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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
London & South Western Railway : English Channel : Southampton to Le Havre and to the Channel Islands
Above : Brittany
enters Le Havre. It was the larger of two paddle steamers built
new for the company after the railway company had absorbed its
shipping subsidiary. It was the last new paddle steamer to enter service, being
built in 1864, although the company did buy a number of older paddle
steamers a few years later. Along with the older Alliance it survived
until 1900.
Photo : published in jerripedia
The
L&SWR shipping services were based at Southampton, having
failed to establish at Weymouth in the face of competition from the
Great Western Railway. It offered services to Le Havre in France
and to the Channel Islands, Granville and St Malo with their vessels
handling both passengers and cargoes and many of the ships used were
screw steamers and, post 1900, turbine powered. In the
1923 railway company amalgamations, it became part of
the Southern Railway
The railway also ran local ferry services from Lymington to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and was part of a group operating to ferry from Portsmouth to Ryde on the same island
The South Western Steam Navigation Company
was set up by the L&SWR in 1842 to operate ships and had a
ready-made fleet by taking over the British & Foreign Steam
Navigation Company. In 1847 the New South Western Steam Navigation Company
was established after the takeover of the South of England Steam Packet
Company and was run semi-independently until taken into direct railway
ownership in 1863.
Services to Jersey, including mail services,
were inaugurated by the South Western and its eponymous paddle steamer
in 1843. The ship also spent some time offering cruises out of Jersey
and to France
Paddle Steamers built for the South Western Steam Navigation Company
South Western (1843-1862)
Wonder (1844-1874)
Courier (1847-1881)
Express (1847-1859)
Alliance (1855-1900)
Havre (1856-1875)
Paddle Steamers built for the South Western Railway
Normandy (1863-1870)
Built
by J Ash & Co, London. 209.9 ft : 425 GRT : Engines Oscillating by
J Stewart & Sons. Lost after a collision on March 18th 1870
Brittany (1864-1900)
Built
by J Ash & Co, London. 215.6 ft : 529 (later 678) GRT : Engines
Oscillating 2 cyl simple 60 x 60 in. by J Stewart & Sons. Reengined
in 1883 Compound oscillating 40 and 68 in x 60 in by Day, Summers &
Co (Southampton). Lengthened in 1873. Jersey route until 1889 then on
Le Havre route. Scrapped in 1900
Second-hand purchases
Waverley (1868-1873)
Built
in 1865 by A&J Inglis, Glasgow. 222.2 ft : 592 GRT : Engines
Oscillating. Built for the North British Steam Packet Co's service out
of Silloth. Bought in 1868 and placed on the Channel Islands run.
Wrecked on June 5th, 1873
Fannie (1869-1890)
Built in 1859 by Caird & Co, Greenock. 231.5 ft : 654 GRT : Engines Oscillating. Built for use at St Petersburg as Orion. Blockade runner (1862-5 as Fannie). Caledonian Railway (1866-9)
Alice (1869-1888)
Built in 1859 by Caird & Co, Greenock. 231.6 ft :
635 GRT : Engines Oscillating. Built for use at St Petersburg as Sirius.
Blockade runner (1862-5 as Alice). Caledonian Railway (1866-9)
Wolf (1871-1896)
Built in 1863 by R Napier & Sons, Govan. 242.7 ft :
763 GRT : Engines Oscillating (compounded in 1873). Built for G&J Burns Belfast service.
Sank in Belfast Lough in 1867 after a collision. Reemerged with one funnel only in 1869. From 1896 a seamen's hospital and quarantine centre at Southampton then Liverpool. Scrapped in 1900
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