Mississippi Queen (steamboat)

For the song, see Mississippi Queen.

Mississippi Queen (center), with the Delta Queen along her starboard side, moored at the Tall Stacks Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio in October 2003. The Majestic appears on the right.
History
Name	Mississippi Queen
Owner	Majestic America Line
Operator	Majestic America Line
Yard number	Hull 2999
Laid down	1973
Completed	1975
In service	1976
Out of service	2008
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Steamboat
Length	116 meters (382 ft)

The Mississippi Queen was the second-largest paddle wheel driven river steamboat ever built, second only to the larger American Queen. The ship was the largest such steamboat when she was built in 1976 by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company at Jeffboat in Indiana and was a seven-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat. She was later owned by the Majestic America Line. The Mississippi Queen had 206 state rooms for a capacity of 412 guests and a crew of 157. It was 116 meters (382 ft) long, 21 meters (68 ft) wide,^{[dead link]} and displaces 3,709 metric tonnes (3,364 tons).

When in service, the Mississippi Queen was a genuine stern paddlewheeler with a wheel that measured 6.7 meters (22 ft) in diameter by 11 meters (36 ft) wide and weighed 77 metric tonnes (70 tons). The steamboat also featured a 44 whistle steam calliope, which was the largest on the Mississippi River system.

The Mississippi Queen was laid up in New Orleans at Perry Street Wharf after being gutted, initially for renovation. Instead, however, the steamboat was sold for scrap in May 2009. She was towed for the last time to Morgan City, Louisiana on March 24, 2011 to be cut down. Dismantling had begun by April 7 of that year.

In popular culture

A steamboat called the Mississippi Queen was used in the 1982 episode "Cap'n Spanky's Showboat" in the animated television series The Little Rascals.

External links

• Mississippi Queen Tribute Site

See also

• Delta Queen
• American Queen