News at this site http://gfv1929.blogspot.com/2008/11/steamboat-suwanee.html is that the Suwanee sternwheeler at Greenfield village is no more. Anyone have any comments to add?

I wonder if the engine was saved? Frm thE blog post it sounds like that was the only vintage piece of the ship.

Rob

I do know the hull and structure was built new in 1988. I visited Greenfield with a friend in 1991 or 1992 and we had a personal connection with the General Manager at that time (Hi! if you are reading this, send me a personal message). He told us the structure was a new-build. The structure itself was functional, but not as aesthetic as the prior Ford build (which was also built for the Village as well). I believe Ford "rebuilt" the sternwheeler ala Edison.

The boiler on Suwanee had one interesting feature. It had a low water alarm on the water column. A float blew a whistle if the water dropped. It was demonstrated when blowing out the gauges. The suwanee was burning wood in 1976, but was burning coal in the 1990's.

The engines themselves were not very exciting. They were slide valve engines with straight link reversing gear. Convenient in small sizes but not a true river engine.