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

You will be leaving the internet's largest Paddle Steamer Information and Photograph database............
Return to the Paddle Steamer Resources Homepage to ensure you have not missed anything from the thousands of web pages before following the links

Where the websites concerned have direct and immediate relevance to the main database, links will normally be displayed in the appropriate place in the database as well as below. This page also includes private and historical websites as well as sites relating to preservation of non-paddle steamers.

United Kingom

PS Waverley
PS Kingswear Castle
PS Monarch

Switzerland : all sites have up-to-date information on paddle steamer operations / rosters and have ENGLISH LANGUAGE vesions on the website available
(See also preservation societies, Jean Vernet and John Bird sites below)

CGN : Operators of the Lake Geneva paddlers :  Steamer Operations (Affectation des Bateaux)
SGV : Operators of Lake Luzern steamers Uri, Unterwalden, Gallia, Schiller & Stadt Luzern.  : Steamer Operations (Dampfschiff Einsatze)
BLS : Operators of PS Lotschberg (Lake Brienz) and PS Blumlisalp (Lake Thun), Switzerland  :  Steamer Operations (Dampfangebote)
ZSG : Operators of Stadt Zurich and Stadt Rapperswil on Lake Zurich   :  Steamer Operations (DampferINFO : Einsatz der Raddampfer)
Liberty Belle

Germany

Sachsische Dampfschiff Gesellschaft (DSG) : Dresden / Elbe Paddlers
KD: Operators of MPV Goethe on the Rhein
Kaiser Wilhelm on the River Elbe at Lauenburg
Ludwig Fessler on Chiemsee : Chiemsee-Schiffahrt Ludwig Fessler
Hohentwiel on the Bodensee (Lake Constance)
Diessen and Herrsching on the Ammersee in Bavaria

Austria

Gisela on the Traunsee, Austria
MPV Stadt Wien, offering cruises on the Danube from Tulln to Aggstein in Austria
Schonbrunn, on the Danube, based at Linz

Czech Republic

PPS at Prague (Vysehrad, Vltava)
EVD at Prague    Sumava Page

Italy

Ministry of Transport and Shipping : Lake Shipping Department (Garda, Como, Maggiore)

Netherlands

PS Majesteit at Rotterdam
Kapitein Kok

Denmark

PS Hjejlen - Silkeborg

Norway

Skibladner : The world's oldest paddle steamer - Lake Mjosa


Finland

Elias Lonnrot

United Kingdom

Maid of the Loch : awaiting reactivation on Loch Lomond but open as a cafe and for functions
Lincoln Castle : Former Humber paddle ferry now a restaurant at Grimsby, England
Wingfield Castle : Former Humber paddle ferry now a museum exhibit at Hartlepool, England
Compton Castle : much altered but still in existence as a flower shop and tearoom in Truro, Cornwall, England

Switzerland

MPV Geneve : Used as a community centre for young people at Geneva.
Fribourg : On dry land as a restaurant at Portalban, Switzerland
PS Wilhelm Tell : Floating restaurant at Luzern

Germany

MPV Bottger / Friedrich Engels : owned by the YMCA and used as a hotel at Dresden
MPV Poppelmann / Karl Marx : now a hotel ship at Dresden named "Koje"
Riesa : At the Binnenschiffahrts-Museum, Oderberg
Mainz (now called Mannheim) : now an industrial museum moored on the river Neckar at Mannheim

Hungary

Grof Szechenyi
Neszmely Maritime Museum, Hungary : On the danube north of Budapest, several paddle steamers lie in a floating museum
Kossuth : former Danube paddler, now a museum and restaurant in central Budapest   

Preserved Tugs:

Oskar Huber : At the Museum der deutschen Binnenschifffahrt at Duisburg
Ersekcsanad : At the Donau-Schiffahrts-Museum at Regensburg
Wurttemberg : At Magdeburg   

Paddle Steamer Preservation Society Owners of PS Waverley, PS Kingswear Castle and MV Balmoral, keeping the tradition of coastal cruising alive in the UK.
- PSPS's section for younger enthusiasts : Young Paddle Wheels edited by Jack Woodhams
- www.heritagesteamers.co.uk ; website of the PSPS's extensive collection of historical artefacts related to paddle steamers including photos, handbills, steamer relics. List of publications and links for purchasing
- www.groups.yahoo.com/group/heritagesteamers : new forum for paddle steamer news, discussion and historical topics related to the PSPS heritage collection
Dampferfreunde Vierwaldstattersee : Lake Lucerne enthusiasts 'website
Amis des Bateaux a Vapeur a Lac Leman : Lake Geneva enthusiasts website
Freunde der Dampfschiffahrt Thuner- und Brienzersee for PS Lotschberg and PS Blumlisalp
Aktion pro Raddampfer : for Stadt Zurich and Stadt Rapperswil on the Zurichsee

Maid of the Loch : Listed above as she is operating as an attraction and restaurant, but owned by a charitable trust working towards her return to service
Medway Queen Preservation Society restoring the classic 1923 paddler on the River Medway, England
John H Amos : new site dedicated to the last steam paddle tug in the UK now adopted for special support by the Medway Maritime Trust
Neuchatel - site of the TRIVAPOR organisation aiming to return restaurant ship PS Neuchatel to steam with the steam engine once of Chiemsee's Ludwig Fessler 
Zoltan Foundation : Hungarian Paddle Steamer news and preservationist site associated with Neszmely Museum, home of paddle tugs Zoltan and Neszmely amongst other vessels

Awareness Campaigns for specific laid-up Paddle Steamers

Ryde : A site developed by Mark Young as focus for support of the languishing ex-Solent paddler
Patria - preservation effort and news updates coordinated by Flaminio Borgonovo. Note : not updated since 2004

Mainly British Interest

PS Waverley - the "official" unofficial site for the "world's last sea-going Paddle Steamer" maintained by Martin Longhurst
History of the Compton Castle  by Tony Brett
Paddle Steamer Picture Gallery - British Paddler Photos and histories : the most comprehensive site on the net for British paddler histories, especially the "social" aspects - by Tom Lee
Inverclyde Council website : the "home" of the Caledonian steamers has a comprehensive list with vessel details and some photos of the famous Clyde Steamers
Clyde Steamers - Photos from the 1950s, 60s and 70s by Thomas Goold, presented by his son Al.
Clyde Steamers - An Enthusiast's Guide : An excellent mini-history of Clyde Steamers packed with fascinating and unusual detail -by Donald Kelly
Paddlers and Piers with a wealth of historical paddler post cards and photos sorted by pier and by vessel available from Terry Cooper (Deltatango)
Tod & Macgregor : Site devoted to the Glasgow shipbuilders (including many 19th century Clyde Steamers) by Gregor Macgregor
Clyde River Steamer Club - Association of enthusiasts of the famous Scottish Clyde Steamers
Paddleducks : The definitive site for the steamer modelling community, the place tobe if you need to find steamers plans etc
Simplon Postcards - Plenty of paddlers (British and overseas) amongst this enormous collection of ship cards being assembled by Ian Boyle
Les Epaves au large de Dunkerque - excellent French site charting and describing all the vessels at or lost at Dunkirk in 1940 including Waverley (1899) by F Marquis and M Everaert
RMS Britannia : 1840 paddle steamer - the first of the famous Cunard fleet, built for the transatlantic crossing
Ships of CalMac : includes details of historical Caledonian Steam Packet vessels as well as the current and past CalMac and MacBrayne's fleets
London County Council paddle steamer fleet history presented by the Mid-Essex branch of the World Ship Society   

Mainly European Interest

Swiss / Italian Steamer Timetables : John Bird's extremely comprehensive site with current (and past) timetables, special cruise dates & up-to-date news on paddler rosters
Unofficial CGN (Lake Geneva) site - (almost) everything there is to know about CGN services on Lake Geneva updated regularly by Jean Vernet
Schaufelraddampfer.de : Franz Neumeier and Carmen Winkler's comprehensive European Paddle Steamers site.
Simplon Post Cards : in addition to this major post card collection, website owner Ian Boyle has a particular interest in Lake Geneva paddlers and publishes a lot of his own photography here
Bodenseeschifffahrt.de : The internet site with everything about Lake Constance ships, past and present
dampfschiffe.ch : Swiss site covering local and central European steamers by Nadia Joehr with numerous photos
Dampfaktuell : Swiss steam site with sections covering various paddle steamers (Vltava and Vysehrad, Ticonderoga, Blumlisalp, Greater Buffalo/Greater Detroit)
    : including Photos of and report on the diesel engine of MPV Italie dated 30/9/05  by Olivier Bachmann
Stadt Wien - the local paddler and Jeanie Deans the Scottish favourite of Austrian enthusiast Jessica Drescher
Hungarian Ship Register : list of all Hungarian vessels past and present with links to vessel pages with details and photos. Indexes by owners/fleets and by vessel types (eg side wheelers , paddle tugs etc)
Russian River Ships : Rare photos of the classic 737 series of river paddlers
Swiss Transport Photos : link directly to the Swiss Steamers page of Ray Ward's general transport photography site
Lake Annecy Paddle Steamers - Historical site by Phillipe Courtois 
Photos of the Lake Lucerne Dampferparade of 1 May 2004  by Patrick Borer
PS Hjejlen : John, living in Denmark has this page on his personal site covering the Silkeborg-based paddler
Surviving steamers in Serbia (including Krajina, Split and paddle tugs) : none operational, most now derelict by Milos Vasiljevic
Video Clips of Schoenbrunn between Linz and Grein in 2007 : presented by Austrian enthusiast Ernst Galutschek

There are now numerous websites hosting private photo galleries which can be searched using key words to reveal a large number of relevant images .........
These sites/photos are not necessarily informative regarding the vessels themselves but can illustrate the vessels very well

http://www.flickr.com : search using "paddle steamer" or "paddlesteamer" or a combination of key words etc to refine the search
and of course, the number of short private video films on websites such as YouTube is mushrooming all the time.
These sites of course only showcase photos/films and generally the associated information is brief.

And finally .....please remember and bookmark

Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape : the definitive site for paddlesteamers

United Kingdom

Shieldhall : former Clyde sludge disposal vessel now operating cruises out of Southampton, England

Germany

Schaarhoern : sailing from Hamburg and on the north coast of Germany
Stettin : icebreaker with triple expansion engines preserved in operational condition at Hamburg


Sweden

Bohuslan : Owned and operated by enthusiasts in Gothenburg after saving this coastal steamer from the breakers in the 1960s

Mariefred  (1903): generally sailing on Lake Malaren from Stockholm to Mariefred and return (Saturdays : Mariefred to Taxinge/Nasby)
Blidosund (1911) : sailing in the archipelago between Stockholm and Furusund and depending on the day, further outwards.
Norrskar and Storskar : Sailing in the Archipelago
Drottningholm, Stockholm plus several old converted steamers : Stromma Kanalbolaget (Stockholm operations)

Steamships of Stockholm - links to websites surviving and past vessels in Sweden. Follow onward link from this page 
Swedish Steamships - by Lars Josefsson

 

Preserved vessels

TS Queen Mary, former Clyde turbine Steamer now an established restaurant ship and available for functions. Moored on the Thames in London
RRS Discovery : Scott of the Antarctic's famous sailing ship with auxiliary steam engine, built 1901, now a visitor attraction at her place of birth, Dundee, Scotland

Preservation  Campaigns / Societies

TS Manxman (formerly on the Isle of Man service) owned by a charitable trust but with plans to move her to Liverpool from Sunderland now stalled and her future uncertain.
Daniel Adamson Preservation Society : New society formed in 2004 to save the last British steam Tug/Tender from scrapping
SS Robin : coastal cargo steamer built in 1890 and preserved in London Docklands. Under preservation and renovation by its own Preservation Trust:
SS Duke of  Lancaster : Turbine Steamer on Heysham - Belfast route out of service since 1979 and beached in North Wales 
SS Nomadic - the Belfast-built tender, launched in 1911 for White Star Lines, to take passengers to their liners (including the ill-fated Titanic) at Cherbourg - now back at her place of birth
Steamship C Bosman - in the Netherlands
Hidria - Spanish preservation project
SS Yavari - Screw steamer bult in England in 1862 for Peru's Lake Titicaca
Save the Classic Liners Campaign with Alex Naughton now co-ordinating the European activities of the world-wide campaign
 

Museums with items of Steamer Interest

Hollycombe Steam Collection : Fun park based on "Steam" attractions. Site of the engine of PS Caledonia (1934)
Markham Grange Steam Museum : Free museum with part of engine of paddle tug Reliant plus other steam engines (inc. maritime)
National Maritime Museum (Greenwich) : Houses the other half of Reliant's engine plus cutaway part of the hull and superstructure
Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Technical Museum) in Berlin for engines of Ammersee paddle steamer "Marie"
Forderverein Sudbayerisches Schifffahrtsmuseum : Society which is the owner of the engines of PS Diessen and looking to establish a maritime museum on the Ammersee in south Bavaria
Musee du Leman : The original steam engines of Helvetie, dating from 1926 are at the museum in Nyon having been replaced by a diesel unit in 1975

Steamboat Associations

Dutch Steam Society
The Steamboat Association of Great Britain
Windermere Steamboat Museum, England

Private Sites of Steamer Interest

Ships of Man ; General site dealing with ships which served the Isle of Man route
Duke of Lancaster : Turbine Steamer on Heysham - Belfast route out of service since 1979 and beached in North Wales 

Caledonian-MacBrayne owners of Waverley (until 1974) and TS Queen Mary (1977) : the major ferry operators on Scotland's Firth of Clyde and Western Isles
Red  Funnel : Southampton and Isle of White services, operators of such old favourites as Balmoral, Bournemouth Queen and Gracie Fields
BSB  : German shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) 
Ship Austria - Grouping of 16 operators in Austria, including the paddle steamer operators, into one internet "portal"

National Historic Ships Committee : National Register of Historic Vessels : The quasi-official list of national historical vessels
Heritage Afloat : campaigning on maritime preservation issues in the UK where there is no defined government policy and ships are not included in other presrvation policies (eg English Heritage)
Maritime Britain  As comprehensive as you get about British passenger shipping heritage with reports of and links to operational and preserved vessels, museums etc
World Ship Trust
European Maritime Heritage

MV Hispaniola (ex Maid of Ashton) : Clyde motor vessel (one of four 1953 "Maids") now a successful restaurant in London

Port Cities : London : some photos of the General Steam Navigation Co's boats at London
Port Cities : London : the Woolwich and Greenwich ferries

General Maritime / Ship History / Sailing Websites

Sail-the-Net.com : This website is built upon several databases allowing sailors and boaters to access, post and share information. marine Directory / Crewswap / Boat Jumble / Cruising and Gear Guide / Extensive marine Links, including to cruising and paddle steamer history
www.boat-links.com : John Kohnen's nautical and Boatbuilding site - includes a link to Tramscape on the "Mother of all maritime Links" page
 
Maritime Matters : US site mainly about ocean liners with a historical research theme 

REPLICA STEAMERS etc

United Kingdom

Dixie Queen : Mock sternwheeler at London
Elizabethan : Mock sternwheeler at London   http://yachtcharterclub.com/elizabethan.htm

United States of America

Numerous vessels - follow onward links from the steamboat sites listed above

PRESERVED STEAM BATTLESHIPS

United States of America


USS Texas (1914-1948) - preserved at the San Jacinto State Historical Site at LaPorte, near Houston, Texas
- Official Website
- Preservationists Website
- Battleship Texas Foundation

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