Paddle Steamer Resources by
Tramscape
P.S.
Caledonia
The Clyde's second last paddle steamer was saved for posterity, but then
lost to the cruelest of fates - fire. Indirectly, though, her demise led to
the saving of the last Clyde turbine steamer.......
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An imposing Caledonia in a view taken by David Owler, by kind courtesy of
Glenda Owler
Launched on
February 1st, 1934 by Wm Denny & Bros Ltd at Dumbarton,
Scotland
Engines : Triple Expansion diagonal : 20, 30.5 and 50 in x 60 in
Dimensions : 223 ft 6 in x 30 ft 1 in
624 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for Caledonian
Steam Packet Company Ltd
Featured concealed paddle-boxes and linked observation decks above
fore and aft deck shelters
Served as a minesweeper named HMS Goatfell during the Second World
War
Served on a wide variety of routes, primarily ferry sailings, but
also cruising out of Ayr.
Converted to oil-burning for the 1955 season. Radar fitted in
1959.
Replaced PS Jeanie Deans at the Craigendoran station in 1965 and
undertook more cruise work
Sold for scrapping after the 1969 season, but Arnott, Young, having renamed
her "Old Caledonia" looked for another buyer as an alternative to
scrapping her
Resold to the
brewing company Bass-Charrington
Retaining the name "Old Caledonia", she served as a floating pub moored on the
Embankment, central London, until badly damaged by fire in 1980
Found not
to be worth repair and scrapped. Engines preserved at the Hollycombe Steam Fair Park at Iron Hill,
Liphook, Hampshire
Caledonia's appearance in 1934 along with her
near-sister Mercury caused considerable interest and, amongst paddler
purists, considerable dismay on acount of her unusual, but thoroughly
modern appearance. Whilst the LNER's new Jeanie Deans of 1931 looked
not dissimilar to existing paddlers, Caledonia featured a large
elliptical funnel, deck shelters fore and aft connected to provide an
extensive promenade deck, and most revolutionary, paddleboxes, which
when seen broadside on from a distance, appeared to conceal her true
propulsion method.
It had been 31 years since the last Caledonian paddler had entered
service, and although they had not added any turbine steamers to
their first such vessel (Duchess of Argyll of 1906) until 1930,
continued adherence to paddle propulsion was mystifying, especially
when it appeared that every effort had been made to make the vessels
look like turbine steamers.
Caledonia was not designed for the long hauls to Campbeltown and
Inveraray - railway connections to Dunoon and Rothesay would be the
staple, and sufficient deck space for the carriage of barrows and
small cargoes would be needed. As it happened, the early 1950s saw
car ferries introduced to provide an increasingly necessary service
on the main routes across the Firth. Paddlers were increasingly
relegated to relief duties, but this remained a vital role due to the
poor capacity and turnaround times of the car ferries in peak
periods.
Her excellent covered accommodation, plus a reasonable turn of speed
(over 17 knots on trial and 14 knots in service), made her an ideal
cruise ship and even in pre-war days she was employed cruising to
Arran via the Kyles. The car ferry revolution meant that Caledonia
was posted to Ayr in 1954 as excursion steamer for this popular
holiday resort, which also entailed periodic relief sailings from
Ardrossan to Arran. In 1965 she moved up-Firth to Craigendoran, to
replace the withdrawn Jeanie Deans, cruising round Bute out of the
former LNER stronghold for a further 5 years until the disastrous
economics of Clyde cruising signalled the end.
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Not long to go ................... Caledonia on 3rd September
in
her final season, 1969, in a photo kindly supplied
by Nigel Lawrence
At the beginning of October, Caledonia made
a few runs to Tarbet with the mails, a service which the CSP took
over from MacBraynes on October 1st. These were the last runs she
made for the CSP.
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Caledonia on the Clyde : More photos
Caledonia in the mid
1950s by Jimmy Reid (courtesy of Ronnie McLeod)
A
packed Caledonia enables passengers to see the warships up-close off the Tail
o' the Bank during the Royal Naval Review of 1965
Seen
off the Cowal coast from the deck of Waverley in 1968
Caledonia
at Fairlie and Brodick in 1969
Caledonia as she appeared
in her final years. Photo taken at Rothesay by Alexander Bain and supplied by
kind courtesy of Donald Bain.
Caledonia in London
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Caledonia at London in 1973
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View from Waterloo Bridge in 1973
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Detail of superstructure in 1974
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Eight years after her demise, her position on the Thames was taken
by TS Queen Mary,
former Clyde fleet-mate and the last British excursion turbine steamer.
Return
to :
Firth of Clyde
CSP
Clyde Steamers of the 1930s
Preserved Steam
Engines
British Paddle Steamer
Index
Duchess to Juno : The Ultimate
Fleet
