USA Today
November 2, 2007
A few months ago it looked like the end was near for the Delta Queen, the nation's most famous paddlewheeler. But the 81-year-old Mississippi River icon may yet win a reprieve. A grass-roots campaign to get Congress to extend the boat's exemption from a government safety rule is gaining steam.
"We all want the same thing: the Delta Queen to continue operating as an overnight passenger boat," says Nori Muster, a steamboat fan who runs steamboats.com, one of several sites organizing "Save the Queen" signature drives. "The Delta Queen is safe."
More than 100 cities and towns, mostly in Middle America, already have passed resolutions calling on Congress to extend the boat's long-standing exemption to a 1966 U.S. Coast Guard fire safety rule. The rule forbids wooden structures on vessels that carry more than 50 passengers on overnight trips.
Along with Tiffany stained-glass windows and crystal chandeliers, the 174-passenger Delta Queen is famous for its confectionlike wooden superstructure, which includes historic teak handrails and rare ironwood floors.
"It would be a tragedy if we allowed this National Historic Landmark to go by the wayside" because of such a rule, says Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, who represents the Cincinnati area. "It would be a great loss not only to the communities along the rivers but to the nation."
Read the full story by Gene Sloan at USA Today.
