According to a book I have about the history of riverboats, there are
a lot of calliopes resting on or near the bottoms of American rivers.
Some were actually found in fields adjacent to the river after its path
had changed.  The book states that within four or five years after the
first riverboat was equipped with a calliope that there were more than
five thousand others similarly equipped.

Due to the high loss rate of those riverboats, mostly as a result of
hitting snags, many American rivers have remains of them lying at their
bottoms.  That would also include the calliopes that were on them as
well.  It would seem to follow that there are remains of some nearly
five thousand calliopes remaining to be salvaged by present day
aficionados.

An article I have tells of one of the hazards facing calliope players.
This indicates experiences on the Hudson River where the stokers on the
steamboats would occasionally go after the calliopist who was using the
steam that they were working so hard to generate to blow out of the
calliope whistles.  The end result was that they would throw the musician
overboard and let him swim to shore to save his life.  Interesting
job hazard.

Thought you might be interested in this,
Hal Davis