Isle of man Steam Packet

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Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was established in 1830 and remains today, reputed to be the oldest continuously-operating pasenger shipping company in the world. In 1996 it was absorbed into the enormous Sea Containers shipping conglomeration, but since its demise in 2003, a succession of banks. It provides car ferry services to and from the Isle of Man to north-west England and Ireland. In common with most sea shipping companies, it switched to screw steamers early on for its cargo vessels and quickly adopted turbine propulsion for its passenger ferries in the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, it operated a fleet of large and fast paddle steamers, their last being Mona's Queen which was in service up until 1929.

Empress Queen was the last paddle steamer built for the Isle of Man company. Launched in March 1897 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan, she was 360.1 feet long and had a GRT of 2140. Her two engines were three-crank diagonal with HP and two LP cylinders of 68, 92 and 92 inches with a stroke of 84 inches.

Ship	Acquired	Disposed	Builder	Length / GRT	Engines

Mona's Isle	1830	1851	John Wood	116 / 200	Side Lever
Mona	1832	1841	John Wood	103 / 150		Sold to Liverpool Steam Tug Co
Queen of the Isle	1834	1844	John Wood	128 / 350	Side Lever	Sold to Robert Napier & Sons. Converted to a sailing ship and lost off the Falkland Islands
King Orry	1842	1858	Winram			Sold to Greek interests
Ben-my-Chree	1845	1860	R Napier	152 / 335	Side Lever	Engine ex-Queen of the Isle. Sold to the Africa Steamship Company. Hulked 1871
Tynwald	1846	1866	R Napier	188 / 700	OSC2C	Cargo only from 1863. Sold to Caird & Co to help pay for new vessels
Mona's Queen	1853	1880	J & G Thomson	165 / 397	63 and 60 in
Douglas	1858	1862	R Napier	206 / 726		Sold to the USA Confederate States for blockade running as "Margaret and Jessie", but attacked, beached and captured and became"Gettysburg" for the Federal side. Scrapped in 1879
Mona's Isle	1860	1882 (1909)	Tod & MacGregor	200 / 341	OSC2C 44 and 48 in	Converted to screw steamer in 1883 and renamed "Ellan Vannin". Lost at sea in 1909
Snaefell	1863	1875	Caird & Co	228 / 604		Sold to Zeeland Steamship Company and renamed "Stad Breda". Scrapped in 1888
Douglas	1864	1888	Caird & Co	227 / 709	OSC2C 58 and 69 in
Tynwald	1866	1888	Caird & Co	241 / 697	OSC2C 58 and 72 in
King Orry	1871	1912	R Duncan & Co	260 / 806	OSC2C 63 and 84 in	Engines by Rankin & Blackmore (Greenock) Reengined with CD 50 and 92 x 78 in
Ben-my-Chree	1875	1906	Barrow Shipbldg	310 / 1031	OSC2C 65 and 90 in	Reboilered in 1884 appearing with four funnels
Snaefell	1876	1904	Caird & Co	251 / 849	OSC2c 63 and 78 in
Mona	1878	1883	Wm. Laird	200 / 526 (562)		Sunk after a collision in the River Mersey
Mona's Isle	1882	1915	Caird & Co	330 / 1564	OSC4C	Scrapped in 1919 after Admiralty service
Mona's Queen	1885	1929	Barrow Shipbldg	320 / 1595	OSC4C 50 and 88 x 72 in	Last paddle steamer to operate on a short sea route in UK waters
Queen Victoria *	1887	1915	Fairfield	330 1567	61 and 112 x 78 in	2x Coupled horizonal (HP 61 in) and diagonal (LP 112 in) engine x 78 in stroke ex- IoM, Liverpool & Manchester Steamship Co. Scrapped in 1920 after Admiralty service
Prince of Wales *	1887	1915	Fairfield	330 / 1567	61 and 112 x 78 in	2x Coupled horizonal (HP 61 in) and diagonal (LP 112 in) engine x 78 in stroke ex- IoM, Liverpool & Manchester Steamship Co. Scrapped in 1920 after Admiralty service
Empress Queen	1897	1916	Fairfield	360 / 2140	3CCD 68, 92 and 92 x 84 in	Two engines Wrecked off the Isle of Wight whilst acting as a troop carrier
Mona	1903	1909	Fairfield	324 /1065	CD 59 and 106 x 72 in	Built in 1889 ex- Calais-Douvres on the English Channel then out of Liverpool (1900-03) for Liverpool & Douglas Steamers Ltd (prop. Higginbottom)
La Marguerite **	1919	1919	Fairfield	350 / 1554	CD 56 and 110 x 72 in	Built in 1894 for service on the River Thames and from 1904, the North Wales coast

* Note : Queen Victoria and primce of Wales operated for one season in opposition to the IOM SP Co for the Isle of Man, Liverpool & Manchester Steamship Co, an organisation set up by the ship's builders. The ruinous competition of the 1887 season saw the two steamers bought by the incumbent operators on the route in what was possibly a ploy by the Fairfield company to force their hand to purchase the vessels
** Note : Operated on charter for one season

Above : Mona's Queen at Douglas. Remaining in service until 1929, she was by some margin the last operational British short-sea paddle steamer and outlived the last remaining Belgian paddle steamer Princesse Clementine which had served a British ferry port. Image is in the public domain

Above : Ben-my-Chree of 1875 built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, She was remarkable in that after reboilering in 1884 the former two-funneled steamer recived two pairs of funnels set alongside each other one set forwards of the paddle shaft and one set aft. Photo : In public domain, ex-wikipedia

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