Welcome to the
Foundation for Paddle Steamers Worldwide InternationalWebsite incorporating
the Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape database :
PADDLE STEAMERS : CLASSIC SHIPS
THAT CAN, REALISTICALLY, SAIL ON LONG INTO THE FUTURE Here are vessels
which will not be going to Alang - and whose continued operation can be ensured
by the efforts of the ordinary enthusiast.
The classic ocean liners SS Topaz and Maxim Gorky
now lie beached at Alang, India, awaiting the swarms of dismantlers
armed with blowtorches to reduce her to scrap metal hot on the heels
of the iconic SS France / Norway. They are just the latest of
a long line of classic vessels to be scrapped in recent years
- alongside many much more modern ships. For numerous reasons, the
number of classic ocean liners which will survive into the next
decade will be able to be counted on one hand. These, plus commercial,
naval and cargo vessels will continue to go to the breakers as certainly
as the arrival of the next winter.
Excursion paddle
steamers, once destined for the same fate, are now treasured gems
whose disappearance from service would now be regarded as unthinkable.
Paddle Steamer Unterwalden (left) was built in 1902 and sails alongside
four other paddle steamers on Switzerland's Lake Lucerne, but rather
than retiring at the end of the 2008 season, she has gone in for a major
re-fit which will see her through the next twenty years. She is
by no means the oldest in the world's operational paddle steamer
fleet and only the latest of many to undergo comprehensive
refurbishment.
Paddle Steamers have proved that they are
one type of vessel, perhaps the only type of commercial passenger
vessel of any substantial size, which can
operate successfully with little restriction on age and are thus
ideal and realistic vessels for ship preservationists to support.
THE BACKGROUND
Ever since 1812, when the first European paddle steamer in regular passenger
service, Comet, began to ply the River Clyde from Glasgow in Scotland, this type of vessel has
held a place of special affection in many people's hearts. They ferried thousands
of holidaymakers from their industrial cities to beautiful coastal resorts for
their much-awaited annual summer holidays and provided opportunites for cruises
from those resorts. From
a historical point of view, paddle steamers can be regarded as the dominant
design for the earliest steamships. Their reign was short-lived as screw propulsion
and turbine power followed by the marine diesel was found to be more suitable
for most marine applications. Paddle Steamers maintained their
predominance the longest in lake, river and coastal excursion and ferry trade. Calm waters did not
severely disadvantage the paddle in competition with the screw and shallow waters
gave paddlers a distinct advantage. Their reciprocating engines were also
well-suited to short pier-to-pier runs and were generally of lower
initial cost than newer alternatives until the marine diesel became
widely available.
The final demise of most paddle fleets came
as the costs of coal for fuel and crew's wages rose, especially after World
War II. In the U.K. in particular, after a brief flourish, holidaymakers
increasingly took foreign holidays rather than throng down to the traditional seaside resorts and those who
continued to do so now wished to travel by car and have their car with them
throughout. With reduced demand and higher costs, operators were forced to bring
in new ships - or go out of business. When designing new style ships to cater for these changing
needs, paddlers were
found to be impractical and steam power uneconomic. Where there was
still a need for passenger-only vessels, cost pressures made diesel-powered
ships increasingly attractive and in Switzerland and Germany, some paddlers
were re-engined rather than scrapped. When PS Maid of the Loch was built for
service on Scotland's Loch Lomond in 1953, the fact that she was so large and
the fact that she was a paddle steamer was a remarkable anachronism for the
time - and for most of the time she was a financial burden to her owners. She
was the last of her kind.
THE RENAISSANCE
Some withdrawn
steamers
have survived to earn their keep as floating restaurants and some even as parts
of museums, but potential for this is limited. The best way for a paddle steamer
to survive is to remain in operational service. Like anything else, they need to operate at a profit, or contribute substantially to the
overall success of an bigger enterprise. The fact that they survive indicates
that they do. These are some of the reasons why. -
The leisure industry is generally expanding. "Boat
trips" are an important part of general tourist activities in areas alongside
the larger rivers and lakes. - Operators know that the extra operational costs of a steamer
can be exceeded by their increased revenue-earning potential when imaginatevely
marketed. - Increasing interest in "heritage"
issues helps attract extra public funding, e.g. for local tourist development, where paddle steamers are
seen as a major tourist attraction - Partnership finance from enthusiasts'
organisations has been shown to be available and sufficient to make maintenance
of paddlers financially affordable for operators. - Operators are generally
highly sympathetic to the retention of "classic" vessels, with company
directors often members of preservation societies on a personal basis. -
The importance and influence of supporters' organisations for marketing purposes
and not just for financial support cannot be underestimated - It has also been shown that enthusiast's
groups can establish professional organisations and operate paddle steamers as "going
concerns" on their own account.
Paddle
Steamers are successful in having survived into the modern era. With
their public popularity plus the assistance
provided by a large and growing group of enthusiastic supporters, they can survive long-term as operational ships, providing scheduled services
and giving pleasure to large numbers of passengers. Enthusiasts can make a
real difference in helping to preserve an important part of our maritime heritage
for the future through well focused channeling of funds through well-established
organisations. The examples are there to see :
A global shipping corporation took control of the paddle steamer
fleet based in Dresden, the world's largest fleet, and refurbished
the ships, many over 100 years old to a magnificent standard. Most
people thought that the economic realities of the capitalist world
would spell the end of this East German fleet - but not so. Nine
paddle steamers are thriving.
The larger Swiss Lakes would be unthinkable without their immaculately
maintained paddle steamers, although only 40 years ago it was assumed
that as the ships came to the "end of their lives" they
would be replaced by motor vessels. The paddlers have remained alongside
the newer motor vessels in this most technologically advanced and
high-cost country.
Enterprising enthusiast and preservationist groups have shown
that it is possible to take a paddle steamer disposed of by its
"commercial" owners, and even after many years of lay-up,
return it to operational service. Schonbrunn, above,
the last of a long line of steam paddlers on the Danube in Austria, was
saved in such a way.
MORE SUCCESSES ARE POSSIBLE
:
Through the efforts of enthusiasts we could
see PS Maid of the Loch (left) back in service on Scotland's world-famous
lake, Loch Lomond before too long. She has been totally refurbished
inside and work is now underway to make the engine ready for use,
with all missing parts being catalogued and replaced. In 2008 new
fore- and main masts were fitted making her look like a real steamer
once more.
But there is more ............. work is now proceeding
on PS Neuchatel (lake Neuchatel, Switzerland) and PS Patria (Lake
Como, Italy) and so, two more steamers could also be back in service.
Clear
evidence that enthusiasts, through helping out on-board or contributing
small donations, have succeeded in not just retaining vessels in
service, but bringing a number of derelict vessels to the point
where they can return to the roles they were built for.
IT IS NOT ALL GOOD NEWS ..............
It
is very rare that a paddle steamer is "lost" and the trend
for converting steam engines to diesel when it came to the point
of requiring costly repairs, as began in Switzerland in the 1930s
and continued right through to Italy in the 1980s, looked to have
ended.
Not so. In a shock decision, taken in early 2008,
the Koln-Dusseldorfer line decided to replace Goethe's
1917-built engines with a diesel hydraulic unit over the winter
of 2008-09. This is probably a one-off, but there were several reasons
advanced for the action taken
The photo left, by Goethe
engineer Alois Mohr, shows Goethe's engine room stripped of its
historical machinery. Read
more and see more photos
The
amount of money needed, although substantial, is not so much as to make the
saving of paddle steamers impossible. In fact, they are realistic subjects for
successful, operational, preservation and, as such, are ideal ships for the
wider maritime enthusiast community to support.
