Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape
The Internet's leading database of
Paddle Steamers past and present
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LATEST
VERSION OF THIS WEBSITE IS NOW ONLY AVAILABLE AT : http://paddlesteamers.freehostia.com
Unfortunately
the website became too large for its original internet location and had to be
moved
This mainly text-only version represents the website as it was up until
1st July 2009 and does not include any more recent information or updates.
It includes some photographs which were included in earlier versions of
this website. For the latest information and all the photos, click on the link
above
PADDLE STEAMER NEWS
OTHER STEAMSHIP NEWS FROM OUR ASSOCIATED
SITES
CLYDE TURBINE STEAMERS
It is now believed that the former Clyde Turbine
Steamer, Queen Mary (ex-Queen Mary II, ex-Queen Mary), until recently a floating
pub
in London has now definitely been sold by Mitchells & Butlers and will probably leave the UK for an as yet uncertain
fate. Our associated organisation the Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation made
a serious attempt to save her for the UK but it was not to be. However,
the Foundation is still hoping to have contingency plans should she become available
for sale again and seeks a major benefactor, investor, corporation or maritime
museum which is prepared to take ownership of her and manage her in a way which
meets the Foundation's aspirations. If you are interested in this historically
unique vessel (fleet-mate of PS Waverley) please
follow this link to the Queen Mary page on the Foundation's website.
CLYDE-BUILT
RECIPROCATING ENGINED STEAMERS
In
two separate blows to the Clyde's steamship heritage, I can confirm that one
of the last three remaining (but decommissioned) Fairfield-built steamers for
the Istanbul Bosphoros ferry service, Tegmen Ali Ihsan Kalmaz, has arrived for
breaking at Aliaga. Originally eight sisters, these ships were highly popular
in Turkey amongst enthusiasts. This example was saved by the Golden
Horn (Halic) University at Istanbul, but no use was ever found for her and she
gradually deteriorated at her Golden Horn berth.
CLYDE-BUILT OCEAN LINERS
/ CRUISE SHIPS
The last Clyde-built
ex-steam liner, MV Regal Empress (formerly SS Olympia) and for the last part
of her life on short cruises from Florida to the Bahamas, took bunkers off Gibraltar
in early May en route to Alang. Built by Alexander Stephen
& Son at Glasgow in 1953, she is still in good shape, but her many traditional
wooden fittings are one reason why she has not been re-furbished to meet new
SOLAS 2010 safety rules, and why her operational career is now at an end. She was sold to the scrappers for around USD 3.5 million.
LAKE LUCERNE SUMMER 2009 TIMETABLE : SUBSTANTIAL
CHANGES INTRODUCED
The pattern of services on lake Lucerne
has been established for many years, with paddlers leaving Luzern for a full
lake-length return trip to Fluelen, with PS Unterwalden making two return trips
to Alpnachstad under the low Ascheregg Bridge. With Unterwalden out of service
for her major re-fit, there will be no paddle steamer services into the Alpnachersee
this year, but there will be some interesting changes on the "main
line" service. The departures have been re-timed to a regular "clock-face"
system, leaving Luzern at xx:12 hrs and Fluelen at xx:00 hrs, with the hourly departures
(paddlers interspersed with motor ships) now having similar sailing durations.
By missing out several piers (particularly Buochs/Ennetburgen and some piers
in the Urnersee) from the main service, the round-trip by paddle steamer is
now quicker than before, making the full round trip a little more attractive
to the general public. The re-timing is also thought to be likely to be more
attractive to general passengers, around half, it is found through recent surveys,
make the decision to take a cruise on the same day. The most interesting change
is to eliminate the "relief" departure from Lucerne whereby
the steamer on the first paddler run was closely followed by a second in order to cope with peak traffic.
It was found that the "relief" vessel was only needed for the stretch
to Vitznau and was generally lightly loaded beyond the pier where excursionists
disembark to catch the Rigi mountain railway. Therefore it was decided
that a relief steamer (generally to be Gallia in 2009) would run as far as Beckenried
and take a slightly sinuous route in the process before heading directly back
to Luzern and repeating the cruise but in the reverse pattern (ie fast to Beckenried)
to provide a "relief" service at the peak period for returning traffic
in the afternoon. By doing this, the SGV are able to offer two daily mini-cruises
of shorter duration than the full lake cruise. Although it has always been possible
to cruise part of the lake only, it has required a change of ship. By introducing
these new cruises, it is hoped that more "impulse" passengers will
be attracted, due to the relatively modest time period required and the fact
that no change or special timetable-reading will be required. For the attraction
of the enthusiast in particular, these cruises have been timed to allow a meeting
of three paddlers and a short period of two running "in convoy" between
Vitznau and Weggis.
|
REFURBISHED LAKE GENEVA FLAGSHIP LA
SUISSE
PS La Suisse is back
in the water at Lausanne (Ouchy) after her major re-fit. Her front upper is
now unrecognisable and is more traditional in appearance than when she was last
seen. She left the dry dock on April 6th 2009 and returned for public inspection on
Lake Geneva on May 16th and 17th with special 50-minute long cruises from Ouchy. She will take part
in the annual steamer parade on the 24th. She will take up regular summer
schedules at the timetable change on June 14th and run daily around the "Haut-Lac"
until September 13th and thence Saturdays and Sundays from Lausanne to Geneva
and return until Oct 25th.
Details
of the Naval Parade on May 24th on the CGN website : http://www.cgn.ch/plain_site/croisieres/vos_plus_belles_croisieres/parade_navale
CGN
Homepage ; http://www.cgn.ch/
|
|
|
SPECIAL PADDLE STEAMER CRUISE ON THE ELBE
DEEP INTO THE CZECH REPUBLIC ADVERTISED BY SAECHSISCHE DAMPFSCHIFFAHRT
Tramscape
recently reported the demise of sailings beyond Bad Schandau, but is pleased
to learn of a rare opportunity to undertake a paddle steamer journey from Koenigstein
to Usti-nad-Labem (non-landing) and return on Sunday 24th May 2009. Usti (also
known as Aussig in German) was once a regular destination for Elbe steamers,
but this new opportunity is the first time such a trip has been undertaken for
many decades. Click
here for details (pdf file)
A rare opportunity for a paddler to
be passing through the Czech town of Decin (left)
|
Feb 09 : USA'S ICONIC DELTA QUEEN
TO BE A HOTEL SHIP - FOR THE TIME BEING
IT
HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT, FOR 2009, DELTA QUEEN HAS BEEN LEASED TO BUSINESSMAN
HARRY PHILLIPS (OPERATOR OF LOCAL WATER TAXIS) AND WILL BE OPENED AS A HOTEL AT COOLIDGE PARK LANDING AT CHATTANOOGA
ALTHOUGH A LONG TERM BUYER IS STILL SOUGHT BY AMBASSADORS INTERNATIONAL, PARENT
COMPANY OF THE NOW DEFUNCT MAJESTIC AMERICA LINE. THE CAMPAIGN TO HAVE HER EXEMPTED
FROM SOLAS 2010 RULES CONTINUES.
IT WILL BE OPEN FOR DAY VISITORS AS WELL
AS RESIDENTS, PROVIDING MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT AND EDUCATIONAL TOURS. SHE WILL
LEAVE NEW ORLEANS IN FEBRUARY WITH A TARGET OPENING DATE OF 1st APRIL 2009.
A
WEBSITE FOR THE NEW HOTEL OPERATION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON THIS LINK
She now joins her sister ship Delta King
as a statically moored hotel ship (Delta King is at Sacramento, California)
The New SOLAS (Safety of lives at Sea) rules include
rules further limiting the amount of inflammable material allowed on ships which
have overnight accommodation which is used when the vessel is "at sea"
amongst other things. It is this rule which is affecting Delta Queen with its
wooden superstucture and also classic ocean liners which have, for example,
large amounts of wood panelling aboard.
|
|
ELBE SERVICES TO BE CURTAILED
AT BAD SCHANDAU IN 2009
The
new timetable of the Sachsische Dampfschiffahrt, operators of paddle
steamers out of Dresden on the Elbe in Germany, shows that
steamer services will be curtailed at Bad Schandau and
no longer serve Krippen or the German border village of Schmilka.
This is because of disappointing passenger numbers, despite
this being probably the most scenic section of the existing route,
running through the so-called "Saxon Switzerland". This
comes one year after services which had originally gone as far as
Decin in the Czech Republic had been cut back to Schmilka.
|
|
| At Krippen Pier, heading south towards
Saxon Switzerland (2004)
|
|
View back into Germany from PS Pirna heading onwards in 2004
|
|
Nov 2008 : HIGH HOPES FOR LAKE COMO PADDLE
STEAMER "PATRIA"
|
|
|
|
After almost 20 years of lay-up at Dervio, work is expected to
start on PS Patria (seen above in 2008) possibly in December 2008.
There have been many false dawns and Italy is not noted for heavy
use of paddle steamers, but the continued success of PS Concordia
on Lake Como has given a boost to the cause of PS Patria. The government
of Como Province, now owners of the vessel, have issued a contract
to the Vemar company, based in La Spezia, to undertake the work
at the NLC's Dervio dock, where Patria currently lies.
|
|
Sept 2008 : PADDLE STEAMER ALERT : PS
PLINIO
The former Lake Como paddler "Plinio"
served as a
floating restaurant at Lago di Mezzola, with engines and
boiler removed. The 1903 Zurich-built steamer had been at
Colico between 1970 and 1999 as a restaurant and
clubhouse. Now out of use, although still owned by the owner of the
nearby Restaurant La Barcaccia, she is in severe danger because
the local authorities in charge of the Nature Reserve within which
she lies have demanded her removal by the end of October 2008
from the lakeside at Verceia.
A last minute campaign to save Plinio
has been started by Marcelo Baldrati and anyone who can help save
this historic vessel by buying (and moving) her should contact him.
A new association dedicated to the preservation of all historical
vessels on the Italian Lakes has also been formed. Website
|
|
Sept 2008: PS RYDE TO BE SCRAPPED ?
Ryde has been
condemned as a safety hazard by her local council on the Isle of
Wight following many years of total neglect. It has to be said that
it is probably a good thing - she was beyond any economic repair
as her various owners never did the necessary maintenance or dealt
constructively with enquiries by the paddle Steamer Preservation
Society and others regarding proposals which might have saved her.
It is understood, however, that if she is scrapped, her engines
will be saved - but would they ever find use ?
Ryde was
withdrawn from service in 1969 and never fully recovered from fire
damage sustained in 1977 when in use as a discotheque. However,
not until more recent years has her condition worsened to the point
of no return .....
|
|
2008 : COMPTON CASTLE : FROM FLOWERSHOP
TO UP-MARKET RESTAURANT ?
Reports in 2007 suggested that her position was under
threat due to plans for the redevelopment of Truro city centre. However
in 2008 it was announced that she will be run by well-known "celebrity" chef Kevin Viner
and friend Jill Richards who are now refurbishing the vessel for re-opening
as a restaurant with a nautical theme, with a traditional English tea-room planned
for the lower deck.
Opening of the
new reataurant is planned for Christmas, 2008. It is tied in with plans for
a general redevelopment of this part of Truro : a welcome case where local authorities
and developers (Porthia) wish to retain a moored vessel as part of the development.
|
|
2008 : GOETHE TO BE CONVERTED TO DIESEL
It
is now 100% certain that the
last paddle steamer in the Koln-Dusseldorfer fleet will be converted
to diesel power this winter.
This devastating news somewhat contradicts
the views put forward by the webmaster further down this page that
paddle steamers can be successfully operated in the modern world,
but he is sticking to his view! The immediate factor influencing
the move is the fact that around EUR 400,000 must be spent on repairing
a growing crack in the engine's entablature -about half the price
of a
complete new diesel engine. The old engine had a breakdown last
year and the owners fear the consequences of any further problems
with the old engine. Other factors are of course involved, not
least forthcoming new safety rules for Rhine vessels requiring direct control
of the engines from the helm, rather than via a telegraph and the
need for a minimum of two independent engines to maintain power
in case of any failure. The new twin diesels will operate on each
wheel independently,also giving impoved manoevrability.
Also, Goethe appears to be heavy on fuel
and pure economics dictate in favour of diesel engines.
KD reckon with a minimum saving of EUR 300,000 per year, cutting
daily consumption from 4000 to 1500 litres - and, of course, saving
on two engineers' wages. KD's management are broadly in favour of
the steamer and the decision was taken with a heavy heart .
|
|
2008 : MORE GOOD NEWS FOR PS MAID OF
THE LOCH
Loch Lomond's paddle steamer, out of
service since 1981, received a boost when the UK's Martime and Coastguard
Agency gave approval in principle for the vessel to be returned
to service. This basically means that she would be granted a passenger
certificate, subject to the completion of certain safety-related
works without those being so wide-ranging to make the project finanvially
unviable or require significant changes to her historical profile.
This follows an updated report on her future economic viability,
produced on this occasion by tourism consultants TMS, which indicated
that she could be operated profitably. Both reports have given renewed
confidence that she will sail again and volunteer workers continue
to re-furbish her accommodation and engines. Two new masts have
recently been erected, the cost being met by the Paddle Steamer
Preservation Society. Historically, Loch Lomond steamers' masts
have suffered from a strange and virulent form of rotting,
so the new ones are fabruicated from aluminium instead of wood in
the hope that they will have a long life !
|
|
JULY 2008 : THE OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE RAISING OF FUNDS
TO REFURBISH AND REACTIVATE MPV ITALIE HAS BEGUN
Italie
has been out of operation and lying at the CGN dockyard at Lausanne-Ouchy
since December 2005. The CGN led the proceedings at a ceremony aboard
PS Simplon, tied up alongside MPV Italie at Ouchy on Italian National
day, June 6th (2008). The Consul-General of Italy, alongside memebers
of the local Italian community and members of the local paddle steamer
preservation group ABVL, officially started the campaign to raise
around CHF 12 million (approx GBP 5 million). The motor paddler
will have to wait until at least 2011 before the work can begin
as PS La Suisse and MPV Vevey have to be attended to first.
For
more information on MPV Italie go to the vessel
page in this database. For numerous photos of Italie in operation
in 2005 (once thought to be her last ever season), go to the In
Greater Depth section of the database. For ABVL external link : Amis des Bateaux a
Vapeur a Lac Leman
|
|
BRITISH PADDLER MONARCH BACK
IN SERVICE IN NEW LOCATION IN 2008
The small paddle vessel "Monarch"
has new owners and has been moved from Kent to the Isle of Wight
(UK) and will begin service in the Cowes area in 2008. More
|
USA
: A campaign is under way to save the magnificent stern-wheeler Delta
Queen (1926) which is threatened with withdrawal in 2008 if the US Congress
does not grant this officially-approved National Historic Landmark (see Delta
Queen ) further exemption from maritime safety laws relating
to boats with wooden superstructures which offer overnight services and/or accommodation. Delta
Queen will not be able to survive financially as a "day"
boat.
Go to http://www.save-the-delta-queen.org/
to follow the campaign and to Majestic
America Line to book a trip in what is now being marketing as her farewell
season .
Notes:
Delta Queen and sister Delta King sailed between Sacramento and San Francisco.
Both were sold by the U.S. Navy in December 1946 after wartime service. The
Queen was bought by the Greene family and towed to the Mississippi via the Panama
Canal in a 27-day voyage. Based in Cincinnati, the Green Line became the Delta
Queen Steamhip Company and over the years has had many owners. A massive campaign
to save Delta Queen from the effects of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Law of 1966
saw her exemption renewed in 1970, and it has been granted ever since. Joined
by two new and larger steamers, Mississippi Queen in 1976 and American Queen
in 1995, the business almost folded in 2001 until bought at auction by Delaware
North Companies Ltd. The vessels, now being based in New Orleans were badly
affected by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and ownership passed to Ambassadors
International who formed a new company Majestic
America Line who are, since December
2006, titular owners. PS American Queen has been out of service since the immediate
aftermath of Katrina and will now only return, after refurbishment, once Delta
Queen is withdrawn. Delta
King is statically preserved at Sacramento, California.
This vessel is of
interest to Scottish enthusiasts as her hull and engines were built by Denny
of Dumbarton and reassembled at Stockton, California.
VIEW : Video
Clips of and aboard Delta Queen in 2006
: presented by Austrian enthusiast Ernst Galutschek.
DELTA
QUEEN IS A SUCCESSFUL VESSEL, A "GOING-CONCERN" WITH AN
EXEMPLARY RECORD. ARE THESE SOLAS RULES REALLY NECESSARY FOR A RIVER
BOAT ? SHE HAS ALWAYS HAD AN EXEMPTION - AND SAILED SAFELY.
|