Sidewheeler MARY POWELL docked at Rondour Creek, N.Y. c.1887
Collectible and rare, the MARY POWELL is one of the most prolific steamboat models to date. No other model has been sought after on a collector scale of northeastern vessels than that of the MARY POWELL. My history and experience with this subject has been time-tested to bring awareness to collectors and the shipmodel community that this particular steamboat is the gem of the Northeast and New York's Hudson River.
One of the most informative picture books published by Howell-North Books in California during the 1970s, it detailed the history of this famous steamer.
Models of MARY POWELL had made their appearance in 1959 when Forrest Van Loon Ryder started building them. These models are in several notable collections today. There were other riverboat models that Van Loon built, but nothing so articulate as the MARY POWELL. It was thought that his version would be the only in existance, but it became apparent that a more thoroughly researched model would surface twenty years later.
My first encounter with the model began while studying at the Albany Institute of History and Art as a youth. As I developed my draftsman skills and advanced as a pencillist, I began studying blueprints from model kits I bought from money made as a paper carrier for the Albany Times Union. Those experiences, along with studying the clipper ship model at the local Boy's Club, guided me into the genre of the American steamboat...with my first model of MARY POWELL being built that September of 1980.
The 1980 model was commissioned by Albany International when the Albany Institute of History and Art declined selling the Van Loon Ryder version to the corporation. In fact, the model was chosen by New York's First Lady as part of the Governor's Mansion decor during their tenure. Soon thereafter, several models were built at my Knox Street studio. Then finally, 32 years later, a collector who was familiar with my steamboat line ( from media sources), negotiated a rare model of "the Queen". He wanted her researched and constructed as she first appeared in 1861.
Maritime artist and modelshipbuilder Rex Stewart at his New England studio drafting the first-ever 1861 profile version of steamboat MARY POWELL.
To begin the process I needed a point of reference. Her varied dimensions were off by several feet; but overall, I was able to achieve accurate measurements by keeping them neutral. The point of reference that I applied for scaling the profile was the Andrew Fletcher blueprint of MARY POWELL's vertical beam engine. The profile was designed around the drawing which enabled me to acquire the correct scale. This, in part, coupled with the Endicott lithos and James Bard painting, helped to get an accurate rendition of the vessel's original appearance.
Bard painting of 1861 shows MARY POWELL as she originally appeared on the river.
Profile plan at 3/32" = 1' scale of MARY POWELL c.1861 by author Rex Stewart
Shown in this photo is the hull and joiner work of the knees and strakes beneath the guards. In this process the deck portion of the hull must be properly planed for the superstructure to align properly.
Rear cabins are the most challenging part of the build. These must curve and bend smoothly to align properly with the main deck so that the Saloon Deck (above) can be flush for handling the Hurricane Deck. The rail detail would be the final application around the cabins on these decks.
MARY POWELL shown at a further stage of build with stanchions, rails and cabins in place. At 3/32" Scale, this is tedious work -and the stanchion posts, though fragile, must be shaved to scale and strong enough to handle the next deck without damage. To address this, basswood strips are carefully glued between the spacing to serve as miniature beams.
MARY POWELL's bow was graceful and swan-like. Her double red pinstripes on the hull beneath the guards were a unique feature that made her appearance quite elegant to the river commuters of her day. No other Hudson River steamer carried this -double pinstripes.
Further along in the build, shown are all the decks and the stern superstructure. Cabins, stanchion posts, railings and spars all come together to bring about the image that made MARY POWELL a legend...as well as an object of beauty.
The completed model showing MARY POWELL's amidship detail. This view shows the meticulous superstructure of the Hudson River "Queen" from walking beam down to her painted paddlewheels. The small donkey boiler behind the paddlebox was a tedious application and a unique feature that placed the steam- boat in a class of her own.
Steamboat MARY POWELL c.1861, 3/32' scale wood model - Rex Stewart
Hudson River steamboat MARY POWELL, the final completion. Based upon the references of both James Bard painting and the Endicott prints, along with writings of various authors and historians, this model is considered to be the only model produced in the State of New York -showing her original appearance as "the Queen of the Hudson" when entering service in 1861.
I am thankful to The Lord for granting me this opportunity to be the first artist to design her plans -and the first to construct her early appearance.
For more information concerning commissioned work for any and all Hudson River steamboats, email me at: Caseships@yahoo.com or call 1-774-757-7137 for details. These are museum quality fine models. One of a kind pieces that accurately define the vessel as it appeared at any given time in its career. Also for the discerning collector, my works and credentials are found here at https://youtube.com/c/RexStewartoriginals and https://www.linkedin.com/in/rexstewart. Thanks for viewing!
The great ST. JOHN idle on the Hudson River c.1864
The ST. JOHN and DREW, along with the DEAN RICHMOND, were the People's Line response to the river's ever-increasing traffic of the 1860s. The Troy-based steamboat Line commissioned John Englis Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York to build a vessel that surpassed any contemporary steamboat of its time. The word "floating palace" became a new meaning for the massive sidewheeler ST. JOHN.
She was launched in 1863 to serve as a nightboat between New York and Albany. She was 393 feet in length, 51 feet in beam with a 10.2 feet depth of hold. Made of wood, her gross tonnage was 2645. Her engine was inherited from the large nightboat NEW WORLD, which sunk when her gallows frame collapsed and sent her walking beam crashing into her interior in 1859.
Currier and Ives print of nightboat ST. JOHN c. 19th century
Saratoga, Lake George, Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks were visited by thousands buring the decade of the 1860s. To accommodate these visitors and get them to these northern points, ST. JOHN set the course in both design and fashion for nightboats in 1863. The United States was at war with itself, but inspite of this civil unrest, citizens and foreigners continued to travel the picturesque Hudson River to enjoy those regions north of the Capital City.
The reputation of ST.JOHN was so great that newspapers heralded her beauty and size, prompting international visitors to board and admire her. The sidewheeler featured a high dome deck with staterooms on galleries. The grand staircase was carved of St. Domingo mahogany, inlaid with white holly, and double inlaid stars featured the newel posts.
Scale nightboat model of ST. JOHN exhibiting port profile. Scratchbuilt in three wood types, it is scaled at 1/8" = 1' with an overall length of 48" inches.
ST. JOHN's first river tragedy occurred during her first year of service. On the evening of October 29, 1863 when only a few miles below Albany, New York, one of the boilers exploded with the loss of fifteen people. Her second and final disaster came when she was laid up at her winter quarters in New York City. At the foot of Canal Street, on January 24, 1885, she caught fire and was destroyed.
ST. JOHN ran on the Hudson River for 21 years, attracting a large following during her years of service. Like most notable vessels of her time, she was captured in photos, drawings, prints and paintings by some of the most prolific maritime artists of the period. In contemporary times, no true model ever existed on this famous steamboat which prompted me to research, build, and bring this image into public view as a scale model.
ST. JOHN's portside overview appearance of 1864 - Author's build
The author's plan profile of ST. JOHN's paddlebox design as it appeared in 1863.
Although the paddlebox was a flat surface, the designers of the period produced an astonishing effect by introducing 'lines of perspective'. This particular technique gave the appearance of looking into a long colonaded room extending through the inside of the boat. The effect of perspective was heightened by painting in a tile floor of contrasting shades. Deep inside the composition a gate built up of lattice work gave out onto a painted landscape which was the envy of many interior designers of that day. Two years later the DEAN RICHMOND appeared on the river with similiar paddlebox treatment which gave a startling impression to passengers on passing boats.
This was the era of size and beauty, the 1860s. ST. JOHN was a vision for bold visionaries who took the idea from the drafting table to the shipyard -making this sidewheeler a prominent reality and one of the great legends of her day.
Starboard Profile of Hudson River nightboat ST. JOHN - Rex Stewart
Early steamboats that operated on New York's Hudson River were distinctive and had elegant appearances. These vessels, though a part of early Americana, lacked true representation in photos. The camera was not yet in vogue for photographers to capture their appearances, so visual images were accepted by way of notable artists, newspapers, and lithographers of the period.
An unknown lithograph showing the Hudson River dayboat TROY as she appeared in 1840.
Drawings, illustrations and artist sketches and paintings documented close likenesses of these steamers. Lithographs also recorded their structures by way of several printers, one being Currier and Ives out of New York City. From these references, possibilities existed for building an interesting replica. However, much was based on the literature that was written.
Because nightboats greatly differed from the dayboats, to get a better understanding of the TROY, it is written that she was brought out as a dayboat for the Troy-New York Line in 1840...three decades after the War of 1812. Some writings state she was the largest boat in tonnage to appear on the river at that time, and that she had more speed than any vessel afloat.
Viewing three different images, I proceeded in producing a detailed scale drawing of TROY, finding interesting features which I didn't obtain with other vessels built in the Collection. From these features I was able to get a better perspective on the evolution of design and machinery -comparing what was for 1840 to what existed in 1860 which was radical change. The drawings and lithographs displayed TROY as being a sleek-looking, fast-riding steamboat. With these facts, it was now time to build the model -the only one of its kind in the entire Hudson Valley.
Port-side profile showing "King Neptune" painted on the paddleboxes of TROY during her 1846 season.
The main feature of TROY's appearance were her paddleboxes of 1846. A writing stated she carried a painting of "King Neptune" on them so to make her identifiable from both the river and shore. Also, because there was rivalry between New York City and troy, citizens from both cities were only patronizing vessels from their locales. "King Neptune" was part of the promotional process assisting citizens to identify 'their' boat when she made her runs on the river. She was a river traveler's favorite as a dayboat, but soon was converted and placed on the Hudson as a nightboat in 1848, running in line with the EMPIRE OF TROY.
Samuel Ward Stanton's famous drawing of steamboat TROY c.1840
The maiden trip of this 294 foot steamboat was made July 17, 1840 under Captain A. Gorham. A record run was made the following year from New York City to Troy in 8 hours and 10 minutes which included five landings. During this period rivalry between the two cities was so intense that those cities only supported their vessels. When the EMPIRE was built in 1843, the owners realizing she might be mistaken for an Albany boat, added the words "OF TROY" to the paddelboxes.
TROY was not just a popular boat, but a favorite -even for the Albany citizens who watched her paddle gracefully by. a young John J. Morrisey of Troy, N.Y., served as a deckhand on the boat and later married the Captain's daughter. Morrisey went on to become heavyweight champion of the world and a one time Congressman.
Port profile of the Hudson River sidewheeler TROY c.1846, Wood Model
After more than twenty years on the river, TROY ceased running as a converted nightboat. She was dismantled at Keyport, New Jersey in 1859.
My model show TROY in her 1846 appearance. It is scaled at 1:150 or 3/64"= 1'. As with the other models in the Collection, it is scratchbuilt of pine and basswoods with the spars made of birch. Panel work detail was cut into using a crafters' utility knife.
Hudson River Day Line stmr. HENDRICK HUDSON traveling downriver toward toward Poughkeepsie, New York c.1920.
Many articles and several film footages have honored this handsome steamer since her first appearance on the Hudson River in 1906. As a builder I had the opportunity to meet Alfred Van Olcott, the great-grandson and heir to the Hudson River Day Line.
Mr. Van Olcott saw my exhibition at the Hudson River Maritime Center when I held my first steamboat showing during the early '80s. He spoke about a builder's model that his family donated to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington,D.C. that he wasn't particularly happy with. In his own opinion he thought "it wasn't a great or good looking model". In turn, after several meetings -and viewing his impressive photo collection of HENDRICK HUDSON, he commissioned a model that he wanted to be of "superb quality".
I spent a month reviewing the HUDSON's history and re-worked the plans he loaned and, similiar to former steamboat projects endeavored, there were no available profile drawings. I had to build the sidewheeler from those references I produced on ROBERT FULTON a few years prior. The height between decks were fairly similiar in scale, so I followed the deck layout of Mr. Olcott's materials, along with the supporting photo data to arrive at a model that would be, in laymens' terms -accurate.
Starboard profile, in detail, of wooden steamboat model HENDRICK HUDSON. At 1:160 Scale she's shown as she appeared in 1943, four years before she ceased service on the river.
Van Olcott would visit twice from Princeton, N.J. before viewing the final completion. He was elated that his favorite sidewheeler was "captured in her true appearance". He shared this model with many affluent personalities in the maritime, especially those whom were steamboat-connected. As a model HENDRICK HUDSON became the flagship of my fleet of contemporary models, being written about by several authors and featured in a documentary by a television station in Kingston, New York in 1990. Today, the model is part of the Hudson River Maritime Museum's collective body of steamboats currently exhibited at the facility.
HENDRICK HUDSON was built in 1906 at the T.S. Marvel Shipyard, Newburgh, New York. She was a beautiful steamer throughout at 390 feet and the second largest vessel to operate for the Hudson River Day Line.
In 1935 and 1936, the Day Line achieved great success with its excursion programs. And in 1937 the Line used their largest steamer HENDRICK HUDSON which was to become an annual event. With her 5,252 passenger capacity, HUDSON was larger than either HAMILTON or FULTON. Because of this, the schedule was altered so that the excursion originated at Indian Point which added Catskill as a landing. The departure times from Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Kingston Point didn't change and the round trip fare remained at a dollar. The departure time from albany on the return trip was advanced to 4:30 p.m.
Also historic in 1937 was the final port to port passing of HENDRICK HUDSON with the largest nightboat on the river, the BERKSHIRE. This happened on a summer night in August as the Day Liner left Newburgh shortly after 10 p.m. for its final destination upriver to Indian Point. Thirteen nights after that historic river passing the Night Line terminated service.
Stmr. HENDRICK HUDSON backing out around the knuckle of the Albany Yacht Club on a summer afternoon c.1940.
HENDRICK HUDSON serviced many passengers during the War years since gasoline was rationed to automobile owners. Travel by car was limited, but the steamboat business has stellar years. The total number of passengers rose to 1,431,000 -the highest number since 1930. With so many pasengers traveling the Day Line's upriver excursions to Albany ceased and the Line converted to travel only.
HENDRICK HUDSON operated on the Hudson River between New York and Albany until 1948. She was later scrapped in 1951.
The wood model of HENDRICK HUDSON c.1943, 1:160 Scale
Mr. Olcott was a great help providing much of the data for this model. So many individuals whom had a love for these vessels are now departed, but their memories are with us and in these models that I faithfully produce in honor of them. And the histories that these vessels made during their tenure on the river is a tribute that can be preserved within these works for years to come.
