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
Had it not been for the Dampferfreunde Vierwaldstattersee
organisation, PS Unterwalden would have been scrapped in the mid 1980s. Now
they are helping again as the paddler undergoes in 2009 a re-fit which will
see her through the next 20 years or more. Scroll
down for more details of these organisations.
Support organisations for the maintenance of Paddle Steamers are now well
established and have been very successful in achieving their aims. Numerous
enthusisats' groups bring you together with like-minded people
but also give an opportunity to get involved directly with the operating, marketing
and maintaining the ships in many
cases. They also provide the best way to raise and channel finance for the maintenance
and operational support of the steamers, helping to ensure that they sail on
long into the future. . Unlike larger ships
there is a real opportunity for classic paddle steamers to be preserved by the
efforts of the ordinary person rather than their fates being determined by decisions
of large corporations for whom heritage considerations inevitably come second
to commercial gain. The support infrastructure is already there. The ships can
even, if necessary, be owned and operated by or on behalf of enthusiasts In helping paddle steamers, you are ensuring that classic ships
remain in operational service - and every personal contribution can make
a real difference.
Here are some of the orgaisations you can join or
simply support financially to help save these paddle steamers for the long-term
future. Follow the vessel links for more
information about the ships. Follow the links in bold to
go to the websites of the individual organisations.
ENTHUSIAST - OWNED VESSELS
UNITED KINGDOM : Preservation
Society maintains
the tradition with Waverley and Kingswear Castle
The United Kingdom's last two operational paddle steamers are
run by companies owned by the Paddle
Steamer Preservation Society, an enthusiast's group set
up at the time of the rapid demise of the British paddler fleet.
Its aim was to preserve information about and relics of paddle steamers,
but it had no realistic intention to become an operator itself.
Although it took ownership of a decommisioned small river paddler
Kingswear Castle (right), it was
not until 1973 when Waverley (left) became
redundant that it became a paddler operator - to the horror of many
members who did not think it would be possible to do so successfully.
They were wrong. the Society still owns and supports the operating
companies for both vessels, having also brought Kingswear Castle
back to service after many years of lay-up.
The Society has a national organisation, with regional branches
which hold regular meetings and activities. It is a registered charity
The Society maintains a large archive of photographs and artefacts
which can be used for historical reserarch. It raises funds to support
its own ships in operation and gives grants to other UK paddle steamer
causes
Members can also work on the vessels' maintenance out of season
and, for example, in the souvenir shops aboard the vessels during
the season.
AUSTRIA : Railway History Society Owns And Operates PS
Schonbrunn on the "romantic" Danube
Schonbrunn is the last of a long
line of paddle steamers which operated on the Austrian part of the
Danube, for the DDSG (Erste Donau Dampfschiffahrts Gesellschaft).
She was taken out of service in 1988 and her future looked bleak
until she was sold to the Austrian
Railway History Society (OeGEG) who set
about refurbishing her. By October 2000 she was back in steam and
two years later offering charter and public services.
In the
photo, left, she is seen tied up at Grein, destination of a day
excursion from her main base, Linz, in 2003.
There are also some vessels owned by enthusiast organisations but managed
and operated by local excursion ship companues as an integrated part of their
regular schedules. PS Gisela on the Traunsee
in Austria and PS Blumlisalp on lake Thun in Switzerland
are such cases.
ENTHUSIAST GROUPS OWNING VESSELS WITH THE HOPE
OF RETURNING THEM TO SERVICE
UNITED KINGDOM : Maid of the Loch : the
next paddle steamer to be reactivated ?
From 1953 until 1981, Maid of
the Loch sailed on Scotland's most famous lake, Loch Lomond
: the last of a long line of paddlers to do so. Seen in the late
1970s at Inversnaid, left, she has remained at her "home"
pier at Balloch (right) since withdrawal. In recent years she has
been meticulously renovated by volunteers the speed at which increased
considerably once she was bought by the local council and turned
over to a new company which became a charitable trust . The
Loch Lomond Steamship Company plans to return her to service
and work towards this proceeds, supported by volunteer work parties
and private donations. There is now a "Supporters of Maid
of the Loch" group with its own newsletter and annual subscription
associated with the company - see
"Merchandise" section on the website for details. A donation form (including
Gift Aid declaration for UK taxpayers) can be downloaded from the Maid of the
Loch Steamship Company's official website on this link: http://www.maidoftheloch.com/donations.jpg
UNITED KINGDOM : Medway
Queen, one of Britain's
great wartime heroines to be totally rebuilt anew.
This was what was left of PS Medway
Queen in 2000, but the new paintwork covered up what was in
fact a seriously deteriorating hull. She has been out of operation
for 37 years and had been derelict for many of those. She had sunk
regularly on the tide and the tak of maintaining her was becoming
too great even for the lively Medway
Queen Preservation Society which had rescued her from a
watery grave on the Isle of Wight. The 1924-built paddler is
the last of her type, a design prevalent in the United Kingdom in
the early part of the 20th century before the 1930s saw the ultimate
expression of paddle-steamer design. Cruising on the Thames and
Medway, she excelled herself at the Dunkirk evacuations with a record
number of crossings to return British soldiers on their from France
in 1940. Partnership funding
has made it possible now to rebuild the hull completely, so what
is seen in the photo has been dismantled and all useable parts catalogued
and stored for use in the "new" hull. The Preservation
Society has the objective of returning her to service -but this
is still a long way off as the ship no longer exists! The Society
still needs to raise funds to unlock parts of the lottery money
and to develop the project beyond the rebuilding of the hull.
SWITZERLAND : One enthusiast group is aiming to returning
a paddler to service on Lake Neuchatel
Lake Neuchatel no longer has any paddle steamers - but it could
soon have one of its old ones back! PS Neuchatel,
the former floating restaurant has now been purchased by the Trivapor
organisation, and steam engines once belonging to the Chiemsee's
PS Ludwig Fessler have also been bought to install in the hull.
Trivapor is an enthusiast's organisation who are hoping that their
vessel will be operated as part of the timetable of the existing
local cruise-boat operators once she is available for service.
Neuchatel in 2007 : photo courtesy of Olivier Bachmann
SWIITZERLAND : Enthusiasts' groups help operators
to maintain their "Belle Epoque" vessels
The operators on those lakes which have retained their paddle
steamers, lakes Lucerne, Geneva, Zurich, Thun and Brienz, are highly
sympathetic to their operational preservation and the paddlers are
integrated into their normal timetables, normally taking the prestige
services. To maintain the vessels long-term, they have had to undergo
major refits, to maintain and improve the standard of mechanical
performance, safety and accommodation. In some cases this has been
complemented by removing the results of earlier re-fits and returning
the vessels to resemble more closely how they originally looked
whilst incorporating the latest of facilities. It is here that
enthusiast groups have had a particular role to play in supporting
the operating companies financially.
The Dampferfreunde Vierwaldstattersee were instrumental in saving
PS Unterwalden (above) in 1982 and are contributing heavily to her
full refit taking place after the end of the 2008 season.
The refit includes measures to reverse many of the changes of
appearance resulting from her 1961 refit - the costs of which will
largely be borne by heritage groups.
The local organisation in the Lake Thun area took ownership of
PS Blumlisalp after she was withdrawn in 1971 and laid up. After
many years of neglect, work on her started in 1988 and she was back
in service in 1992. Originally returned to the BLS timetable
with a "steamer supplement" payable, she continues to
make one daily run up and down the lake in high season.
On lake Geneva, local enthusiasts were slow to form a support
group, but now it is probably the most active in Switzerland. MPV
Italie was withdrawn in Dec 2005, and the
next campaign is now in place
to finance her refit. The ABVL raise money to assist the CGN but
also participate in the CGN's recent share issues - and have a real
say in its affairs.
GERMANY: Last Rhine Paddler Goethe is converted to diesel - so what next for its support group?
The "Freundeskreis Raddampfer
Goethe eV" was established in 1992, after Goethe was first
withdrawn from service in 1989. Their efforts alongside those of
the KD company saw the paddler return to service in 1996, but the
news, announced in 2008, that the steamer was to be converted to
diesel power during the following winter caught the organisation
somewhat by surprise. A strong campaign was mounted to dissuade
the KD of this course of action, but it was doomed to failure -
the decision had already been made. Many enthusiasts are absolutely
disgusted at what is seen as cultural vandalism - with the German
Rhine's long history of paddle steamer operation coming to an end
- and in an area which has fought hard to become a UNESCO world
heritage area yet afforded such an important part of this heritage
no official protection. How the society continues to operate once
Goethe is no longer a "Raddampfer" remains to be seen.
Some people will no doubt boycott the KD's services outright ......
Website
INTEREST GROUPS CAMPAIGNING
FOR THE SURVIVAL OF DECOMMISSIONED STEAMERS
ITALY : New association formed to promote and save the
historical paddlers of the Italian Lakes - urgent assistance needed
if PS Plinio (1903) is to be saved
Italy has a number of interesting paddle steamers, some of which have been
converted to diesel operation, and all of which, with the possible exception
of PS Concordia on lake Como see far less service than they really should. The
state-owned navigation companies on lakes Como, Maggiore and Garda have concentrated
on their vehicle ferries and catamaran services at the expense of their historical
vessels and have not marketed them as forcefully as they might and consequently,
have not fully developed their tourist potential. Preservation groups have sprung
up in response to specific urgent causes. The long-standing campaign relates
to PS Patria which has been laid up for many years at Dervio on lake Como, with
work undetaken on her from time to time, but for which a return to service seems
as remote as ever. In 2008 notice was served on the owners of PS Plinio, again
out of service for many years, but latterly in use as a restaurant at Verceia
on lake Mazzola, before deteriorating badly, that she should be removed from
the lakeside in this area designated as a National Park. Although there is no
real chance of returning her to service (her engines were removed many years
ago), she could still be refurbished for static use. A new association
has been formed to try and prevent her scrapping - the likely result of her
having to be moved. This association has as well as its immediate and urgent
aim of saving PS Plinio, the retention of all historical vessels on the Italian
Lakes. Website
(also on this url)
Do you have the resources available to buy,
refurbish, operate and maintain a paddle steamer ? Can you buy a derelict
steamer and at least refurbish it and operate it in a static role ?
Here
are paddle steamers out of service which may be for sale to the right buyer
and which could be brought back into revenue service : CLICK
HERE
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