NO DETAIL IS TOO SMALL…OR LARGE

[HostDave]

The American Queen Steamboat Company was founded for a number of reasons. The cynical could say it was created to make money. And of course, that is true to a certain extent. It is a company, after all. If the company doesn’t make money, it doesn’t continue to exist. That’s how capitalism works. So, the first goal was to make sure the business concept was sound.

The business concept relied on finding the right riverboat to operate cruises, however. It is not challenging to build a passenger vessel to sail the Mississippi. Passenger vessels for the river have been built for well over 200 years. Many are simple, cookie-cutter designs. They pay homage to the great steamboats of a bygone era, but often with a non-functioning paddlewheel at the stern and with modern diesel engines. They are frequently used as excursion boats and, sometimes, as overnight cruisers. They are nice boats, no question about it. But they also are modern interpretations of a classic form of transportation.

No, building boxy excursion vessels was not the vision of the American Queen Steamboat Company. To be true to the business model and to make it a sound business decision, the founders needed a vessel that was more than a modern interpretation. They needed a replica. And there was no better example of a modern vessel built to the exacting details of the great riverboats of Mark Twain’s day than the American Queen.

Fortunately, this American treasure was available and a company, the American Queen Steamboat Company, was created to put her back in service. As vessels go, she is still quite new, dating only to 1995. She had been built as the third steamboat for the legendary Delta Queen Steamboat Company but when that company closed its doors after more than a century in 2001, she was laid-up.

Why did we pick the American Queen to launch our company a couple years ago? The answer is because she is designed with meticulous attention to detail and dedication to recreating the glamour of the past yet incorporating the modern conveniences of today. Her silhouette is not boxy but is instead carefully crafted to resemble that of a traditional steamboat, complete with a cargo deck for wood, livestock and cotton below. Of course, on the American Queen, that “cargo” space has been outfitted with amenities like a galley and the glorious two-deck J.M. White Dining Room named after what Mark Twain lauded as the grandest boat of his day. The designers even went so far as to search the country for actual antebellum treasures for some of the public rooms.

But it’s not just in the small details that the commitment to authenticity shows. It is also in bigger details. Much bigger details.

While the American Queen augments her main propulsion system with modern z-drive thrusters to provide maneuverability unknown to the boats that Mark Twain watched sail by his home, she also utilizes actual steam engines. Not a replica, the 1,500-horsepower tandem compound steam engines that drive the mighty red paddlewheel of the American Queen date to 1927 and a steamboat dredge called the Kennedy. Using pre-existing engines for a new boat is part of the tradition of steamboating. Before today’s modern steel construction techniques, steamboats were made of wood and their complicated, expensive, heavy and durable engines usually long outlasted the flimsy wooden hulls into which they were installed. As long as an engine was still safe and in working condition, it would be re-installed in a new boat when the old one wore out and, in a manner of speaking, that’s how the American Queen came by her propulsion system.

The ability to build a sophisticated steam engine to power a riverboat was an art form lost decades ago. So when the designers of the American Queen set out to build the biggest, grandest riverboat in history, they looked to the past both for her propulsion and to honor the tradition of handing down engines from one boat to the next.

Bolivar County, MS bought a steamboat dredge called the Kennedy from the Army Corps of Engineers in 1985. The dredge had worked hard near St. Louis for nearly 50 years. The Kennedy was a bit of an attraction in her own right; she was exhibited at the New Orleans World’s Fair in 1984 prior to a planned trip to the scrapyard. However, Bolivar County saw value in the dredging equipment and bought the dredge but never managed to put her or her equipment into service and she slowly rotted away. The Delta Queen Steamboat Company heard about her and, wanting an authentic steam engine for the American Queen, headed off to Mississippi to have a look. It was a discouraging sight: the engines were caked with mud, inhabited by river creatures, and hidden below collapsed and rotting wooden decks. However, the engine casings were tight which meant that with some clean-up work, the Kennedy's engine could be made to run again. The engines were purchased, removed from their grave, cleaned, tested and installed in the new American Queen.

Unless we told you, the chances are that you’d have no idea that the American Queen is powered by authentic steam engines more than 80 years old. However, it is in the small details like Tiffany lamps in the Mark Twain Gallery and in the big details like the compound steam engines constructed by Nordberg manufacturing in 1927, that the American Queen really shines. She is a unique riverboat and one that has never been duplicated. That’s what drew us to her and one of the qualities that our guests love about her so much.

To see for yourself, join us on a 2014 voyage. For a limited time, guests who book by March 31, 2014 and pay in full at time of booking can take advantage of a two-category upgrade* on any American Queen sailing in 2014 on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.

* Offer expires March 31, 2014 and is valid on new, paid-in-full bookings only. Full payment at time of booking is required to redeem this offer. Estimated savings of up to $3200 ($1600 per person) is based on double occupancy for a standard American Queen 9 day voyage. Offer is not valid on Group bookings or existing reservations and cannot be combined with other offers, promotions or discounts. The free 2 cabin category upgrade means that guests will be placed in cabin(s) that are 2 sequential categories above initial cabin(s) requested at time of reservation. This offer is not valid on cabin upgrades into American Queen categories LS, AAA, SO and SI; and American Empress categories LS, A and CS. This offer is based on cabin availability and only while inventory lasts. Cruise fare does not include taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare. Additional terms and conditions may apply - call for details (1-888-749-5280).