paddlesteamers.info : The Internet's leading website for
Paddle Steamers past and present
Boat
trips remain ever-popular and in a few places around the world,
sightseeing trips are provided by paddle steamers : a type of ship
which is a survivor from a bygone era. "Heritage" in all its
aspects is now a big factor in the tourist and leisure business and a
trip on a paddle steamer can add to the pleasure and interest of a boat
trip. In some places you can hop on a more modern type of ship or wait
for a paddler. Elsewhere you will need to seek them out and support the
operators, usually running their services in very difficult financial
circumstances, in their objective of preserving the remaining examples
of these fascinating ships.
Gordon Stewart is
keen to promote paddle steamers, and educate the public into their
historical significance, both objects of the UK's Paddle Steamer
Preservation Society of which he is a member. He
has created
what is probably the internet's most comprehensive reference resource
for excursion paddle steamers worldwide. There is also an extensive
historical database. The website is illustrated by Gordon's own
photography (of which there is a full archive) and images kindly
supplied for publication by his worldwide correspondents. This is not a
full history of paddle steamers. Readers are invited to research
individual vessels or sailing areas in more detail. A limited
bibliogrpaphy is provided.
Paddle
Steamer Schiller at Brunnen, Lake Lucerne in 2008 : one of five
paddle steamers in the SGV fleet on this beautiful lake in Switzerland - a place where such ships
are seen as an indispensible tourist attraction and so survive alongside more modern motor vessels
PADDLE WHEELS
STEAM ENGINES
DECORATIVE
PADDLE BOXES
The form of propulsion unique
to paddle steamers
The engines are a major on-board
attraction
The most distinctive feature
when seen from shore
The method of
propulsion used by the first steamships and still ideal for calm
and shallow
waters. Many paddlers have viewing port-holes on the main deck so the
turning wheels and splashing waters can be seen to good effect.
On most paddle steamers the engines are clearly
visible and are, for many, a major on-board attraction.
Here, lubrication oil is topped-up on Lake Lucerne's PS Schiller
whilst the engines are stopped as she calls at a pier
From a distance, Paddle Steamers
can often be identified by their distinctive paddle boxes, with
vents of different sizes and shapes, often highly decorated. The
Paddle Steamer Waverley's port side vents gets a touch-up of paint
whilst she waits at Tighnabruaich.
Paddle Steamers are ships which are now firmly established favourites in
the tourist industry, providing excursions amongst fine scenery
on lake, river and in the case of the UK's renowned Waverley, coastal
cruises. Their fascinating steam engines, linked to large paddle
wheels, are a unique selling point making and they retain many advantages
over a diesel or oil engine despite their higher operating cost. Paddles also
have their advantages in shallow waters and paddle steamers, like any other
screw ship, can benefit from modern aids such as bow thrusters.
UniqueFeatures :Paddle steamers have something
extra to offer the interested observer or passenger compared to most ships :
visible engines and paddles SignificantBenefits
:Paddle steamers are smooth, quiet and virtually smell and vibration-free in
operation
- all leading to a better
customer experience.
FIND OUT ABOUT PADDLE STEAMERS PAST AND PRESENT WITH www.paddlesteamers.info Learn why paddle steamers
only dominated the seas for a very short period of time, but found a niche role
where they still survive today.
Follow the links
on the blue main index
(below and near foot of the page) which take you to the main sections of
the database where you
can research excursion and inshore-ferry paddle steamers in detail whether operational, preserved,
laid-up and at risk or now consigned to the pages of history
books.
The heyday for sea-going
paddle steamers was short - but there remained a niche where they survived
An
early technology : Man
had long wielded
paddles to propel craft through water and used wheels to harness the power of water. Turning wheels with attached
paddles was an obvious development, if a way could be found to
power them. The
first commercially successful steam ship is generally acknowledged to
be Henry Bell's paddler Comet of 1812 which inauguarated a service
between Glasgow and Helensburgh in Scotland but this was five years
after Robert Fulton introduced a passenger service between New York and
Albany on the Hudson River in the USA with his ship Clermont. His ship
the Albany is credited as sailing from the Hudson to the Delaware River
in 1808, albeit acting as a tug, and earning the accolade of the
world's first sea-going paddle steamer. These were the culmination of
several efforts to put steam engines to work in ships, which seemed an
obvious development in the Industrial Revolution. It needed the size of
engines to be reduced considerably before they could be applied to
turning a paddle wheel - itself something known about for centuries -
and they had to be reliable. The first paddle steamer of the industrial
era is believed to be that built by Claude du Juoffroy in France in
1774 when he undertook experiments on the Doubs River but it was not
until 1783 that his "Pyroscaphe" undertook the first of what can be
considered any sort of journey as she sailed for a short distance on
the River Saone. William Symington, a Scottish engineer, took up
work on steam power and reputedly had a vessel sailing in 1788 on
Dalswinton Loch in Dumfriesshire, Scotland on which there is a strong
possibility that local resident, the poet Robert Burns sailed. His
work culminated in the PS Charlotte Dundas of 1802 which hauled a
cargo barge along the Forth and Clyde Canal, but the canal's
conservative owners did not pursue this form of propulsion further.
After 1812, technological developments continued apace and soon
steamships were criss-crossing the globe, although initially most had
auxiliary sail rigging. Some technical
drawbacks..... : The earliest steamships were paddle
propelled, but very quickly they were made obsolete by the development of the
screw propeller, which replaced paddles for most marine applications. The screw,
although not without its own problems,
was permanently under water so was generally more efficient than the paddle
wheel, whose individual floats are out of the water for most of the time as
the wheel rotates, and in choppy waters this advantage
was particularly apparent. Paddles were unsuited to the long-distance cargo
trade, as the draught varied as coal stocks were used up, resulting in the paddles
rarely working at their optimum depth. In this trade sailing ships still had
advantages over steam due to not needing to carry coal stocks and themselves
survived into the twentieth century. Military ships also favoured the screw because it
was much less vulnerable to damage by enemy gunfire and damage from floating
debris.
Crowds at a Royal Navy review on the Clyde in August 1965 edge to the starboard side to view a destroyer leaving
the port-side wheel largely out of the water and paddling air. The
starboard wheel would have been bogged down and the paddle box full
of water .............. an inefficient situation, albeit unusual
for an excursion steamer in calm water ! Pictured is the Caledonian
Steam Packet's PS Caledonia of 1934. Photo by Ian Stewart .....but some timeless advantages :
Paddlers found their niche in areas of calm and especially shallow
water as ferries and excursion ships and found particular importance as
river steamers where their shallow draughts helped navigate shifting
sands and potential snags. Stern paddle wheels became particularly
associated with the opening up of rivers in the American mid-west.
Wheels at the back gave the mechanism extra protection from floating
hazards in such waters. The military were glad of paddle steamers once
again, however, during World Wars I and especially II where their
shallow draught made them ideal for coastal minesweeping duties and
most commercial paddlers were requisitioned for war service. A number
of paddle steamers distinguished themselves at the Dunkirk evacuations
but both this and minesweeping involved great risk and many were sunk
by enemy action or mines as a result.
Many
ferry operators persisted with paddle steamers in the face of new
technologies. They were tried and tested, with engineers used to
operating and maintaining them - and often in making running repairs.
Thee capital cost of the
paddle engines also tended to be lower. Many of those companies working
in
areas with frequent calls at piers preferred what was, at least for
some time, an advantage in paddlers' speed of acceleration and slowing.
Even today, a screw motor vessel can be extremely noisy and juddery
when asked to make a quick getaway from a standing start. The
development of variable pitch propellors, such as the Voith-Schneider
design which found early success around 1930 on Lake Constance and more
latterly azimuth drives have meant that ships are now so maneovrable
that they can sail sideways and spin on their axis. The use of
bow rudders and bow thrusters aided paddle steamer manoevrability, but
this still leaves
the handling of such ships a highly skilled task with
increasingly few mariners trained in its art.
Changing circumstances
: The demise
of paddle steamers, once found in large numbers on short ferry and excursion
services around the world and also as estuarine and river tugs, was in part a result of the relentless need for operators
to continuously cut their operating costs - a requirement common to any enterprise
in a competitive economic environment. Although Paddle Steamer technology had constantly
evolved over the years, the advent and refinement of the motor ship gave
operators the prospect of substantial reductions in their fuel and crew costs.
As the noise and excessive vibration which plagued motor ships was improved,
they reduced what was probably their biggest disadvantage, but in this respect
remained inferior to steamships.
However, that is not the whole story. The decline of passenger steamers coincided with a change
in demand which meant that, with the exception of a few cases, they were not
replaced at all - except by car ferries, better road connections and where feasible, bridges. That
left the pure excursion traffic and in
many places remaining passenger numbers meant that only considerably smaller boats were needed.
Where demand was less affected, paddle steamers
had a better chance of survival and in the 1970s, enthusiasts, and to some extent
the public in general, embarked on campaigns which were to save threatened ships
and change their prospects completely as the tourism industry and the "heritage"
industry entered a period of rapid growth. Many
have said that heritage appreciation is a recent phenomenon. It isn't,
of course, but the rapid modernisation and technological evolution in
the 1960s meant that in the excursion ship sector at least there was
one contributing factor. Paddle steamers, which for 150 years seemed an
integral mainstay of the business, were no longer being replaced by
modern improved versions of the old favourites - they were now
disappearing altogether as a classCar ownership : Tattershall Castle and her sister Wingfield Castle
(1934) were innovative paddlers, designed to carry cargoes on the
relatively short crossing of the Humber Estuary between Hull and New
Holland, and in the photo above dated 1971 by Jake Dale, it can be seen
that the cargo space became useful for carrying cars. Nevertheless,
the two only had a few more years of working life and their younger
quasi-sister Lincoln Castle only until 1978, replaced by a diesel
(albeit paddle for draught reasons) car ferry temporarily introduced in anticipation
of the ferry service being replaced outright by a road suspension bridge
in 1981Cost considerations : Germany's mighty River Rhine was a stronghold
of paddle steamers providing connections between piers along both
sides of the river - primarily for passengers, but in early years,
goods as well. PS Goethe (seen right in 2000) was built in 1913
as a goods and passenger ship and has been expensively rebuilt on two occasions
for her now passenger-only role. The last paddler built for the
German section of the Rhine appeared in 1929 and operators KD have
since then specified motor ships (often propelled by Voith-Schneider
units) as road, rail and bridge connections left the ships increasingly
with the tourist trade only. From 1981, Goethe was the only remaining
paddler and even she was withdrawn in 1989. Restored late in 1996
after a significant rebuild she was placed on the "Nostalgic
Route", the highly-scenic tourist run between Koblenz and Rudesheim.
Still marketed as a nostalgic paddler, she was converted to motor
operation after the 2008 season, partly on technical grounds but
also as a cost-limiting measure. Fuel costs were reported to have
halved after the conversion and there were also savings in engine
room personnel.An anachronism ? : Paddle Steamer Maid of the Loch (above, at Luss
in a photo by Kenny Whyte) was built in 1953 for service on Scotland's
Loch Lomond. It was the last of a long line of passenger paddle
steamers built for service in the UK and many thought it was
obsolete as soon as it was ordered. In mainland Europe, the last
paddlers had been built 25 years earlier. It was not just the propulsion
method, but the size of the ship which raised eyebrows,
but it seemed a good idea to the ship's operators at the time. The
critics were probably right. The Maid accumulated increasing losses
and was eventually withdrawn after the 1981 season - but still
survives as a static exhibit in the care of a charitable company
with a long-term hope of returning her to service.
Only three
other paddle steamers were built for excursion work in the UK after the Second
World War, with Waverley still in operation but with Bristol Queen
and Cardiff Queen failing to see out the 1960s Paddle Steamers can be
operated successfully - but only if the circumstances are right New
roles were needed : Paddle Steamers can only
survive if they operate either in
cooperation with or away from the direct competition of "commercial"
services and they must offer something that is a little
different from what a commercial service might offer. They have largely lost
their role as ferries,
but need to capitalise on the considerable and still growing demand for enjoyable
"days out". They must be popular attractions in their own right, providing
the best of modern facilities but also showcasing their unique engineering heritage. They
are a tourist attraction and must market themselves as such, but more crucuially
they must go from where the public is likely to be to somewhere that they are
likely to want to go to - or at least to see.
Restricted roles : Paddle Steamer Waverley cruises up and down the
Firth of Clyde. Here she is seen heading homewards off Skelmorlie
in 2013 in a photo kindly supplied by Kenny Whyte. She now
fulfils a purely excursion cruise role. Ferry services were once
handled by similar paddle steamers, but the link between Wemyss
Bay on the mainland and Rothesay on the Isle of Bute is now maintained
by car ferries on a shuttle service. The current holders of that
roster are the Polish-built twins Argyle and Bute, seen above crossing
the Firth with the Cowal coastline behind and the higher hills of
Argyll in the distancePaddlers remained suitable in certain areas : Large
paddlers are now confined largely to the Swiss lakes, where there is the happy
convergence of most of the factors needed to sustain excursion ships of this
size : a sizeable local resident population, large tourist numbers, attractive
local scenery and popular lakeside resorts equipped with landing stages,
accessible maintenance facilities, supportive local authorities
and tourist development boards and a large supply of local enthusiasts. Most
of all, they are owned and operated by their original owners on a strictly commercial
basis alongside a fleet of motor vessels. It is known that they attract
more customers than an equivalent motor vessel but being part of a fleet allows
the additional costs of a paddler to be absorbed in a wider business. Smaller
paddlers survive in great numbers at the German city of Dresden largely for
the same reasons. Only in Australia, now the "home"
of the paddle steamer, have they survived in large numbers and are even being
built new, but these ships are much smaller than seen in Europe and many are
small enough to be operated a private houseboats or occasional vessels and only
on inland rivers, primarily the MurrayStill popular ! : At the right place at the right time and going
to the right places, paddle steamers can attract the crowds like Waverley at Largs in 2011 (above) The cost of operating and maintaining large
ships,
especially in the tough and ever toughening regulatory environment concerning
maritime matters is enormous. These issues are particularly relevant to "sea-going"
vessels and why the UK's PS Waverley is such a rare survivor. It is not despite
her age, but probably because of her age. Being a paddle steamer is a unique
selling point and one which attracts excursionists when otherwise there might
be little or no demand, but they do have to beware of serving primarily the
existing "enthusiast" market. It probably will not be enough to ensure
long-term sustainability.
As paddle steamers and historic ships
in general are now so rare in public service, they are less "visible"
and therefore less able to attract public awareness and develop a pool of potential
enthusiasts, whose support is has been
essential in keeping most running. It is little surprise that the strongest pool of support, proportionately,
is in Switzerland, where numerous examples of paddle steamers survive. (More
about preservation and its successes in Switzerland.....). Nevertheless, valiant attempts continue to ensure that
paddle steamers survive elsewhere and if they can attract sufficient custom
to fill their (generally large) capacities, they can be successful financially
and continue to provide what is now an educational experience in past engineering
methods and an enjoyable outing for the general tourist.
Here are three examples of how
the tide has turned in different ways to the benefit of paddle steamers
:
RIVER ELBE - GERMANY
SWISS LAKES
RIVER DANUBE - AUSTRIA
A global shipping corporation took control of the paddle steamer
fleet based in Dresden, the world's largest fleet, and refurbished
the ships, many over 100 years old to a magnificent standard. Most
people thought that the economic realities of the capitalist world
would spell the end of this East German fleet - but not so. Nine
paddle steamers are thriving.
The larger Swiss Lakes would be unthinkable without their immaculately
maintained paddle steamers, although only 40 years ago it was assumed
that as the ships came to the "end of their lives" they
would be replaced by motor vessels. The paddlers have remained alongside
the newer motor vessels in this most technologically advanced and
high-cost country.
Enterprising enthusiast and preservationist groups have shown
that it is possible to take a paddle steamer disposed of by its
"commercial" owners, and even after many years of lay-up,
return it to operational service. Schonbrunn, above,
the last of a long line of steam paddlers on the Danube in Austria, was
saved in such a way.
In view of the difficulties, financial, regulatory and increasingly
personnel wise as the number of steam-certified engineers diminsh, it is surprising
that projects still exist to restore derelict paddle steamers. It is one thing
to take on a newly-withdrawn paddler such as Waverley when gifted to the UK's
Paddle Steamer Preservation Society in 1974 but another thing to take over a
derelict or near-derelict ship and restore her for service. This could be regarded
as in the realm of unrealistic dreams for nostalgic enthusiasts, but it has
been shown that it can be done. The most recent project concerns PS Patria on
lake Como, Italy, where the quasi-state-owned company NLC are refitting the
ship as a steamer. She has been out of service since 1990 with only local enthusiasts
to promote her cause. It is quite remarkable that the operating company, already
owning PS Concordia and only using her sparingly, decided on this course of
action. A return to service as a motor ship had been mooted in the past, but
this new turn of events was unexpected.
Enthusiast
support groups are now well established and fully contibuting to paddle steamer
operations
Enthusiasts
played a vital role in saving the last of the paddle steamers when
strict financial criteria dictated against them and public interest
in industrial and maritime heritage was still only in its early
days. Now, organisations are well established and instrumental in
ensuring their continued survival, either by supporting existing
operators or owning paddle steamers in their own right. This makes
it easy for the enthusiast to get involved directly and make a positive
contribution either financially or by helping to promote or maintain
the ships and know that their efforts are contributing to securing
the long term futures of our remaining paddle steamers. 109 years old and as good as new ! : With the
help of enthusiasts and under the control of a sympathetic shipping
company, PS Unterwalden (above), one of a fleet of five paddle
steamers on Lake Lucerne) returned to service in May 2011 after a major refit. She
was restored to closer to her original profile, but with a glass-enclosed
upper deck to meet modern expectations. Clever design, however,
means she looks much more like she once did, with the heavy construction
of the 1961 refit removed. This
photo of Unterwalden, back in service for the first time since 2009
was kindly supplied by Nadia JoehrHaving a "paddle steamer" is
good for your marketing Ships with a side-wheels which are for decorative purposes only
are not included in this database. However, the addition of a wheel
to a ship indicates that even appearing to be a "paddle steamer"
gives a ship an important selling point. Mock wheels tend to be
more common on motor ships trying to imitate Mississippi-style steamers,
but mock side-wheels are not unknown.
It is unlikely that many,
if any, new genuine paddle steamers will be built although the term "paddle
steamer" retains a fair bit of "cache" and numerous boats, primarily
Mississippi-style sternwheelers are
built
for tourist purposes. These capitalise of the theme but the boats are powered
by modern cost-effective diesels and the propulsion is actually by submerged
screw with the paddle wheels often for decorative purposes only and are therefore
not genuine "paddle steamers". The ships rarely recreate the atmosphere of a historic
ship completely. Remarkably the operators of the shipping services on Germany's
Ammersee, a lake in southern Bavaria, decided to build a completely new vessel
as a side-wheeler. MS Herrsching entered service in 2002 and although
not powered by steam, she otherwise is a fine vessel.
Why a paddler ? : MPV Herrsching - above - one of a new generation of ships
with a genuine set of paddle wheels. It was a surprise that the
ship was a paddler. It would have been even more of a surprise if
she had been a paddle steamer - an option which did receive genuine
consideration, but was ultimately ruled out on cost grounds. Nevertheless,
the operating company saw advantages in having a modern yet "traditional"
vesselWhy the side wheels ? : The addition of a paddle wheel
to a ship indicates that even just appearing to be a "paddle steamer"
gives a ship an important selling point. Mock wheels tend to be
more common on motor ships trying to imitate Mississippi-style steamers with a large wheel at the stern,
but mock side-wheels are not unknown. The photo above shows the
Yarmouth Belle, taken on the Upper River Thames near London in 2010
and kindly made available under Creative
Commons License
by owner Garry Knight. What is interesting and disturbing about
Yarmouth Belle, now owned by the renowned and historical Turks
shipping company, is that its wheel, a very poor decorative
representation, has been added only recently to what was a magnificent
historical vessel. Yarmouth Belle was built in 1892 and was originally
a steamship and as well as the not-unexpected conversion, she also had
a modern deckhouse added aft to spoil her original profile. The paddle
wheel certainly detracts from her authenticity and, to the webmaster's
mind, her looks, but clearly it was a deliberate decision by the owners
to claim her on their website as a "traditional English side
wheeler" (which she clearly isn't) adding that it offers elegance and
versatility unrivalled on the Upper Thames. The world's Paddle Steamer fleet is growing !2013
saw the return to working order of two paddle steamers which had been
out of service for many years and only recently had any hope of such a
renaissance. The provincial government at Como, Italy, sponsored the
restoration of PS Patria and a local enthusiasts' group in Switzerland,
with local government support, arranged the renovation of PS Neuchatel
(above). The Swiss paddler had been used as a restaurant ship for many
years and needed the installation of an engine and boiler. Photo by kind courtesy of Sebastien Jacobi (via Olivier Bachmann) With the help of the public it can grow further Maid
of the Loch
(above) looks like she is ready to cast off from Balloch Pier on Loch
Lomond.
Unfortunately she has been out of service since 1981, but much work in
recent years has meant she has been open to the public for static use.
Hopes that a major grant from the UK's Heritage Lottery Fund would
allow her to be returned to service in 2019 were dashed when it was
announced that the project had failed to get the required funding at
the September 2018 round of allocations. It is anticipated that a
bid for the funding will be re-submitted for future assessment.WHAT
IS IT LIKE ABOARD A PADDLE STEAMER ? Come
aboard and take a detailed look around some of our paddle steamers,
going on deck, looking into the deck houses, cafeteria and restaurant
and, of course, the attraction specific to paddle steamers : the
engines.
For
a comprehensive guide to paddle steamers in all their guises from a
historical development point of view I would direct you to the
following for further reading :
The Coming of the Comet : The Rise and Fall of the Paddle Steamer by Nick Robins
Seaforth Publishing, 2012 : ISBN 10 : 1848321341 and ISBN 13 : 978-1848321342
ABOUT THIS
WEBSITE
paddlesteamers.info is researched,
designed and
maintained by Gordon Stewart, life member of the Paddle Steamer
Preservation Society (North of England & North Wales branch) and
is based in England The website aims to be
a source of basic reference, setting the scene for those who wish to understand
the general situation regarding paddle steamers. Those who wish to research
further are directed to the appropriate sources shown in the bibliography sections
of the relevant past of the historical database.
Links to external websites are provided to take viewers to steamer
operators' websites and for general research purposes only. It is not responsible
for the content of these websites. Please report any broken or corrupted links
to webmaster The webmaster attempts to keep information as up-to-date as
possible but does not guarantee that any information such as ship status etc
is necessarily current. If you have any news updates or corrections, please
advise the webmaster so these pages can be updated. Any
views expressed are those of the webmaster alone unless otherwise indicated. Send
an e-mail to the Webmaster, Gordon Stewart
Your
comments and views, questions or information requests are welcomed What counts as a Paddle Steamer in this database
?
Steam
powered side and stern-wheelers including those which have been
converted to diesel power and those which survive statically (even
if the machinery has been removed). Side-wheelers built as motor
vessels are also includedwhere they can be regarded as equivalent in size to the steamers covered.
Stern-wheelers built as motor vessels are
excluded because a large number have been built in recent times (some
are genuine paddlers, others have screw propulsion and wheels
mainly for effect only). Very small steamships of the "hobby
steamboating" nature are excluded. Modern ships primarily
propelled by screw propellor but with a side-wheel either entirely or
substantially for visual effect are excluded (except in the case of
"Freya" which is a genuine hybrid vessel and includes traditional
paddle steamer machinery as well as a diesel motor. The
historical database is limited to lake, river, estuarine and inshore
paddle ships
Copyright
and re-use of information and images
All material and photographs displayed on this
website are the property of Gordon Stewart or
the accredited photographer where shown and not for re-use without permission of
webmaster (uncredited photos are those of the webmaster) or photographer unless
allowed under the appropriate Creative Commons licence (quoted alongside all
photos used under this permission). All
information is presented in good faith based on meticulous research.
If any information is clearly wrong,
please advise the webmaster and it shall be corrected
All photographs displayed are with the permission of the acknowledged photographer
but are not to be copied for re-use for any other website or publication without
the specific authorisation of the photographer. You are welcome to use the text
from this website as a research source and basis for your own work but it should
not be copied and republished elsewhere verbatim or only slightly altered. All
material on the paddlesteamers.info database (formerly and including the Paddle
Steamer Resources by Tramscape database) is
Gordon Stewart or the individual photographer where acknowledged.
Photos not otherwised attributed are by Gordon Stewart
Acknowledgements
The
webmaster gratefully acknowledges many sources of information,
including websites shown on the links page, magazines such as Paddle
Wheels and Dampferzeitung and published books which he has read and
absorbed information from. Many of these are listed in the Bibliography
sections of the main pages to which they refer and readers of this
website are referred to these books for much more detailed information
about the relevant subjects. Thanks go to everyone who has submitted
photos. They are acknowledged on the website alongside their photos.
Particular thanks to Kenny Whyte, renowned ship photographer resident
on the Clyde coast for his kindly allowing me to use numerous images
from his collection.
Paddle Steamer Information Requests
Most of the information available to me is
presented in abbreviated form in this database and it is unlikely
that I will be able to help with ships which are not included in this database,
but please send the webmaster an
e-mail and I will give as much assistance as I can. I
can for example also give general guidance about paddle steamer services in
Europe (e.g. Swiss lake steamers operations) and guide you to the best sources
of external information. The "Paddleducks" website www.paddleducks.co.uk
is the home of the world-wide modelling community where there is a lively
forum for information about paddle steamers as well as modelling issues. Paddleducks members often have access
to ship plans and other information of specific relevance to modellers.
Paddle Steamer Preservation Society in the UK accepts enquiries for inspection
of the material in its historical collection for research purposes.
Can You Help With This database ?
The webmaster would be delighted to receive
any updates of relevant information and photographs (of which you own
copyright) which could help to keep this database as up-to-date as
possible and fill in gaps in the historical record. Howeever,
photographs of PS Waverley are not required due to the enormous number
of images of her now available on the internet ASSOCIATED WEBSITESClyde Turbine Steamers
Although
Clyde Steamer fleets were dominated by paddle steamers, the introduction
of the turbine steamer King Edward in 1901 dramatically improved
the quality of the long-distance day excursion fleet. The world's
first ever passenger ship powered by turbines brought a new
level of speed, comfort and smoothness and in the next 35 years
a number of excellent vessels joined the Clyde fleet.
The
only surviving example is TS Queen Mary
(seen above in 2017 in Prince's Dock, Glasgow) which sailed from 1933
to 1977. She was bought by a
Scottish charity the Friends of TS Queen Mary in October 2015 with the
intention of taking her to Glasgow and preserving her in a permanent
berth near the city centre and she was returned to the Clyde on May
15th 2016 to be prepared for her new life. Stripping out of old
fittings was proceeding rapidly when the above photo was takenInTramCities with Gordon Stewart : Infrastructure, Architecture and Environment along streets with trams
Gordon
Stewart travels
regularly throughout Europe to create what is perhaps the finest
tramway photograph resource on the internet. Although
trams are the focal point and
common thread throughout, it is where they are running which provides
the diversity and interest in his photos. As well as city centres with
their grand
architecture, Gordon takes you to less well-known suburbs to give
a real feel for the tramway city. The photos are becoming an important
historical record for those interested in the city itself as well as
its trams and also show how trams fit into urban environments to
provide an attractive and accessible transportation system.paddlesteamers.info Domain
front pageGordon Stewart 2001-2018 BM
Gordon Stewart or the individual photographer where acknowledged.
Photos not otherwised attributed are by Gordon Stewart
