The Queens

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gtriever

gtriever

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Apr 23, 2017
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Location
Paducah, Kentucky
This is a special pen I've just finished that will be a surprise gift for my retired brother-in-law who, as he says, was "blessed enough" to serve as both Pilot Captain and Master on all three Queens of the Delta Steamboat Company: the Delta Queen, the Mississippi Queen, and the American Queen. The three Queens were all true steam-powered sternwheelers, although the American Queen (still in operation) also has auxiliary diesel-electric Z-drive pods to aid in maneuvering in tight quarters.

The pen kit is a Churchill Rollerball in Titanium Gold. The cap is a plain white acrylic, which represents the main color of the sternwheelers as well as the color of the officers' uniforms. The black and gold is reminiscent of the shoulder boards that the officers wear. What makes this pen special is that the wooden body of the pen is from a piece of bucket board off of the Delta Queen, which he brought home from his first trip as Delta Queen's Master in 1973. (For any landlubbers like me, a bucket board is one of the horizontal boards that make up each "bucket" on the paddlewheel). Also, at this time, my BIL doesn't know that his Delta Queen "trophy" on his shelf is about 1-inch narrower than it used to be... :biggrin:

Photo 2 shows all the Queens in their heyday - from top to bottom, by age, the youngest, American Queen, the middle sister, Mississippi Queen, and the grande dame of the fleet, Delta Queen.

Thanks for looking.


Delta_1_web.jpg Delta_3_web.jpg
 
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I really like the pen and the story.
The pen has very sharp and crisp lines like the Steamers You hit it on the colors and their significance.
Thanks for showing.
Gordon
 
One more bit of trivia about the American Queen : she's so big at 418 ft. long and 109.5 ft. tall that she can't fit under a lot of the bridges on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The builders solved this problem by making her twin smokestacks foldable, and having her pilot house retract into the uppermost deck. Quite a sight to see! And... she's docked in my hometown today for the 4th! :biggrin:
 
Here's a little story you might like. When I was a kid, we went on a trip thru the South. We went on the Delta Queen in Vicksburg Mississippi.
We got a tour of the boat while it was being maintained between trips.
We also got to tour the Mississippi Queen while we were there.

It was pretty neat for a 12 year old kid. The Captain let me blow the steam whistle as a special treat. I have some old photographs of it around here somewhere.

Oh, nice pen, before I forget. :wink:
 
Magnificent Pen Art,
Incredible, Significant Blanks, Expertly Turned, Fitted and Finished.
Terrific Story, and History of the Paddle Steamer Era.
Congratulations and Thank You.
Brian.
 
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