The Steamboating Forum

The Belle has a set of "high pressure" non-condensing steam engines with double poppet inlet valves, rated at 500 HP. Steam is supplied from a battery of three fire tube boilers, using raw water from the Ohio River. There is no distillation plant, nor does the steam return to the boiler fr...

Hello from Louisville, Kentucky! I am a licensed chief engineer on the Steamer Belle of Louisville. I started as an engineer on the Belle 22 years ago and have been licensed since 2003. The Belle is the oldest Mississippi style sternwheeler operating in the United States.