The 230-foot Queen is propelled by a three-story-high churning paddlewheel. But unlike earlier paddlewheelers, the Queen of the West doesn’t rely on a steam engine. Instead, it is powered by a revolutionary hydraulic propulsion system that uses environmentally safe biodegradable hydraulic oil. The 45-foot-long bow ramp allows passengers to go ashore anywhere along the river, much as the 19th-century vessels did. Launched in 1995, the Queen of the West is the first overnight passenger sternwheeler to be built and operated in the West in 80 years.