The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.
The Great Western Railway's ships operated in connection with the company's trains to provide services to Ireland, the Channel Islands and France. Powers were granted by Act of Parliament for the Great Western Railway (GWR) to operate ships in 1871. The following year the company took over the ships operated by Ford and Jackson on the route between Wales and Ireland. Services were operated between Weymouth, the Channel Islands and France on the former Weymouth and Channel Islands Steam Packet Company routes. Smaller GWR vessels were also used as tenders at Plymouth and on ferry routes on the River Severn and River Dart. The railway also operated tugs and other craft at their docks in Wales and South West England.
TSS Duke of Connaught was a passenger vessel operated jointly by the London and North Western Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from 1902 to 1922. In the LYR-LNWR naming system, she was named for Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850–1942), a younger son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
TSS Colleen Bawn was a twin screw passenger steamship operated by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from 1903 to 1922.
TSS Mellifont was a twin screw passenger steamship operated by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from 1903 to 1928.
PS Cambria was a paddle steamer passenger vessel operated by the Chester and Holyhead Railway from 1848 to 1859 and the London and North Western Railway from 1859 to 1861.
TSS Slieve Bloom was a twin screw steamer cargo vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1908 to 1918.
TSS Slieve Gallion was a twin screw steamer cargo vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1908 to 1923, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 to 1937.
TSS Rathmore was a twin screw steamer passenger vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1908 to 1923, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 to 1927.
TSS Irene was a steam turbine cargo vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1885 to 1906.
TSS Anglesey was a steam turbine cargo vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1888 to 1910.
TSS Rosstrevor was a steam turbine passenger and cargo vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1895 to 1923, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 to 1926.
TSS Slieve Donard was a steam turbine passenger and cargo vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1921 to 1923, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 to 1948.
The SS Yarmouth was a steel-hulled steamship owned by the Great Eastern Railway. She was built in 1903 for use on their cargo service between Harwich, Essex, and the Hook of Holland and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She was lost at sea with all hands on 27 October 1908.
SS Spen was a freight vessel built for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1908.
SS Derwent was a passenger and cargo ship built for the Goole Steam Shipping Company in 1888.
SS St Petersburg was a North Sea passenger ferry that was built in Scotland in 1908 for the Great Eastern Railway (GER). In the 1923 railway grouping she passed to the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). She was sunk by enemy action in 1941.
SS Copenhagen was a North Sea passenger ferry that was built in Scotland in 1907. She was the Great Eastern Railway (GER)'s first turbine steamship. In 1916 she was requisitioned as an ambulance ship. A U-boat sank her in 1917 with the loss of six lives.
TSS Bruges was a passenger vessel built for the Great Eastern Railway in 1920.
SS Munich was a North Sea passenger ferry that was built in Scotland in 1908 for the Great Eastern Railway (GER). In the 1923 railway grouping she passed to the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). She was scrapped in England in 1950.
