode the Belle on it's first outing of 2020 this weekend. Attended the "Captain's Dinner" which included tours of the engine room and pilot house. In the pilot house, we were able to step on a peddle and blow the boat's three pipe whistle. The crew in the engine room were very friendly, answering questions. They were warming up the engines during the tour, so the paddle wheel was rotating very slowly. Access was possible to almost all parts of the engine room during the tour. Dinner was followed by a 2 hour "Sunset" cruise. Other than very hot weather, the only disappointment was they didn't have a calliopist for this trip.

A visit to the engine room once underway was more rewarding than the tour both because the machinery was running at the "full ahead" speed and there were no other visitors to get in the way of pictures and videos even if most of the room was roped off.

Here is a short movie of all four burners on full under the three water tube boilers. They burn about 150 gallons of diesel an hour. Operating pressure is 190lbs. The Belle was originally coal fired. Back in the day, the area under the boilers was open to the river so ash was dumped directly into the river. Today, that area are water tight compartments. Boiler water is drawn from the river, run through a tank to filter and settle muck and treatment added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Edg-34ODZM

A walk through the engine room with a brief study of the valve gear. She is simple, with both engines combining to produce about 450 horse power. The engines pre-date the boat, which was built in 1914, but they apparently don't have much on their early history. They have poppet valves. Since built in 1914, the Belle of today is 10 feet longer and 5 feet wider. The main deck thickness has increased by 1/8-inch. As built, almost all decks were open, now they are enclosed to include A/C. So she is lot heavier and no doubt slower. On a good day, the engine men said she can get 17-18 RPM. The cylinders are just over 16-inches, the stroke is 6.5 feet. There are three gensets (not seen, so they must be below decks) to provide electrical power. At the end of the video, you can see the primary feed water pump. The feed water is routed through a basic heater. There is a backup pump and an additional backup injector. FYI, the Belle was built with power steering. Steam assist rams allow the original 7 foot wheel in the pilot house to be operated by one person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CppZGasRO40

The engine man taking a drink, said that he fired Preston Claytor's steam launch when it was in the area.

A quick video of the paddle wheel. You might noticed a slight bumping up and down motion that is felt across the aft sections of the ship. The engine crew said during a previous overhaul, when the cylinders were rebored, the aft section of the ship had to be vacated since the weight of a person walking around would cause the set up to flex and ruin the bore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kkm1lPNpSQ

Run, don't walk, if you want to see this first hand, even if she is funded in future years. It was also pointed out the Jeff Boat shipyard, across the river, that has worked on her for decades, shutdown in 2017, so future maintenance will need to be done elsewhere. Almost all hands were graybeards. The Captain said he first piloted her in 1979.

Bob

It is true that riverboats had a direct pipe through the hull to dump ashes, but I am not convinced about that "all open below the boilers" explanation.

The diesel gensets are those big modern boxes in the middle of the engine room. One takes the space of a prior turbogenerator, and the second takes the space of a walking beam fire pump that is now in storage. A third sits standby behind your back when you are facing the rudders. There is also a forest of valves on the floor, which are the suction valves for the bilges.

Am I over counting? Maybe there are only 2 gensets. There is one steam turbogenerator kept on standby as well.

It has been 8 years since my last visit.

Shouldn’t this topic also be moved to railfanning? Thanks.

The Belle is cruising this summer and "won" the antlers for the steamboat race:

https://eu.courier-journal.com/videos/entertainment/events/kentucky-derby/festival/2021/04/29/belle-louisville-wins-59th-annual-great-steamboat-race/7401206002/