| History | |
|---|---|
  United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner | |
| Builder | H. McIntyre & Co., Paisley [1] |
| Launched | 19 May 1885 |
| In service | 1885 [1] |
| Out of service | 1916 [1] |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1920 [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 258 GRT [1] |
| Length | 205 ft [1] |
PS Waverley was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1885 and 1887, then on the Bristol Channel from 1887 until 1916, when she was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during World War I. [1]
Waverley was built by H. McIntyre & Company, Paisley, and was initially owned by Captain Bob Campbell, replacing his PS Meg Merrilies taking passengers between Glasgow and Kilmun on the north shore of the Holy Loch. [1] [2] She was competing for passengers with PS Benmore owned by Captain Buchanan, and that competition eventually resulted in a collision as they both raced to reach Kilcreggan pier; both captains were fined five pounds. [2] The following year, Waverley was replaced on the Kilmun route by the smaller PS Madge Wildfire while she sailed a route between Glasgow to Millport and Ayr. [1]
In 1887, she was chartered to the Bristol Channel Marine Excursion Company to operate sailings from Bristol to seaside towns like Ilfracombe and Weston-super-Mare. [2] [1] In 1888, Captain Bob Campbell died and ownership of Waverley passed to his sons Alex and Peter, [2] [1] and they considered the Bristol Channel sailings such a success that they sold their Clyde steamers PS Meg Merrilies and PS Madge Wildfire to Caledonian Steam Packet Company and relocated themselves and their business to Bristol, forming P & A Campbell. [1] [3] From 1896 to 1916 she sailed between Weston-super-Mare and Cardiff, with a single season in 1911 operating cruises from Hastings. [1]
Towards the end of World War I, Waverley was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as minesweeper HMS Way out of Swansea and then later on the river Thames. [1] She was returned to her owners in 1919 but was scrapped a year and a half later without being returned to service. [1]
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.
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger-carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973. Bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS), she has been restored to her 1947 appearance and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast.
The Clyde steamer is the collective term for several passenger services that existed on the River Clyde in Scotland, running from Glasgow downstream to Rothesay and other towns, a journey known as going doon the watter.
MV Balmoral is a vintage excursion ship owned by MV Balmoral Fund Ltd., a preservation charity. Her principal area of operation is the Bristol Channel, although she also operates day excursions to other parts of the United Kingdom. The Balmoral is included on the National Historic Ships register as part of the National Historic Fleet.
The Racecourse-class minesweepers were 32 ships delivered to the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were built to two related designs as paddlewheel coastal minesweeping sloops under the Emergency War Programme. The vessels were reasonable sea-boats, but lost speed badly in a seaway when the paddle boxes tended to become choked with water. The class is also widely referred to as the Ascot class and Improved Ascot class.
Fleming and Ferguson was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1877 and 1969.
The West Cornwall Steam Ship Company was established in 1870 to operate ferry services between Penzance, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly. It became the West Cornwall Steamship Company in 1907 and was wound up in 1917.
TSMV Shanklin was a passenger ferry that operated between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight between 1951 and 1980. Renamed Prince Ivanhoe she went on to become a pleasure cruiser in the Bristol Channel but in 1981 sank off the Welsh coast on her first season.
PS Duchess of Montrose was a paddle steamer launched in 1902 and operated by the Caledonian Steam Packet Company as a River Clyde excursion steamer. She saw active service during the First World War after being requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted into a minesweeper. She was lost near Dunkirk on 18 March 1917 after striking a mine.
PS Jeanie Deans was a Clyde paddle steamer, built in 1931 for the London and North Eastern Railway. She was a popular boat, providing summer cruises from Craigendoran until 1964.
PS Slieve Donard was a United Kingdom passenger paddle steamer that in different periods of her history was also called PS Albion and HMS Albyn. Albion is the name she bore the longest and may be the one by which she is better known in England. Slieve Donard was her original name and the one by which she will be best known on the island of Ireland.
HMS Erin's Isle was a United Kingdom passenger paddle steamer built by A&J Inglis for the Belfast and County Down Railway (B&CDR). She was launched in Glasgow in 1912 as PS Erin's Isle, and sailed regular services on Belfast Lough until 1915.
This page describes the shipping services of the Glasgow and South Western Railway.
P & A Campbell was a shipping company based in Bristol which operated steamship services in the Bristol Channel between 1893 and 1979.
HMS Snaefell was a paddle steamer, built at John Brown & Company's Clydebank shipyard for the Barry Railway Company and launched in 1907 as the PS Barry. Built to serve as a pleasure steamer carrying passengers on the Bristol Channel, she was quickly transferred to the ownership of Bristol Channel Passenger Boats which in 1911 became part of P & A Campbell.
PS Waverley was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1899 and 1939. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during World War I and again in World War II, and was sunk while participating in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. The current PS Waverley, launched in 1946, was built as a replacement for this vessel.
PS Eagle III was a passenger-carrying paddle steamer that was built and sailed on the Clyde, and was twice requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during the world wars.
PS Duchess of Fife was a paddle steamer built in 1903 for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. She spent most of her career serving passenger routes in the Firth of Clyde and was requisitioned for use as a minesweeper during both World Wars. In 1940 she took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, rescuing a total of 1,633 allied troops.
PS Lucy Ashton was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1888 and 1949. She was one of the longest serving Clyde steamers.