paddlesteamers.info : The Internet's leading website for Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
Despite
the interest in preserving paddle steamers, it has not been possible to
do so in every case. These are the vessels lost in recent years
EUROPE
DETERIORATED BEYOND REDEMPTION
2012 : Szoke
Tisza (1917-74), the former Danube cruiser is best known as
Felszabadulas, the name she assumed in 1950, having been IV Karoly, and
between 1930 and 1950, Szent Imre. In 1958, 175 berths were built into
the vessel as she was assigned to overnight cruises from Budapest.
Briefly used as a canteen ship for her owners, she was sold out of the
MAHART fleet in 1979 to the city of Szeged for use as a hotel. When
owned by a commercial Danube cruising company, partners in the Zoltan
Foundation ship museum at Nezsmely, plans were drawn to refurbish her
for Danube service, but progress was fraught with technical
and financial problems and ownership has new reverted to the Tiszayacht
shipyard company at Szeged. Following her sinking in early 2012 as her
hull cracked as the surrounding water melted after the winter freeze,
the ship's superstructure was scrapped in the late autumn of 2012
although her engines and certain internal fittings were saved. The
remains of the hull were left in situ but dragged on to land in early
2020 in another rescue attempt
In January 2024 a contract was awarded to the SAM shipyard at
Komarom to build a replica of the vessel incorporating certain parts of
the original ship.
The replica is planned to be a static floating museum and attraction in central Budapest
Former Solent ferry moored near the River Medina at Island Harbour on the Isle of Wight, UK. Gradually deteriorating after years of neglect. High and dry except at exceptional tides. The Paddle Steamer Ryde Trust was set up to try and negotiate her purchase from the administrators of the Island Harbour organisation which owned her and the attached marina, but failed in their efforts. The ship has been allowed to rot and is now well beyond any hope of being saved. One last attempt, in 2018, was abandoned. Her engines remain aboard.
2018 : Became a cafe, moored on the Danube Canal at Vienna (Wien), Austria after her service with DDSG was closed for many years in poor and vandalised condition. Forced to be moved by the Viennese authorities, she was towed to Freudenau harbour on December 15th, 2017 . With no buyers at auction, she was towed to Komarno, Slovakia on 30th August 2018 for scrapping
2003 : Built at the Sormovskiy Shipyard
at Nizhny-Novgorod in 1905,
the last surviving River Volga paddler was
laid up in Pamyat Parizhskoi Kommuny (Nizhniy Novgorod area)
for many years . Decommissioned in 1965, the 102.5
metre long paddler was scrapped after failed attempts to find a
saviour after being badly destroyed by fire in 2003.
Photos
at : http://fleetphoto.ru/ship/17836/
2002 saw the final demise of two of the
famous Dresden "White Fleet " after many years' lay-up.
Although the local operators have, where possible, restored
the available paddlers and most of their fleet is now over
100 years old, the condition of these two vessels was beyond
economic repair. This was made worse by the act that
considerable alterations would have had to have been made to
their narrow hulls to meet modern stability regulations.
Fortunately the oscillating engines were removed from each
vessel and are saved, with the ultimate aim of
finding or building new hulls for further use.
Schmilka's stern
section still survives at Laubegast dockyard.
The Laubegast yard on the
River Elbe just upstream of Dresden has seen many paddle steamers
built and refurbished, including the majority of the current fleet
sailing from Dresden, but in 2001 it was host to two paddlers which
were not destined for a return to service. In poor condition
after many years out of service, it was decided to scrap Schmilka
(seen with Junger Pionier behind).
Photo above kindly supplied
by John Woodhams who got a magnificent view of the yard from a passing
steamer.
2013 : Lake Elsinore, CA,
USA.
Hauled overland in 1999
on a three-week road journey from Long Beach (where she had been
moored behind RMS Queen Mary) to Lake Elsinore, California, she
was originally one of a fleet of 5 ships built in 1923/4 for chewing-gum
entrepreneur William Wrigley and named "Princess". Originally
with a glass bottom she undertook tours around Catalina Island and
was often patronised by the rich and famous. She was sold in 1959
and her glass bottom planked up as a condition of the sale. She
sailed around San Pedro and Long Beach until 1994. She was owned
by the Lake Elsinore Princess Foundation, in poor condition
and land bound apparently after a fall in the level of the lake.
She was of wooden construction and a designated Riverside County Historic
Landmark since 2007. She was demolished in situ on October 18th, 2013
2009 : Former railcar ferry on the Detroit river crossing from Detroit to Windsor (Canada) from 1884 into the 1970s, including after an engine failure in 1970 which meant she had to be towed as a barge. She later served as a floating restaurant at Detroit where its main feature was the railcars stored on her deck. After the restaurant closed she was inactive until moved to Erie in 1999 but remained derelict and sank on December 25th 2005. She was then moved to Buffalo but no progress was made and she was scrapped in 2009.