Tattershall Castle
London, UK

Incredibly, all three of the paddle ferries plying between Hull and New Holland in the UK have survived. Tattershall Castle, the first to be withdrawn, quickly found a use in central London as an Art gallery but later became a pub and night club with a considerable degree of success, having graced the River Thames for over 25 years. She received a major rebuild in 2004 during which her paddles and vents were removed in a controversial "modernisation" for the London recreation market.

Wingfield Castle
Hartlepool, UK

The prospects for Wingfield Castle, also a Hull - New Holland ferry, seemed bleaker as she was towed around the British coastline in failed plans to make her the centre-piece of Marina developments first at Brighton and then at Swansea. Purchased by the town of Hartlepool and taken back to her birthplace, she was restored by master craftsmen to become part of the north-eastern town's municipal museum.

Lincoln Castle
Grimsby, UK

The youngest and last withdrawn of the three Humber ferries, Scottish built six years after the other two "Castles", found sanctuary at nearby Grimsby where she is now a successful restaurant at the docks once famous as one of the world's largest fishing ports.

Maid of the Loch
Balloch, UK

After years of neglect after withdrwal from service in 1981, the last major paddler built for the UK remains moored at Balloch, Loch Lomond, but is now being restored to her former glory. Now open as a popular restaurant and function suite and part of a wider tourist project for the loch, there is now a real chance she will return to service in the near future.

Wilhelm Tell
Luzern, Switzerland

Unexpectedly withdrawn from service in 1970, Wilhelm Tell of 1908 was quickly established as a restuarant ship and has become an integral feature of the waterfront at her home port, Lucerne in Switzerland.

Fribourg
Portalban, Switzerland

Neuchatel's sister ship Fribourg (1913-1965) is used as a restaurant in the nearby inland town of Portalban.

Mainz
Mannheim, Germany

The former KD Rhein paddler serves as a floating industrial museum on the River Neckar at Mannheim near the Kurpfalzbrucke . Built in 1929 and operational until 1980, she was disposed of from the KD reserve fleet in 1984 and opened in her new use in 1986. Her machinery remains intact

Riesa
Oderburg, Germany

The former Elbe paddler (ex Habsburg of 1897) and close sister to Schmilka, Junger Pionier and Pirna, was withdrawn in 1976 and taken out of the water at Oderburg and used as a museum.

Compton Castle
Truro, UK

The small ex-River Dart paddler (1914-1962) is moored at Lemon Quay, Truro in Cornwall, south-west England and used as a flower shop and cafe. She is an almost identical older sister to PS Kingswear Castle, but has been rebuilt significantly from her original form. Compton Castle has been at Truro since 1984. Reportedly up for sale and for possible conversion to a restaurant.

MACHINERY REMOVED but preserved at the Blackgang Chine Museum on the Isle of Wight.

Lombardia
Arona, Italy

The former Lake Maggiore paddler serves as a floating restaurant at Arona, where she has been moored since 1969. She served on the lake from 1908 until 1958 and was first used as a restaurant at Baveno.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Plinio
Lago di Mezzola, Italy

The former Lake Como paddler serves 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.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Kossuth
Budapest, Hungary

Close to the Chain Bridge (Szechenyi lanchid) on the Pest side of Budapest, Hungary, Kossuth (1914-78) , serves from Spring to Autumn as a bar/restaurant, with maritime museum exhibits on the lower decks. She emerged after substantial reconstruction in 1953 named Kossuth, having carried three previous names, being built in 1914 as Ferencz Ferdinand Foherczeg. She assumed her current role in 1986.

Geneve
Geneva, Switzerland

Renowned as the first major paddle steamer to be converted to diesel operation back in 1934 at the age of 38, the ship continued to serve on Lake Geneva for a further 39 years. Still able to move under her own power if needed, she has served for many years as cultural and social centre for disadvantaged youth at Geneva

MOTOR PADDLE VESSEL

Johann Strauss
Vienna, Austria

Has become a popular bar / cafe, moored on the Danube Canal at Vienna (Wien), Austria, but is currently being reconstructed as a luxury hotel ship, which is expected to re-open in late 2007.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Neuchatel
Neuchatel, Switzerland

PS Neuchatel (1912-1969) served as a floating restaurant at Neuchatel, with a large enclosed saloon added, until 2007. In 1999, a society, Trivapor, was established to purchase the vessel, but she was sold on to new restauranteurs. Trivapor, a preservation society dedicated to her reactivation has now bought her and have already purchased the steam engines once belonging to the Chiemsee's Ludwig Fessler.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Reederij op de Lek II
Andernach, Germany

Thee former Dutch paddler (ex Schoonhaven, built as Culemborg in 1895) serves as the clubhouse for the "Rhenus" Rowing club.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Andechs
Utting, Germany

Andechs (1907-1955) is preserved as a floating yacht club clubhouse at Utting on her home lake, Ammersee in Bavaria.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Princess Elizabeth
Dunkerque, France

The former Southampton-Isle of Wight (England) paddler of 1927 was moved to Dunkerque on the northern French coast after being moved from her berth at Paris where she served as a floating art gallery and conference centre at Pont Mirabeau.

MACHINERY REMOVED

Grof Szechenyi
Budapest, Hungary

The former DDSG diesel paddler Stadt Passau (1940) reappeared in 2007 after many years of lay-up as a venue for conferences and functions, moored on the Danube at Budapest. She has been restored to a luxurious condition, but is aimed at the corporate market at the moment. The original plan of her previous owner was to restore her to service, plying between Budapest and Passau (as agreed when the ship was bought from the Passau local council for a nominal sum). The untimely murder of businessman Kornel Foldi set back the project, but at least the vessel has been well restored and can still operate under its own power.

Visegrad
Budapest, Hungary 

PS Visegrad (1896-1959) was last noted as an accommodation ship for workers at a Gravel excavation site on Lake Balaton. In 1963 she was established as a hotel moored at Margaret Island in central Budapest used by the Hungarian Trades Unions

MACHINERY REMOVED

Borcea
Braila, Romania

PS Borcea of 1914 serves as an education and training ship at Braila, Romania, owned by a local orphanage. She is believed to have been in a local shipyard since 1999.

Poppelmann
Dresden, Germany

Built in 1963 as part of the Dresden-based White Fleet's modernisation programme, the former "Karl Marx" was one of four diesel-electric paddlers built at Rosslau. In 1999, after many years laid up, she was renovated and opened as a youth hostel at Dresden-Neustadt, named "Koje"

MOTOR PADDLE VESSEL

J F Bottger
Dresden, Germany 

Sister ship of Poppelmann and named "Friedrich Engels" until 1991, she is renovated and used by the CVJM (YMCA in English) as a youth hostel at Dresden-Neustadt

MOTOR PADDLE VESSEL

Italie
Lausanne, Switzerland

After her last sailing on December 4th 2005, the 1908-built paddler "Italie", a stalwart of Lake Geneva services, slipped into the Bellerive dockyard at Lausanne to take up a berth alongside "Helvetie". At the time the prospects of a refurbishment looked bleak as the CGN had other priorities, but it has now been stated that it is now planned to give her the refit-she needs to recover her safety certificate sometime in the period between 2010 and 2013.

Helvetie
Lausanne, Switzerland

Laid up since 2002 with her unreliable diesel-electric engines proving too problematic, there was initially considerable hope that she would be returned to steam with a newly-built unit. However, shortage of cash and the announcement by operators CGN that two more diesel paddlers would be "provisionally" laid up after the 2005 and 2006 seasons respectively has put her survival at some risk. Although retired paddlers on Lake Geneva have traditionally survived statically for many years, it is doubtful whether there could be found a use for her. CGN have already confirmed that even a refurbished Helvetie would not have a role in the 2006 timetable due to her size being too great for any available roles. The ABVL are monitoring the situation closely.

Petofi
Neszmely, Hungary

The former MAHART passenger vessel lies on the Danube near Budapest, in a poor condition following a fire. Her machinery has already been removed. MAHART had originally planned to return her to service, but funds were not available. She survives, inpoor condition, on the Danube at the Neszmely Ship Museum on the Danube. She is in good hands, however, as part of the Zoltan Foundation collection (named after a paddle tug in the museum collection). Finance for her restoration is not available at the moment.

Szoke Tisza
Szeged, Hungary

Szoke Tisza (1917-74), the former Danube cruiser is best known as PS 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. Now 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 to date, progress has been fraught with technical and financial problems. She remains laid up near Szeged

Rigi
Luzern, Switzerland 

When the city of Luzern was establishing its now famous transport museum, the "Verkehrshaus", it was decided to use the derelict paddler Rigi (1848-1952) as an exhibit in the central courtyard. Dragged over a short piece of land, the spartan vessel was the centre-piece of the courtyard cafeteria from 1958 until 2006. She is now being rebuilt to approximate her original appearance and will return to being a major exhibit. She is seen (right) in her position at the Verkehrshaus in 2001. Earlier hopes of returning her to service as a real "vintage" steamer were ruled out after serious consideration.

Medway Queen
England

The 1924-built paddler which served on the Medway and Thames Estuary until 1963 has been totally dismantled, with all re-usable parts put into storage. A successful application for a multi-million pound grant from the UK's national Lottery Heritage Fund will, with matched funds collected by the Medway Queen Preservation Society, allow a completely new hull to be built. This will allow the engine to be re-installed. Further fitting out will depend on further funds raised by the Preservation Society, but the ultimate aim is for a "new" Medway Queen to return to service in her traditional area of operation.

There are a number of preserved paddle steamers (especially stern-wheelers) in the USA and Canada and also numerous surviving screw steamships. Some are restored and open to the public often as museums. Others are in various stated of preservation, with enthusiastic societies supporting them. Some, such as SS President (left), a former steamer has been designated as a National Historic Landmark under the National Parks Maritime Heritage program. There are links to the websites many of these vessels and to historic steamer operation on the links page
The 220 ft "Ticonderoga" is the last intact example of her type in preservation - a cargo and passenger side-wheeled steamer with walking-beam machinery. She sailed on Lake Champlain, at the head of the Hudson River on the border of New York and Vermont States from 1906 until 1954, the latter three years in the ownership of Shelburne Museum. She was then moved overland to the museum itself, where she remains as an exhibit, on dry land. She was declared a "National Historic Landmark" in 1960.  

Several examples of paddle steamer engines have been preserved and are available for public viewing. One of the finest examples is that of the former Lake Lucerne paddler Pilatus, displayed at the Verkehrshaus, the Swiss national Transport Museum at Lucerne.

Turbine steamer Queen Mary, contemporary and fleet flagship of Scotland's famous Clyde Steamers, pictured left at her berth on the river Thames in London where she is in use as a restaurant having last been in public service in 1977.

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