While not Railway preservation, marine preservation and steam preservation too!
As most of you know, Linda and I are great fans of the Delta Queen Steamboat, the last remaining intact overnight paddlewheel steamboat in the USA. Built on a steel hull, but with a mostly wooden superstructure, she does not meet modern standards for Safety of Ships At Sea (SOLAS) standards, which were enacted back in 1966. Until 2008 congress passed exemption bills allowing her to run, considering she is equipped with a very modern sprinkler system throughout the vessel, is never more than 5 minutes from shore, and is taller than the rivers are deep. She has an over 85 year safety record. This year a new exemption is being voted on that will allow her to return to the rivers to keep this part of our American Heritage alive. This year is critical, without the exemption she will most likely become derelict and disappear, as have nearly all of our riverboat steamers. They are just too expensive to keep up without the income of paying passengers. The US Senate is preparing to vote on S 89, the exemption bill for the Delta Queen this Monday, April 3. Please call or email your State Senators this weekend to express support for S 89. Don’t know whom to call or email? Here’s a handy website to help you;

[www.senate.gov]

In case I forgot to mention it, this bill spends no federal monies, it just grants permission to operate!

Thank you for helping! Long Live the Delta Queen!