There were actually two steamboats. The Delta Queen and the Delta King. One would depart San Francisco at 6pm each evening and the other depart Sacramento at the same time. They'd then pass each other in the Sacramento Delta and arrive at their respective destinations at 5am. They kept up this service during the 1930s and were the fastest way to get from one city to the other. My dad took this trip several times as a teenager, and even has a 1935 8mm film of John Ford chasing the Queen in a speedboat taking movie shots for the cinema epic, Steamboat Round the Bend. It was Roger's last film and was released only a couple weeks after he died in a plane crash in Alaska. The Delta King is now moored permanently in Sacramento and functions as a floating hotel.
Well, if you're ever in Sacramento, you can book a night's stay on the King. Think of it as yet another drop in the bucket. Oh, and just to be clear, the Rogers I was talking about in the previous comment was Will Rogers.
Took 2 trips on her in the '70's. It was wonderful AND affordable! It's awful that she isn't plying the river now! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! Get her back in service. I'm in my 70s I need one more trip on that beautiful steamboat before I run out of steam!
Actually, when the Delta Queen went to the Mississippi River, the new owners removed the Delta King's engine and took it with them so they'd have spare parts for the Queen. So the engine was removed a long time ago. It was kind of like a nautical divorce settlement where the wife takes the best parts of the husband with her. LOL.
I sure miss seeing her at The Great Steamboat Race during the KY Derby festival every year.
Sad to see her laid up. Loved to see her cruising the river. I miss seeing her in Cincinnati
Sure is sad, but I hear she's being well cared for and worked on. Slowly but surely!
There were actually two steamboats. The Delta Queen and the Delta King. One would depart San Francisco at 6pm each evening and the other depart Sacramento at the same time. They'd then pass each other in the Sacramento Delta and arrive at their respective destinations at 5am. They kept up this service during the 1930s and were the fastest way to get from one city to the other. My dad took this trip several times as a teenager, and even has a 1935 8mm film of John Ford chasing the Queen in a speedboat taking movie shots for the cinema epic, Steamboat Round the Bend. It was Roger's last film and was released only a couple weeks after he died in a plane crash in Alaska. The Delta King is now moored permanently in Sacramento and functions as a floating hotel.
Great info, the Queen has been on my bucket list for a while. Never knew about the King, thank you!
Well, if you're ever in Sacramento, you can book a night's stay on the King. Think of it as yet another drop in the bucket. Oh, and just to be clear, the Rogers I was talking about in the previous comment was Will Rogers.
@@jameshayden7198Thank you, I'll look into that.
Thanks for sharing, this type of history is amazing
Yessir, my wife and I stayed on the Delta King a few years back...rooms look legit, but they gutted the engine room for office space..broke my heart.
Took 2 trips on her in the '70's. It was wonderful AND affordable! It's awful that she isn't plying the river now! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! Get her back in service. I'm in my 70s I need one more trip on that beautiful steamboat before I run out of steam!
Long live the Queen!
I hope she will come back into service...but its been nearly ten years since it was supposed to return.
From what I've been told, they're making some progress, and getting her up and running is the goal! I hope to see them succeed
When will it come back on the river
Actually, when the Delta Queen went to the Mississippi River, the new owners removed the Delta King's engine and took it with them so they'd have spare parts for the Queen. So the engine was removed a long time ago. It was kind of like a nautical divorce settlement where the wife takes the best parts of the husband with her. LOL.
WHERE’S THE CALLIOPE?
It was removed and its whistles are now on a circus wagon of sort.
It’s safely hidden away, waiting for the day she’ll echo off the hills again….
DQ Captain Mike Williams
Whoa....