An Era Ending
The paddlewheel steamboat Delta Queen is about to be scuttled, in a figurative sense, by government regulations and a Democratic party chairman of a House committee. The Delta Queen is the last operational steamboat with a wooden superstructure. It has been exempted by act of Congress from regulations banning wooden superstructures for some 42 years - but the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Rep. James Oberstar Democrat from Minnesota, has blocked every attempt at renewing the exemption.
The effort to save the Delta Queen steamboat is getting a boost from Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio, who plans some legislative hijinks next week on the boat's behalf.
Chabot plans to introduce a "Save the Delta Queen" amendment to a Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill coming to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendment will call for the continuation of the historic steamboat's long-standing exemption from fire safety rules. The exemption expires in November, and without it, the boat will have to stop sailing.
Congress has granted the Delta Queen an exemption from the 42-year-old safety rules nine times in the past, nearly always by close-to-unanimous margins. But the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, has been blocking a further exemption, calling the boat a fire hazard.
Built in 1926, the 174-passenger Delta Queen is the last operational river steam paddlewheeler with overnight accommodations in the United States, and it has a strong following among riverboat lovers. The four-deck, white-washed confection, which resembles a giant wedding cake, harkens back to a bygone era with its stately wooden cabins; cozy, hardwood-paneled public rooms; and rare Siamese ironwood floors. But it is precisely these historic charms that are causing the downfall of the paddlewheeler, since they do not meet modern fire safety standards that forbid wooden superstructures on boats that carry more than 50 passengers on overnight trips.
Last October, Congressman Chabot introduced a stand-alone bill, H.R. 3852, that would extend the Delta Queen's exemption from the fire safety rules until 2018. But that bill remains stuck in the House Committee on Transportation because Oberstar refuses to release it for a vote by the full House.
Some years ago, before my wife's father died, we sent my in-laws on a cruise on the Delta Queen. I just went and looked at the copy of their boarding photo that they sent us after the trip. I can almost hear Jack's voice raving about the fabulous time they had on the cruise as I write this. It was not all that long after the trip that fulfilled a lifelong dream for him that he died.
I'm glad we sent them. And sorry that others will not be able to do the same unless something changes.
News, Personal Thoughts | Gaius Thursday, 21 February , 2008
By Mockinbird, Friday, 22 February , 2008 @ 3:57 pm
I’m glad to hear your inlaws got to experience that cruise. I wish I could do it.
Robert Fulton must be rolling in his grave.
By Jose, Friday, 22 February , 2008 @ 7:55 pm
About seven years ago my wife "dragged" me kicking and screaming to a cruise on the Delta Queen. Believe me, I did not want to go. But, boy, was I wrong! It was a phenomenal experience. The ship itself was great and it puts in on both sides of the river for the guests to see wonderful pre-Civil War attractions, one of which, the Oak Alley plantation is a must see.
Not too sound inconsiderate, but the Queen navigates in a very busy river. In the event of a fire aboard people just diving out of the boat into the river are unlikely to spend much time in the water. And, just last year, my wife again dragged me to another river cruise (this time on the River Elba in what was formerly East Germany. And, yes, again she was right!) and on the first day of the cruise the Captain came over the intercom and said "If you have been on other cruises you know that the practice is to have a mandatory evacuation drill before sailing off. On this boat we do not require it, because the river is so shallow that in the event of an evacuation you simply jump of the boat and walk to the shore" (The ship is long and low so as to be able to pass under the many bridges and its propulsion is by gigantic water jets).