Scots call to save Grand Old Lady of the Mississippi from scrapheap

• Operation of Clyde-built vessel to be ceased
• Delta Queen could be scrapped after her license is withdrawn
• MSPs back motion calling for preservation of the vessel

SHE has carried presidents and princesses, seen wartime service and been hailed as the jewel of the Southern states of the US.

In her heyday, she powered down the Mississippi with jazz bands playing and cheering crowds lining the banks, overtaking her rival the Belle of Louisville in a race which thrilled the shipping community of the Grand Old South.

But now, 81 years after she was built in Dumbarton, the legendary paddle steamer the Delta Queen is in trouble, prompting Scottish politicians to join a campaign to save her.

The 285ft vessel, built at William Denny & Brothers on the banks of the River Leven, could be scrapped after her licence was withdrawn. The steamer fell foul of safety regulations requiring all boats carrying passengers overnight to be made primarily of steel.

Previously, she was granted an exemption after arguments that, as a riverboat, she was never more than a mile from shore, she had a consistent safety record, a 24-hour fireman on board and an extensive sprinkler system.

Jackie Baillie, the Dumbarton MSP, has persuaded 15 MSPs to back her motion calling for the preservation of the vessel.

The campaign kicked off last month after the Majestic America Line, the vessel's owners, announced she would cease operations permanently at the end of the 2008 season.

"I want the American authorities to reconsider this threat to our joint heritage. They must find a way of preserving this Clyde-built vessel for future generations," Ms Baillie said.

Construction of the Delta Queen provided work for hundreds of Scottish shipworkers who built her steel hull, engines and deck up to the second level. Her wooden superstructure and further two decks were built in the US.

The Delta Queen went into service as a packet boat, carrying mail, livestock and passengers. After refurbishment she offered luxury overnight travel between Sacramento and San Francisco, plying her trade for more than 60 years.

With 88 state rooms, and fitted out with Tiffany-style stained-glass windows, brass fittings, hardwood panelling, state rooms, and the dramatic grand staircase crowned by a magnificent chandelier, she attracted a wealthy passenger list including gamblers who risked their fortunes in her gaming room.

During the Second World War the US Navy took her over and, painted grey and under the designation "Yard Ferry Boat 56", she was used to carry wounded reservists in San Francisco Bay. After decommissioning in 1947, she travelled 5,000 miles through the Panama Canal up into the Mississippi, where she came to be regarded as the jewel of the south.

Over the years, many high-profile guests including US presidents Harry Truman, Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter, as well as Princess Margaret and other celebrities have sailed on her.

She has faced similar safety-based threats in the past to take her off the river, most notably in 1966 and 1970. On both occasions the public rallied round and in 1970 she was designated a national historic landmark.

Singer Johnny Cash joined the campaigners, writing a song for her which he performed on television before asking the audience to support the Save the Delta Queen campaign.

A Dixieland "jazz funeral" greeted her as she sailed into New Orleans in 1970 complete with an escort of tow boats and excursion ships on what was believed to be her final cruise.

Graham Kennison, a trustee of the Scottish Maritime Museum, who is backing the campaign said the Delta Queen represented a huge part of Dumbarton's shipping heritage.

"There can't have been a river in the world which did not have one of Denny's shallow draft vessels and the Delta Queen symbolises something unique," he said.

"After construction, the Delta Queen, which was built as one of a pair alongside the Delta King, was shipped in segments across the Atlantic accompanied by a team of Scottish engineers, providing a lasting emotional connection with Dumbarton."

The Dumbarton-built Delta Queen, below, has for the past 60 years plied her trade on the Mississippi, although strict safety laws have forced similar boats made largely of wood, such as the one pictured left, off the river