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
|
|
A number of paddle steamers are now preserved in static
use - some as museums, some as hostels, but mostly as floating restaurants. |
TWO MAJOR MOTOR PADDLERS
MOTHBALLED ON LAKE GENEVA AWAITING FUNDS FOR A MAJOR REFURBISHMENT
Dedicated
fundraising campaign already under way for MPV Italie
| Italie Lausanne-Ouchy, Switzerland |
Built in 1908 and mototised since 1958, this major member of the CGN fleet on Lake Geneva has been out of service since 2005. The local supporters' group the ABVL has begun a campaign to collect funds to enable her restoration and return to service. It is believed that the CGN will return her to service, but at present they have major overhauls to do on other fleet members, so work on Italie is unlikely to take place before 2012/2013. |
| Helvetie Lausanne-Ouchy, Switzerland |
Built in 1926 and converted to motor operation in 1977, Helvetie has been out of service since early 2002. She lies at the CGN Dockyard in Ouchy as the company desperately wishes to keep her - but she is one of the largest ships in the fleet at almost 74 metres, and not only would her total refurbishment be very costly, her operation would also be so. There is also the issue of how to integrate such a large vessel into any future timetable. Even before her withdrawal she spent much time as a reserve ship. The supporters' group ABVL have, however, the aim of ultimately assisting in her refurbishment, but if CGN and public funds are not available, this will not take place. Her future is very uncertain and any refit is not likely to be before 2015, if at all. |
PADDLERS
OWNED BY ORGANISATIONS REFURBISHING THEM WITH A PLAN FOR THEIR RETURN TO SERVICE
Dedicated
fund raising campaigns in operation by Maid of the Loch and Neuchatel's owners
|
Maid of the
Loch |
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. |
|
Neuchatel |
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. She can be visited bythe public on certain days by appointment - see the website. |
|
Patria |
Laid up at Dervio on Lake Como, Italy, hopes of a return to service, even with diesel machinery have stalled many times, but recent developments once again give hope. Work is due to start on her in December 2008 with a return to service the ultimate objective |
PRESERVED PADDLERS
IN USE AS MARITIME MUSEUM EXHIBITS WITH FREE PUBLIC ACCESS
|
Wingfield Castle |
The prospects for Wingfield Castle, also a Hull - New Holland ferry, seemed bleak 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. |
|
Mainz |
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 |
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. |
|
Rigi |
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. Earlier hopes of returning her to service as a real "vintage" steamer were ruled out after serious consideration. |
|
Kossuth |
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 and is now owned by a museum organisation. |
PRESERVED PADDLERS IN COMMERCIAL ROLES WITH FREE PUBLIC ACCESS
|
Tattershall
Castle |
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. |
|
|
Lincoln Castle |
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. |
|
|
Wilhelm Tell |
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 |
Neuchatel's sister ship Fribourg (1913-1965) is used as a restaurant in the nearby inland town of Portalban. | |
|
Compton Castle |
The small ex-River Dart paddler
(1914-1962) is moored at Lemon Quay, Truro in Cornwall,
south-west England and was used as a flower shop and cafe until 2008. 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. She has now been sold
(2008) and will be re-opened in fully refurbished form as a nautical-themed restaurant
with a traditional tea room in the lower deck, run by renowned local
chef Kevin Viner.
|
|
|
Lombardia |
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. |
|
|
Willow |
Former US Coastguard cutter, built in 1925 by the Dubuque Boat & Boiler Co in Iowa for the Lighthouse Sevice on the Mississippi. 200 feet long with an extremely large breadth of 65 feet, she served until late 1944 when she was involved in a collission and paid-off in 1945. She became an accommodation boat for the US army Corps of Engineers, having had her machinery removed. Sold in 1962, she went to Florida 10 years later but lay abandoned until sold to Themes International based in the UK, crossing the Atlantic to Southampton on a semi-submersible in 1989. She went to Antwerp, Belgium for refurbishment but Themes went out of business and Willow remained at Antwerp until 1995 when she returned to the UK, this time to Birkenhead. Her next move was to Spain in 1996 for operation as a restaurant ship. |
|
PRESERVED PADDLERS, PRIVATELY OWNED, WITH RESTRICTED PUBLIC ACCESS
|
Geneve |
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 |
|
Johann Strauss |
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. |
|
Andechs |
Andechs (1907-1955) is preserved as a
floating yacht club clubhouse at Utting on her home lake,
Ammersee in Bavaria. |
|
Princess
Elizabeth |
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. |
|
Borcea |
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. Originally a tug built at Turnu Severin with engines by Sachsenberg (of Rosslau), she was converted to a passenger ship for cruises and holidays for communist youth organisations. |
|
|
Poppelmann |
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" | |
|
J F
Bottger |
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 |
|
Radetzky |
The converted paddle tug Radetzky lies as a museum and youth hostel
at Kozloduj, with engines and boilers still intact. Built in Obuda, Budapest
in 1954, this 54.4 metre long paddler was one of the so-called "Series
732" tugs, a standard design at the time for vessels built in Eastern Europe,
with over a hundred built and mostly found in service in the USSR. Originally
called "Ploviov", this Bulgarian-owned example was rebuilt in 1964-66
to resemble an old DDSG passenger steamer named Radetzky built in 1852 and which
survived until 1913. New passenger saloons were added and although some features
remained which were not true to the original "Radetzky". The original
Radetzky had an important place in Bulgarian history, having been boarded by
Bulgarian independence fighters at the beginning of a revolt against Austro-Hungarian
Habsburg rule in 1876. In her new guise she was used for cruises for the Bulgarian
Young Pioneers' Movement and was known to have sailed as far upstream as Vienna.
|
|
|
Hotel Aquamarina |
This former Russian river paddle steamer, built in 1903, has been restored to act as a good-quality hotel morred on the Buda side of the Danube in the northers suburbs of Budapest, having been bought by the MINOL company in 2005 after having spent nine years in Albania. Most of her life was spent under the name "Pamjaty Azina", but was known as "Iliria" when in Albania |
Can you help to secure the future for these vessels ?
|
Petofi |
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, in very poor 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 |
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 |
|
Ryde |
Former Solent ferry moored near the River Medina at Binfield Marina on the Isle of Wight, UK. Gradually deteriorating after years of neglect. High and dry except at exceptional tides, massive expenditure would now be needed to restore her. The UK's Paddle Steamer Preservation Society keeps a watching interest in her fate, but any attempts to get preservationist involvement have never been made possible by the vessel's various owners. |
|
Hansa |
Dating from 1886 and in service until 1924, Hansa is the oldest Rhein paddler still afloat. She is at Cologne - stripped of superstructure. Recently mooted plans to move her to the Netherlands and install the engines of former Rhein paddler Cecilie have come to nothing so far. |
|
Plinio |
The former Lake Como paddler 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 September 2008
from the lakeside at Verceia.
|
|
Vysehrad |
In poor condition at Prague after an aborted refurbishment, her name was given to her operational sister, Devin. She remains the property of her original operators and they would like to see her restored to the fleet. A lack of funds has continued to be the main stumbling block and she remains tied up on the river Vltava near Prague, but all her superstructure has been removed. |
|
Propeler (ex Devin) |
Lying in a dilapidated condition alongside the bank of the Danube at Nove Pristavisko, near Rusovce on the very short part of the river lying entirely in Slovak territory near Bratislava. She spent most of her life as a ferry at Bratislava and her latter years first as a restaurant moored in Bratislava and then a night club. Has been closed on safety grounds since 2001 and then taken to her current location. |
|
Krajina |
Former Yugoslav royal and presidential "yacht" on the Danube, badly damaged by fire in January 2007 |
|
Split |
Former Danube cargo and passenger boat, withdrawn in 1992 and out of the water and deteriorating at Kladovo shipyard |
|
Giurgiu |
Until recently, earmarked for restoration in Switzerland , to recreate the vessel "Wengi" of 1856 which sailed on the River Aare. Now slipped on the Danube in Romania, her hull was found to be in good condition. The project has now been abandoned. |
|
Blagoveschensk |
A number of the 65 long-distance river
cruise ships of the 737 project built between 1951 and 1960
are believed to be in existence, many beached and in very
poor condition. |
|
Lomonosov |
The 1905 built paddler is reported as laid up in Pamyat Parizhskoi Kommuny (Nizhniy Novgorod area) and offered for sale on the internet. She is in poor condition and needing a total rebuild of her superstructure : http://library.riverships.ru/lomonosov1.htm |
PRESERVED SIDE-WHEEL PADDLE STEAMERS IN THE U.S.A.
|
VESSEL |
BUILT |
LOCATION |
NOTES |
WEBSITE |
OTHER SITES |
|
Ticonderoga |
1906 |
Shelburne, VT |
Lake Champlain sidewheeler now landlocked at the nearby Shelburne Museum, having been moved overland in 1954. between 1951 and 1954 she had been operated by preservationists. |
|
|
|
Eureka |
1890 |
San Francisco, CA |
Double-ended wooden-hulled paddle ferry, built in 1890 (and rebuilt in 1923) and with original walking-beam steam engine. Preserved at the San Francisco National Maritime Historical Park |
|
|
|
William S Mitchell |
|
Newport, KY |
In private ownership and open as a "Haunted Ship" attraction called "USS Nightmare" at Newport, Kentucky (opposite Cincinnati, Ohio) |
|
|
President |
1924/1934 |
To be moved to St Elmo, IL |
Built at Midland, Pennsylvania, this 291 ft long hull was originally the steamer Cincinnati. Heavily rebuilt in 1934 after being sold to Strecffus Steamers at St Louis, she became "President" and became a passenger excursion ship. Motorised in the 1978 with propellors replacing her wheels. sailed out of new orleans from 1981 and St Louis from 1985 until 1990. Became a casino ship at Davenport and sailed until September 2000 after which she was moored at various locations, including Vicksburg and then Mackellar lake near Memphis. Is now being dismanted at Alton IL before being reassembled on dry land as a museum exhibit near St Elmo, IL. |
|
|
|
Capt Meriwether Lewis |
1932 |
Brownsville, NE |
A dustpan dredge built by the Marietta Manufacturing Co at Point Pleasant, WV and 268 ft long. Now exhibited on a dry berth at Brownsville owned by the Meriwether Lewis Foundation. |
|
|
|
William M Black |
1934 |
Dubuque, Iowa |
277 ft long dredge built by the Marietta Manufacturing Co at Point Pleasant, WV and now a floating museum owned by the Dubuque County Historical Society |
|
PRESERVED PADDLE TUGS (including those with secure futures and those on the critical list)
|
|
Paddle
tug Wurttemberg (left) is displayed on dry land at Magdeburg, Germany,
only a few metres from the River Elbe where she was in use until
1974 Click Here for more details of preserved paddle tugs |
|
|
Several examples of paddle steamer engines have been preserved
after removal from their ship 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.
|
ARE THESE VESSELS STILL IN EXISTENCE ? CAN ANYONE CONFIRM ?
|
Reederij op de Lek
II |
Thee former Dutch paddler (ex
Schoonhaven, built as Culemborg in 1895) served as the
clubhouse for the "Rhenus" Rowing club. |
|
PADDLE STEAMERS WHICH DID NOT SURVIVE
|
|
Fortunately, no operational paddle steamer has been withdrawn
from service and scrapped for many years. Those which have been
scrapped had been out of service for many years and had deteriorated badly.
In the case of PS Valais (left), the last paddler to be scrapped in 2003, her owners already had 8 paddlers in their fleet and
when it came to necessary expenditure it was decided to concentrate on maintaining
their
operational ships rather than a ship which had been out of service for 40 years.
Although work was needed on her, Valais was nevertheless in reasonable condition and
had she not been confined to her inland lake, she would have been an ideal candidate
to be moved to another area, refurbished and with a new (probably diesel) engine
returned to service. |
PADDLE STEAMER UNDER CONSTRUCTION : REPLICA OF ORIGINAL STEAMER
| Sweden |
|
|
|
|
| Forsvik, Vaster Gotland | Erik Nordevall II |
|
Project for the reconstruction from new of the Erik Nordevall, a wooden hulled paddler which was built in 1836 and sailed on Lake Vattern until it sank in a storm in 1856. |
|
|
Clyde Turbine Steamer Queen Mary : former fleetmate
of PS Waverley |
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.
I
know that many of you will have photographs of paddle steamers on the internet
on photo-sharing websites such as Picasa and Flickr. No photos are used on this
website unless they were taken by the webmaster or someone who has given express
permission for their own photos to be used. However, some photos from Flickr
etc may be used so long a the copyright tag (Creative Commons etc) allocated
to the photo at the time of downloading allows.
Tramscape is trying to develop
this website as the main source on the internet for paddle steamer information
and photos, so the webmaster would be very grateful if you would allow use of
your photos in this database so they can be seen by the wider paddle steamer
interest group who will be reading this website.
Please
e-mail the Webmaster your
information and photos or general authorisation to use photos from another website
source. Thank you very much
Navigate around the Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape website from this main menu
|
MAIN MENU |
USE THIS MENU OR ANY APPROPRIATE UNDERLINED HYPERLINK TO MOVE AROUND THE DATABASE |
|
The
Foundation for Paddle Steamers Worldwide. | |
|
Operational
Paddle Steamers |
In public service,
their operating companies and website links (includes motor paddlers) |
|
Webmaster's personal comments on matters of steamer preservation interest |
|
|
OTHER ASSOCIATED WEBSITES |
|
|
Clyde
Turbine Steamer Foundation |
Clyde and other passenger
turbine
steamers, surviving ferries and ocean liners |
Erhaltener Raddampfer : Vapeurs à roues à aubes en preservation
