The Steamboating Forum

Lopez Mike wrote:Yeah, we are hijacking the thread. Oh, well.

I hadn't heard about the stagnant water thing. But the shots in Hepburn's book show pretty still water.

I have enough problems with the city water down here in Baja!

It wasn't stagnant water, that was breading ground for mosquitos, just still fresh water.

I prefer my water not still and with a touch of quinine . . . . and a large gin in it, with maybe a bit of ice.

Besides being a lubricant for the crew, I wonder how quinine and gin would do as a boiler treatment if you left out the ice?

Back on point, "Tugboat Annie" staring Marie Dressler, and Wallace Beery. The Arthur Foss, still as a steamer, played the role of the Narcissus. Scotch boiler and lots of shiny metal things going up and down.

Oilking wrote:I wonder how quinine and gin would do as a boiler treatment if you left out the ice?

From https://cornellbiochem.wikispaces.com/Quinine

Last but not least, it breaks down easily in carbon based solutions and in alcohol.

Well that's a dumb property to have if you want a gin and tonic. I guess it's purely for taste reasons in the crew lubricant.

So the ethanol would leave with the steam, the quinine would break down, and it would impart a slight juniper taste to the boiler water. Maybe juniper would break down too???

-CB

"Tugboat Annie" staring Marie Dressler, and Wallace Beery.

I'll second that one.

Another good movie is "Life on the Mississippi", which is loosely based on the book of the same name by Mark Twain. It is available on Amazon Prime.

-Ron

What the Naricissus a steam tug?
The Inchcliff Castle was steam of course so it qualifies.
All of the Glencannon stories were great steam related tales. And there was lots and lots of "boiler treatment" involved but none of it went into the boilers!

Anyone ever see the "Island Trader" short series?

Quote "What the Naricissus a steam tug?"

In the movie "Tugboat Annie", yes. It's real life name was "Arthur Foss".

-Ron

Not sure what you mean by "short series". A movie?

Sad to say I never saw the movie Tugboat Annie but I did read the book and now I'll be forced (palm against forehead!) to go back and see if it was portrayed as steam. I must have missed that.

I did see a short segment of a TV series called Glencannon but they had an Irishman playing Colin. An Irishman!! Totally tone deaf yanks.

I got all cranked up over a cat food commercial back in 76 and threw out my TV so I'm a little out of touch.

From many children's storybook anthologies such as "The Bumper Book".

By Anne Elizabeth Allen







-CB

I didn't see any mention of the all time classic; Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel. A story full of drama, angst, and redemption.... at least as I remember it, being 6 or 7 at the time,maybe that's what started it all for me? Also check out Rudyard Kiplings; Steam Tactics, a short story about his American steam car in Britain; Blimey yer boilers held in with PAPERCLIPS!! Ok not fiction but he did streeeetch the truth.
And I was in a gas station in Santa Barbara in the late 60's or early 70's when a road locomotive came trundling in !? Two English blokes were driving the damn thing around the world sponsored by Joe Lucas, they were headed down the coast to LA to be shipped across the Pacific, don't remember if to AU or elsewhere. I, years later, began to doubt my memory and sort of forgot about that BUT stumbled across a photo of them and it in a book, HAH; I wasn't dreaming! So maybe multiple things sent me down this sorry road. I realized I really couldn't use a traction engine, rail locomotive or even a Sentinal so turned to Steam cars, boats, margarita makers Cheers rp