A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS ; however, these designations are most often used for steamships.
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.
Lake Thun is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At 48.3 km2 (18.6 sq mi) in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton.
Lake Brienz is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Berne in Switzerland. It has a length of about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), a width of 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) and a maximum depth of 260 metres (850 ft). Its area is 29.8 square kilometres (11.5 sq mi), and the surface is 564 metres (1,850 ft) above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by the upper reaches of the Aare at its eastern end, the Giessbach at its southern shore from steep, forested and rocky hills of the high Faulhorn and Schwarzhoren more than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the lake, and by the Lütschine, flowing from the valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, at its south-western corner. It flows out into a further stretch of the Aare at its western end. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Finsteraarhorn at 4,274 metres above sea level.
The TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 Edwardian twin screw steamer based at Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand. It is one of the oldest tourist attractions in Central Otago, and the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere.
RMS Amazon was a wooden three-masted barque, paddle steamer and Royal Mail Ship. She was the first of 5 sister ships commissioned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company to serve RMSP's routes between Southampton and the Caribbean.
Interlaken Ost or Interlaken East is a railway station in the resort town of Interlaken in the Swiss canton of Bern. The station was previously known as Interlaken Zollhaus. The town has one other station, Interlaken West.
SS Keewatin is a passenger liner that once sailed between Port Arthur/Fort William on Lake Superior and Port McNicoll on Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. She carried passengers between these ports for the Canadian Pacific Railway's Great Lakes steamship service. Keewatin also carried packaged freight goods for the railway at these ports.
The Thunersee–Beatenberg Funicular is a funicular in the Swiss Canton of Berne. It links a jetty, at Beatenbucht in the municipality of Sigriswil and on the shores of Lake Thun, to the village of Beatenberg, situated on the plateau above at 1,120 metres (3,675 ft) above sea level.
BLS AG is a Swiss railway company created by the 2006 merger of BLS Lötschbergbahn and Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG. It is 55.8% owned by the canton of Berne, and 21.7% by the Swiss Confederation. It has two main business fields: passenger traffic and infrastructure.
The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft or Lake Zürich Navigation Company is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich.
The PS Stadt Zürich is the older of the two remaining steam paddle ships on Lake Zürich. Stadt Zürich was built in 1909 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft, as the 32nd tourist ship on Lake Zürich. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Rapperswil (1914) are a short smoke stack, and a spacious 1st class upper deck.
Scotia was a British passenger liner operated by the Cunard Line that won the Blue Riband in 1863 for the fastest westbound transatlantic voyage. She was the last oceangoing paddle steamer, and as late as 1874 she made Cunard's second fastest voyage. Laid up in 1876, Scotia was converted to a twin-screw cable layer in 1879. She served in her new role for twenty-five years until she was wrecked off of Guam in March 1904.
SS (RMS) Empress Queen was a steel paddle steamer, the last of its type ordered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was chartered by the Admiralty in 1915 and used for trooping duties until she ran aground off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England in 1916 and was abandoned.
The Interlaken ship canal is a 2.75-kilometre (1.71 mi) long canal in the Swiss canton of Bern. It connects Lake Thun with a quay in the town of Interlaken adjacent to Interlaken West railway station, thus allowing shipping services on the lake to serve the town and connect with railway services. It is still in regular use by the Lake Thun passenger ships of the BLS AG.
The Lake Thun railway line is a railway line in the Swiss canton of Bern. It links the towns of Thun, Spiez and Interlaken, running principally along the southern shore of Lake Thun. The line was opened in 1893 by the Lake Thun Railway company, but incorporates much of the earlier Bödeli Railway dating back to 1872.
The Thun ship canal is a 500-metre (1,600 ft) long canal in the Swiss canton of Bern. Together with a navigable reach of the Aare of similar length, it connects Lake Thun with a quay in the town of Thun adjacent to Thun railway station.
PS Nimrod was an Irish passenger-carrying paddle steamer. Built in 1843, it took passengers from Cork in the south of Ireland to the ports of Liverpool, the first leg for emigrants wishing to start a new life in the United States. It operated for 17 years, until it ran aground at St David's Head in 1860. It smashed into three pieces and sank, with the loss of 45 lives.
The Jura was a wooden, flush deck, paddle steamer, originally built for service on Lake Neuchâtel, but which was sold after seven years to work on Lake Constance, and sank in 1864 after a collision with the Stadt Zürich.
