Today’s news of the likely scrapping of the American Queen riverboat got my attention this morning. As a newspaper photographer at The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I was on and around paddle boats quite often. Back in 2002, while aboard the Delta Queen, I was given the opportunity to play its calliope. A sternwheeler’s calliope plays whenever a steamboat comes into or departs the dock. In Baton Rouge, they could be heard throughout downtown. It was exciting every time. I can’t recall what I played that afternoon. I’m sure it was awesome and well received. Probably a Genesis song.
Christened in 1995 with a giant bottle of Tabasco sauce, this riverboat’s time had come. Or so it seems. Confined spaces plus COVID-19 don’t mix. I suspect there’s more to it than that. The 418-foot long boat joins a sad list of classic riverboats, including the Mississippi Queen in 2010, whose last voyage was to the scrapyard.
In 2008, I shot both the Delta Queen and the American Queen docked side by side at the Paperclip in Baton Rouge. I’m not sure how rare that was, but it was worth a feature photograph for the newspaper. One that I know won’t happen again.
Enough about me, lets hear a calliope. Here’s the sound of the Steamboat Natchez paddleboat calliope being played, by someone much better than myself, while docked in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 1, 2013. I’ve layered it with the sound of its paddlewheel rotating in the water, closing with the sound of its big brass whistle. To record this time-compressed audio, I’m using a Sony PCM M10 recorder and a pair of Luhd omnidirectional PIP microphones. My Think Tank Hubba Hubba Hiney fanny pack acts as a “baffle” between the mics, thereby mimicking the distance between my ears for a quasi-binaural effect. Enjoy.
Further Reading
- If you’re ever in New Orleans, in addition to visiting Bourbon Street and better yet, the establishments just off it, check out and ride the Steamboat Natchez. To find out more, here’s a link to their site.
- The Hubba Hubba Hiney bag is on its third reincarnation. Mine was the first. It is still going strong. Think Tank makes great stuff.
- If you’re interested in the history of paddle steamers, here’s a good Wikipedia page.
- Finally, all is not lost if you’re looking to take a classic riverboat cruise along the Mississippi. The Delta Queen is still around. They too were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but are restructuring, according to their website.
Update May 21, 2023, 10:45 p.m.
According to Marinetraffic.com, the American Queen is in the scrapyard, specifically, Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana. It arrived this evening, having to exit the mouth of the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico to get there. What a ride that would have been.