It is probably inevitable that the ship’s steam turbines and boilers will be replaced with a more efficient propulsion plant, probably diesel. Some major changes to the superstructure are also planned, driven in part by the desire to offer passenger suites with balconies. The artist’s concept of the modified ship which is shown in the press release loses something compared to the aesthetics of the original vessel, at least to my eye; hopefully it will be improved during the study effort. In any case, saving the ship and restoring it to service would be a wonderful outcome.Scuttlebutt has it that some details of the original propulsion system are classified, or served as proof of concept for fast aircraft carriers in the days before nuclear power became the standard. Sometimes, though, a superstructure receives a major upgrade on the same hull, as was the case with S. S. Milwaukee Clipper, originally standard Great Lakes passenger and freight steamer Juniata.
Milwaukee Clipper is all new from the coaming up, but the quadruple-expansion steam engine from 1904 is still belowdecks. The proposed makeover of United States retains more of the original lines of the ship.