Delta Queen might just keep rolling along

— -- A few months ago it looked like the end was near for the Delta Queen, the nation's most famous paddlewheeler.

But the 81-year-old Mississippi River icon may yet win a reprieve. A grass-roots campaign to get Congress to extend the boat's exemption from a government safety rule is gaining steam.

"We all want the same thing: the Delta Queen to continue operating as an overnight passenger boat," says Nori Muster, a steamboat fan who runs steamboats.com, one of several sites organizing "Save the Queen" signature drives. "The Delta Queen is safe."

More than 100 cities and towns, mostly in Middle America, already have passed resolutions calling on Congress to extend the boat's long-standing exemption to a 1966 U.S. Coast Guard fire safety rule. The rule forbids wooden structures on vessels that carry more than 50 passengers on overnight trips.

Along with Tiffany stained-glass windows and crystal chandeliers, the 174-passenger Delta Queen is famous for its confectionlike wooden superstructure, which includes historic teak handrails and rare ironwood floors.

"It would be a tragedy if we allowed this National Historic Landmark to go by the wayside" because of such a rule, says Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, who represents the Cincinnati area. "It would be a great loss not only to the communities along the rivers but to the nation."

Chabot has introduced legislation that would extend the Delta Queen's exemption from the rule for another 10 years. Already, Chabot has a dozen co-sponsors for the bill, both Republicans and Democrats — a rare showing of bipartisanship that he says "speaks to our better chances of getting this done."

Still, it could be a tough battle. While Congress has granted the exemption more than half a dozen times over the past four decades, the powerful chairman of the Transportation Committee, Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., is against another extension. Committee spokeswoman Mary Kerr says Oberstar considers the boat a fire hazard.

It's a position that riles fans.

"There's just no common sense in grounding a boat that's been operating without an incident for 81 years," says John Lewis, the mayor of Bridgeport, Ala., a riverfront town petitioning Congress to save the Delta Queen.

Even if there were a fire, Lewis notes, the boat is never more than a few feet away from a riverbank and rescue — a big difference from ships at sea. And, unlike at hotels made of wood, vacationers staying in Delta Queen rooms must undergo a safety drill before sailing. A night watchman patrols the boat, he adds.

"The Delta Queen is as American as grandma's apple pie," he says. "It's part of our heritage."