Steamer MISSISSIPPI QUEEN calliope

[ccubsfan94]

what would be ironic is if he played mississippi queen

[LouisvilleTorn8o]

Gotta love the extra octave! Jazu Jones (I'm not sure I'm spelling his name right) used to give those low notes one heck of a workout. I think the key on this calliope is keeping the lower octave warmed up since the pressure is so low...Otherwise it'll drag, but I'm sure you already know that...Maybe they should add about 10 to 15 pounds of pressure to it.

[dedballoonz]

When I grow up, I want to be a calliope.

[doughesson]

There are two reasons for calliope music.First,because there were no tv and radio ads in the glory days of steamboating,they had to announce a boat's arrival somehow. Second,when a steam plant is slowed to a stop,steam pressure demand is reduced and the excess must be relieved somehow.They can either open a valve and release it in a loud roar,or they can pipe it to make music.

[riverexplorer]

Actually, The calliope was designed and patented for use as a replacement for the bells in the church tower. Patented in 1855 by Joshua C. Stoddard of Worchester, VT, the calliope never took off as a replacement for the bells. Later his brother used it on a steamboat on the Hudson River for advertisment. PT Barnum the Circus King later heard one and in 1870 added it to the circus parade...he have it the name "Calliope" the Seventh Greek Muse of Greek mythology.. Before this is was the.....

[riverexplorer]

American Patented Steam Piano.

On a steamboat the excess steam you mention is used for pumps and various anciliary apparatus. If there is an excess of steam (above the allowed pressure where the safety valve is set) the safety valve will release the steam. I have worked on these vessels for over 30+ years and never heard of anyone playing the calliope because of some dangerous amount of pressure.

[dedballoonz]

@riverexplorer Best. Shutdown. Ever.

[doughesson]

@riverexplorer I'd heard part of that story recently but not all the particulars.Thanks for filling in the gaps.

[BigGermanBassoonist]

@doughesson

The information is all up on Wikipedia.

[SweetJaneofGoth]

@doughesson My mom says her granpap built one of these using car horns and hubcaps. She says he played in a whorehouse in Salt lake City. The cops never busted the place cuz it wuz owned by the church. I wonder if he was paid in sex.

[doughesson]

@SweetJaneofGoth Hmmm,now.Could be.

[1958c]

the Delta queen and American queen are also no longer running .

[riverexplorer]

Yes, it is quite sad...the best years of my life were working on those boats!

[pammygizmo]

how can i finf calliope music to download

[augpeh]

Ah...

waiting 4 the robert e lee

but whats the first song?

[riverexplorer]

The first song is "You Belong To Me"...made famous by Pee Wee King and Red Stewart, Patsy Cline, and many others. It was written by a Louisvillian, believe it or not. Hence my calliope adaptation of it.

[riverexplorer]

Chilton Price (a native Louisvillian) wrote You Belong To Me for Joe Stafford. In research I have learned this fact and wanted to add it to these comments.

[riverexplorer]

The last (current) owners have gone out of business and do not need her. Although she would not comply with SOLAS 2010, she was being upgraded to comply when they simply ran out of money and need for the vessel. Not to exonerate them, they are well known in river circles for having made unbelieveable mistakes in trying to have run the boats. Hence, for the first time since 1811, there are no overnight steam vessels on the inland rivers.

[riverexplorer]

Thanks Scorekeepin....I was rather proud of my oerfirmance on it, considering the fact the company had no budget to maintain it and it was barely playable. Perhaps you could have done better?

[mortson978]

I didn't think it was that bad.

Legend has it, that this is the largest calliope in the world. Is it still functional?

[bubbbs2]

sadly, no. The Mississippi Queen has been sitting across the river in New Orleans since 2007. It's a long and sad story, but you may never hear this calliope again. And you are correct by saying that this is the largest steam calliope in the world.

[mortson978]

i know national, and pneumatic made callioflutes with more notes, and today you can get a tangley with 50+ notes, but they are no where near the size and volume of this instrument, plus they are not technically calliopes, if they are pneumatic.

[LouisvilleTorn8o]

@Bubbs2 You may not ever hear it in person again, but there are more clips of it coming...I just found some stuff from Tall Stacks 1999 two days ago, and you can hear all three queen boats with their calliopes blasting at one point. I also have a short clip of the MQ's calliope played by Jazu Jones in October of 1998...The MQ was passing while I was playing on the Belle of Louisville.

[bubbbs2]

@LouisvilleTorn8o oh yay, I can't wait to see (and hear) them when you put them up! I always like new calliope videos, especially the MQ's calliope.

[123Chevyman]

Please tell me, are they really going to thrash this incredible toy?

[JammerJawz]

Captain Gabe used to be jealous of Bobby Van Duessen and used to call him Bobby Van Deuchebag! those were some fun times. Good job Travis.

[notparistexas]

Cleveland steamer?

[005davidragon]

isn't there one of these on the steamboat natchez in new orleans?

[riverexplorer]

Yes, the calliope on the NATCHEZ down in New Orleans, LA was built in 1974 by Jess Cohen at Frisbee Machine Shop in Cincinnati, OH. I have a video on here of me playing that instrument in 2005. It is a much smaller calliope, 32-notes. This one is the largest instrument of it's type. It last played on 27 November 2006, and I was the last person to ever play it unless it finds a new home, as the boat is retired.

[Skippy585]

What was the reason for the boats retirment? Was it because of the SOLAS international laws or just was it a budget issue with upkeep of the boat?

[riverexplorer]

I can't imagine who else I would be! LOL!!!

[mortson978]

Mountain?....Oh! my bad.

[Filmwolf02]

Travis! Great to see you around and still working your magic on the keyboard. Folks, take it from someone who's known him since his Uptown Theatre days, the man's a musical genius...

[mharbaugh]

Go Travis!  Make it talk!

[tugboatannie]

Nothing like hearing the calliope is the MQ comes round the bend... seeing the steam spiking up the horizon.. and that lovely music echoing off the hills.... she can park in my backyard anytime...

[acoustics101]

Great to see you playing the MQ calliope. I feel I know you through the steamboats group. I remember first hearing it in Cincinnati around 1976.

[westin6814]

Thanks for posting this. I always wanted to know that the biggest calliope in the world sounded like.