I live in Louisville Kentucky, but most of my life I live in Oldham County, but Louisville Kentucky were I was born Baptist hospital East. Thanks for sharing this about the Belle of Louisville. It was the Louisville and Cincinnati packets company that would be around the time this boat was built in 1914.
Brian, glad to see Bailey gave you a well deserved day off. I went for a ride on the Branson Belle riverboat in Branson Missouri.....it's not as spectacular as your boat, but fun nonetheless. Would love a chance to ride on that riverboat. Thanks for taking us along on the adventure, I enjoyed it.
Her steam whistle sounds sad and lonely, she's calling out to her long gone fellow steamers, those old photos show a better time!, When taking a ride on those was an event!, Thanks Brian, great video
It's a shame that Jeff boat closed the doors, that would have been an awesome walk-thru! I have been on the Belle many times, and would recommend any visitors to Louisville to take a tour if time permits. Thanks for sharing!
Brian, you had photos of the photo of the Sprague. We were in Dubuque, IO this past June where she was built and we have been to Vicksburg, MS where she died. Parts of her including the remains of the paddlewheel are in the shade of J. T. Kilroy's shop.
@@bcbloc02 If I remember correctly the engines were diverted somewhere else. The remains of the very large wheel were there when we were last there. There are som Capstains in front of an eatery on the street along the river. I have built an R/C paddle wheeler on the lines of the Sprague. It is 5' long and I built barges for it to push. Our pond is too small to really run it in. However, it gave one an idea of what those captains on riverboats ran up against. I liken it to trying to balance a long broomstick on your nose while trying to maintain your path. This was demonstrated when at the lock and dam at Newburg, IN we watched a modern towboat trying to get into the locks headed downriver with an abeam wind pushing his tow into the Indiana bank. He finally got it squared away but it was an hour of interesting watching.
Only Mid sized that knock off boat that was there is much bigger. At the time the Belle was built it would have only been a midsized boat. The big boats of the Ohio were the size of a football field but they could only run certain times of the year when the water was up enough.
Thanks Brian for a really great video, your paddleboats sure are a lot bigger than any we have or have had in Australia. Most likely because your rivers are much bigger than the Murray or Darling Rivers in terms of water flow.
At the time the Belle was built it would have only been a midsized boat. The big boats of the Ohio were the size of a football field but they could only run certain times of the year when the water was up enough.
I went on one of the paddle wheelers in that area about 35 years ago. My sister lived on the Indiana side of the river. My youngest son was about 2 years old, he was not impressed. Thanks for sharing.
It is not very fast so certainly not very exciting. Experiencing what river travel would have been like 150 years ago puts what we have today into a whole other perspective. I commented as a jet flew over just think we went from this to that in 50 years but we haven't really advanced transportation since.........
bcbloc02 Oh I disagree about the exciting part. When I was a kid there was still a paddle wheel ferry across the Cumberland river where I lived and I just loved it every time we used it. I couldn’t take my eyes off the paddle wheel for the whole trip.
Good stuff Brian, I did not realize there any of the originals left afloat, never mind operating. I have a book here titled, Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technical History. By Louis C. Hunter. A fascinating account of all things river steamboats if your into that kind of stuff. Still available at Amazon too
I hope you had as much fun touring the boat as eating. My wife and I rode the Delta Queen from Cincinnati to Louisville and back for our 1st anniversary in 1972. The DQ is some boat built in 1926 along with sister Delta King for overnight service between Oakland and Sacramento on the Sacramento River.
I am glad they finally got congress to let the Delta Queen run again. It will be good to see it out next year again. Maybe we can even get back to legit steam boat racing. lol
@ 04:10 “No single person train crews”, hell yeah man! I put that sticker everywhere, and always forward out the info from the union (BLET Local 173) to help get that passed into federal law! Nice video too Brian! Too cool
Looked like a nice cruise. I have to admit I actually get a little claustrophobic feeling when I'm on a boat. Could be the fact that I don't know how to swim! I would have just spent the whole Cruise checking out that engine anyway! I hope Baily is feeling better.
THANKS, Pal! Lots to see but all I saw of Louisville was Ft. Knox and the Armor/Engineer Board and the airport. And I'd stayed in the engine room or very close to it. Baily will be waiting for you 2 to get home! Than ks again! FINE camera work and the pause did GOOD!
Lets hope it can be kept running and available for people to ride. They sure picked a big one for a running museum piece. I know of another one, the Waverley. It recently got a lot of restoration and was available for people to ride. It is currently down for repair, needing donations for boilers to be made :( Let's hope it will come back to life.
The only Waverly I found is Scottish and not a riverboat? It is deceiving because everything is above the water on these boats. The Belle weighs a thousand tons but could run fine in the depth of a small swimming pool, literally at full load it can run in 62inches of water.
@@bcbloc02 Correct, the "PS Waverley" is not a river boat. It is an ocean paddle boat in the UK. I think it is the only survivor of it's kind left, but as mentioned, needs boilers now to continue on. I did not know that the Belle could navigate in such shallow waters. Quite amazing. Both of these boats do need to be preserved, they represent a big change in modern civilization. People need to see, experience and understand these boats. And they are quite easy to understand due to public tours of the entire boats including the machinery space.
Steamboat Brian . Excellent video from you as always showing your next project ? Paddle steamer boat repairs . BUT BUT you gonna need a lot bigger shop and machines to take these types of jobs on . Just kidding . all the best from sunny England .
I could easily handle machine work on those puny engines on the Belle. Lucky for them though Atlas Machine in Louisville just rebuilt them a couple of years ago so they should be good for another 100 years or so. At 12rpm they don't wear much. :-)
Glad you take a vacation occasionally.Those are fantastic boats we took a ride on one in NO. In looking at the photos towards the end there was one of the CC Slider. It looked like her decks were awash. Was this the case?
A lot of the riverboats to minimize draft had hulls that barely came above the waterline so they look to be nearly sunk all the time. We don't get much as for swells on the rivers so they can get by with it and not sink. During the great steamboat race when the Belle is at max capacity for people I have seen it look the same way. You would think one good wake and its gone but they do just fine. lol The hull is sealed and compartmented so even if water goes over it is unlikely they will sink.
Patrick Shaw it has 3 rudders under the belly in front of the paddle wheel. The hull jumps up in that area to allow water to flow over them and to not obstruct the paddle wheel itself. They do not extend below the lower hull line.
Brian, since they are using river water as their source, do they have issues with sludge and sediment in the boiler? I guess like a maintenance procedure to flush them? Oh how’s Bailey?
Hammer0f Thor Baily doing better. There is a mud drum under the boilers where the water comes in from the pumps that allows most sediment to drain out then the drum can be cleaned from time to time. Towards the beginning of the video there is a diagram showing the system in detail.
Air pressure to push the fuel until she builds enough steam to power the pump. With coal the cold start was "Get the lead out and shovel that coal you bunch of laggards"
Kirk Singleton.Sorry had to laugh at your comment . I can understand that you might be serious or just taking the mickey . not sure which. I recon that Elton Musk fella who has the Tesla vehicles could come up with a solution if someone would pay him a few million dollars , in the meantime 20 gallons to the mile will have to do .
I talked to the fireman for awhile. The fuel consumption is correct. When you consider it is moving 600 people it works out the same as 600cars getting 30mpg so not really that bad.
It's amazing how fast we went from mule-drawn canal boats, to steamboats, to railroads, to trucks... Thanks for the trip back in time!
Ah, haven't been on the Belle since the summer of 1993 when I was just a teenager. So many fond memories of & with my Grandpa. Thanks for the video.
I live in Louisville Kentucky, but most of my life I live in Oldham County, but Louisville Kentucky were I was born Baptist hospital East. Thanks for sharing this about the Belle of Louisville. It was the Louisville and Cincinnati packets company that would be around the time this boat was built in 1914.
Thanks for the trip. I'm a steam engineer enjoyed the engine room. I live at the great lakes enjoyed the ship ride. Thanks again for shearing.
Brian, glad to see Bailey gave you a well deserved day off.
I went for a ride on the Branson Belle riverboat in Branson Missouri.....it's not as spectacular as your boat, but fun nonetheless. Would love a chance to ride on that riverboat. Thanks for taking us along on the adventure, I enjoyed it.
Her steam whistle sounds sad and lonely, she's calling out to her long gone fellow steamers, those old photos show a better time!, When taking a ride on those was an event!, Thanks Brian, great video
It's a shame that Jeff boat closed the doors, that would have been an awesome walk-thru!
I have been on the Belle many times, and would recommend any visitors to Louisville to take a tour if time permits.
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, a lot of history at Jeff boat!
Thanks for a great tour of the steamboat.
Brian, you are the master of taking a bus driver's holiday. Thank you for sharing - I love these old machines that have been protected.
Brian, you had photos of the photo of the Sprague. We were in Dubuque, IO this past June where she was built and we have been to Vicksburg, MS where she died. Parts of her including the remains of the paddlewheel are in the shade of J. T. Kilroy's shop.
Big'un44 I sent Kilroy an email to see if the engines were still there but haven’t heard back.
@@bcbloc02 If I remember correctly the engines were diverted somewhere else. The remains of the very large wheel were there when we were last there. There are som Capstains in front of an eatery on the street along the river. I have built an R/C paddle wheeler on the lines of the Sprague. It is 5' long and I built barges for it to push. Our pond is too small to really run it in. However, it gave one an idea of what those captains on riverboats ran up against. I liken it to trying to balance a long broomstick on your nose while trying to maintain your path. This was demonstrated when at the lock and dam at Newburg, IN we watched a modern towboat trying to get into the locks headed downriver with an abeam wind pushing his tow into the Indiana bank. He finally got it squared away but it was an hour of interesting watching.
that looks awesome.. thanks for sharing Brian enjoyed
Those were quite an attraction, mostly the first ones that were built... This one is huge, some kind of a floating palace... 😎😎
Only Mid sized that knock off boat that was there is much bigger. At the time the Belle was built it would have only been a midsized boat. The big boats of the Ohio were the size of a football field but they could only run certain times of the year when the water was up enough.
Kool Video, Brian.
Thanks Brian for a really great video, your paddleboats sure are a lot bigger than any we have or have had in Australia. Most likely because your rivers are much bigger than the Murray or Darling Rivers in terms of water flow.
At the time the Belle was built it would have only been a midsized boat. The big boats of the Ohio were the size of a football field but they could only run certain times of the year when the water was up enough.
In reverse, the paddles reminded me of a big combine harvester.
I went on one of the paddle wheelers in that area about 35 years ago. My sister lived on the Indiana side of the river. My youngest son was about 2 years old, he was not impressed. Thanks for sharing.
It is not very fast so certainly not very exciting. Experiencing what river travel would have been like 150 years ago puts what we have today into a whole other perspective. I commented as a jet flew over just think we went from this to that in 50 years but we haven't really advanced transportation since.........
@@bcbloc02 Yessir, it's come pretty much to a dead still except for the so-called computer progress that's killed the rest of it.
bcbloc02 Oh I disagree about the exciting part. When I was a kid there was still a paddle wheel ferry across the Cumberland river where I lived and I just loved it every time we used it. I couldn’t take my eyes off the paddle wheel for the whole trip.
Loved the video. With all the plaques and photos it looks like a floating museum.
Good stuff Brian, I did not realize there any of the originals left afloat, never mind operating. I have a book here titled, Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technical History. By Louis C. Hunter. A fascinating account of all things river steamboats if your into that kind of stuff. Still available at Amazon too
Thoroughly enjoyed
Thanks for sharing Brian, Much enjoyed. Regards, Ted.
Really enjoyed the video. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
Nice little history video Brian, thanks.
Beautiful piece of equipment. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.
Sweet!!! Thanks for taking us along!
I hope you had as much fun touring the boat as eating. My wife and I rode the Delta Queen from Cincinnati to Louisville and back for our 1st anniversary in 1972. The DQ is some boat built in 1926 along with sister Delta King for overnight service between Oakland and Sacramento on the Sacramento River.
I am glad they finally got congress to let the Delta Queen run again. It will be good to see it out next year again. Maybe we can even get back to legit steam boat racing. lol
Too cool Brian, great video work. I know so much more!!
@ 04:10 “No single person train crews”, hell yeah man! I put that sticker everywhere, and always forward out the info from the union (BLET Local 173) to help get that passed into federal law! Nice video too Brian! Too cool
Looked like a nice cruise.
I have to admit I actually get a little claustrophobic feeling when I'm on a boat. Could be the fact that I don't know how to swim! I would have just spent the whole Cruise checking out that engine anyway!
I hope Baily is feeling better.
Very nice, thanks!!
Lovely piece of history Brian thanks for sharing.
Great video!
Nice trip thanks Brian.
THANKS, Pal! Lots to see but all I saw of Louisville was Ft. Knox and the Armor/Engineer Board and the airport. And I'd stayed in the engine room or very close to it. Baily will be waiting for you 2 to get home! Than ks again! FINE camera work and the pause did GOOD!
Lets hope it can be kept running and available for people to ride. They sure picked a big one for a running museum piece. I know of another one, the Waverley. It recently got a lot of restoration and was available for people to ride. It is currently down for repair, needing donations for boilers to be made :( Let's hope it will come back to life.
The only Waverly I found is Scottish and not a riverboat? It is deceiving because everything is above the water on these boats. The Belle weighs a thousand tons but could run fine in the depth of a small swimming pool, literally at full load it can run in 62inches of water.
@@bcbloc02 Correct, the "PS Waverley" is not a river boat. It is an ocean paddle boat in the UK. I think it is the only survivor of it's kind left, but as mentioned, needs boilers now to continue on. I did not know that the Belle could navigate in such shallow waters. Quite amazing. Both of these boats do need to be preserved, they represent a big change in modern civilization. People need to see, experience and understand these boats. And they are quite easy to understand due to public tours of the entire boats including the machinery space.
Thanks for sharing Brian !
Very nice. Thanks for the videos.
very cool.. thanks for the video..
Nice video, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed and thanks for watching!
Very cool Brian
That was awesome
Steamboat Brian . Excellent video from you as always showing your next project ? Paddle steamer boat repairs . BUT BUT you gonna need a lot bigger shop and machines to take these types of jobs on . Just kidding . all the best from sunny England .
I could easily handle machine work on those puny engines on the Belle. Lucky for them though Atlas Machine in Louisville just rebuilt them a couple of years ago so they should be good for another 100 years or so. At 12rpm they don't wear much. :-)
Enjoyed...interesting about a look into the past....curious, shallow draft did they use a rudder for steering???
Triple rudders
Flanking rudders?
Nope, Triple on the stern of the hull in front of the wheel. I would think it makes her a real handful to control. Most used a set behind the wheel.
Awesome!!!!
Great old boat. Thanks for showing us. But question is did you get approval from the shop boss
Glad you take a vacation occasionally.Those are fantastic boats we took a ride on one in NO. In looking at the photos towards the end there was one of the CC Slider. It looked like her decks were awash. Was this the case?
A lot of the riverboats to minimize draft had hulls that barely came above the waterline so they look to be nearly sunk all the time. We don't get much as for swells on the rivers so they can get by with it and not sink. During the great steamboat race when the Belle is at max capacity for people I have seen it look the same way. You would think one good wake and its gone but they do just fine. lol The hull is sealed and compartmented so even if water goes over it is unlikely they will sink.
@@bcbloc02 Thanks i had no idea
Nice video Brian. Looks like a fun day out. Out of interest, how do they steer that thing?
Patrick Shaw it has 3 rudders under the belly in front of the paddle wheel. The hull jumps up in that area to allow water to flow over them and to not obstruct the paddle wheel itself. They do not extend below the lower hull line.
@@bcbloc02 Thanks for that.
Brian, you never speak of your lady friend, would that be her in the reflections of the pictures. You could introduce her to everyone.
She doesn't want to be on camera.
Thanks just wondering, thought it might be her in the reflections.
Brian, since they are using river water as their source, do they have issues with sludge and sediment in the boiler? I guess like a maintenance procedure to flush them? Oh how’s Bailey?
Hammer0f Thor Baily doing better. There is a mud drum under the boilers where the water comes in from the pumps that allows most sediment to drain out then the drum can be cleaned from time to time. Towards the beginning of the video there is a diagram showing the system in detail.
This is fascinating. If the fuel pump is steam powered, what is the cold start procedure? Pony engine?
Air pressure to push the fuel until she builds enough steam to power the pump. With coal the cold start was "Get the lead out and shovel that coal you bunch of laggards"
Yes compressed air from the wharf boat.
I would bet those boilers were a lot quieter being fed coal.
Yeah but the lead hollering shovel you lard heads non stop to the 12 guys pitching coal made up for it! lol
Neat!
A little nautical information...At 14:39 the Captain blows three whistles. This means he is operating astern propulsion.
What pattern of boilers are used in this Brian...?
Look like a "Scotch" type firetube...
I believe it is considered a multi return flue style boiler.
@@bcbloc02
Ok...
Similar to a double pass "Lancashire" type...
The part 2 section on this page steamboats.com/museum/engineroom.html Illustrates the style of boilers typical to later US steam riverboats.
looks like a awesome ride might have to take the wife on down there .
Is there a plan to convert these to battery power/solar or wind?
Can be converted to water-powered by Scuttling it !!! Lol !
Kirk Singleton.Sorry had to laugh at your comment . I can understand that you might be serious or just taking the mickey . not sure which. I recon that Elton Musk fella who has the Tesla vehicles could come up with a solution if someone would pay him a few million dollars , in the meantime 20 gallons to the mile will have to do .
Why would you want to do that and destroy a designated Mechanical Engineering Landmark?
Are u sure 20gallons for 1 Mile?
That sounds really to much
I talked to the fireman for awhile. The fuel consumption is correct. When you consider it is moving 600 people it works out the same as 600cars getting 30mpg so not really that bad.
@@bcbloc02 I was calculating the same.
Its so sick these steamers need so much food for firing.
The titanic needed hubdreds of tons cole a day.
Hey what are you doing screwing around?theres work to do. Lol
Great video....where are the pics of your girlfriend?