THE SCRAPPING OF PS VALAIS : WHY WAS IT ALLOWED TO HAPPEN ?

A Special Report by Gordon Stewart

On September 8th, 2003, Valais was towed from it's long-time berth at the English Garden in Geneva and taken to the CGN dock at Ouchy for dismantling. She had been in static use as a landing stage, booking office and restaurant for 40 years after her withdrawal having just reahed 50 years of service.

Whilst her saving in the 1960s could be seen to have represented great foresight as the now Europe-wide movement for preservation of such vessels had barely gathered momentum, her scrapping now seems an unthinkable act of destruction.

With so few large paddle steamers remaining in Europe, preservationists have been working to save and restore vessels often in very poor condition and requiring complete reconstruction. Whilst Valais has suffered degradation over the years, she was still afloat, and in comparison with may vessels being preserved, in excellent condition.Even the GCN's recent renovation of PS Montreux amounted to little less than a complete rebuild, including new steam engines and boilers.

The decision to scrap the vessel, taken by the General Council of the GCN in 2001, did cause great controversy and dismay amongst the large band of Swiss preservationists. When the vessel left Geneva for the last time, the GCN felt obliged to post a detailed "Question and Answer" session on its official website to explain it's decision once more. A number of photos, showing the worst structural problems were also posted.

The reasons given were as follows:

- The vessel was in poor condition, with corrosion of the hull and deckhouses

- With it's engines and boiler already removed, only a static use could be envisaged, and no lakeside canton, all of which are represented on the General Council of the CGN, made any representations to finance her restoration and continued use.

- Valais was of little historical importance as many of her fittings representing the "Belle Epoque" had been used in the rebuilding of the Montreux and she did not qualify for protected "Historical Monument" status.

- Kitchen amenities no longer met current hygiene requirements and would need complete renewal and de-infestation.

- The landing stage at the English Garden would be required for CGN's regular services in future.

- Scarce financial resources, both of the GCN and donations made by the general public, would be better used to maintain the existing fleet, with Simplon and Savoie already needing urgent attention. The cost of restoring Valais was quoted as 10 Million Francs.

Comments by Gordon Stewart :

With 8 operational paddlers (5 of which are steamers) already on Lake Geneva, and the "Geneve", clearly of greater historical importance already in static use at Geneva, the decision to sacrifice Valais could be seen as understandable. However, had she been anywhere other than a landlocked Swiss lake, surely she would have been saved, even for operational use with a new or second-hand diesel power plant.