This article describes the shipping services of the London and South Western Railway and the vessels employed.
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) started out as the London and Southampton Railway in 1838, with the object of linking the port facilities at Southampton with the capital, as well as the other ordinary business of a railway.
With the network extended to Portsmouth and Weymouth, it also developed a shipping business to the Isle of Wight, to the Channel Islands and to France.
The LSWR reached Lymington in July 1858. The town's commercial activity was declining, but an independent ferry operator provided services from Lymington to the Isle of Wight. This became the Solent Sea Steam Packet Company. The railway line originally terminated at what is now Lymington Town station, but silting in the Lymington River made berthing there increasingly difficult, and the LSWR extended the line to the present Lymington Pier station on 19 September 1860.
Effective from 1 July 1884, the LSWR bought out the Solent Steam Packet Company's fleet of two paddle steamers, Solent and Mayflower, four horse and cargo boats, and other boats and property, paying £2,750.
The original Solent pre-dated the arrival of the railway at Lymington, having been built in 1841. In 1858, Red Lion (built 1856) was added to the SSPC fleet to handle additional traffic brought by the railway, and a second Solent replaced the first on 3 November 1863.
Mayflower joined the fleet on 6 July 1866 had been built in Newcastle; she was tastefully fitted and comfortable. As well as plying to Yarmouth, she made excursion runs to Bournemouth, but was disposed of after 1878.
A new paddle steamer, Lymington, entered service on 9 May 1893; she cost £6,000, having been built at the Northam Iron Works, Southampton. She was 120 feet (37 m) long. [1]
The second Solent was becoming life expired at the end of the century, and in December 1899 the LSWR ordered a new paddle steamer from Mordey, Carney and Co of Southampton; the purchase price was to be £8,300. The builders evidently encountered difficulties, and when she was delivered in January 1901 she was found not to be compliant with the contract. Acceptance was refused, and after negotiation, Mordey, Carney offered to build a compliant vessel for £9,000; this proposal was accepted. The third Solent was handed over on 14 October 1901, the previous (second) vessel of the same name being sold for scrap in June 1901 for £225.
The Mayflower was sold for scrap in June 1905, realising £50.
A combined tug and cargo boat named Carrier was purchased from J Power on 6 February 1906. A 36-ton twin screw vessel, she had a wide beam providing a large deck for carrying motor cars, as the route was becoming a popular means of getting to the Island. [2]
An incomplete list of LSWR ships:
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada | 1905 [3] | 529 | Built by Gourlay Brothers Dundee. Scrapped in 1934. |
| Alberta | 1900 [4] | 1,236 [4] | Sold in 1930 to Greece. [4] |
| Alice | 1857 [5] | 635 [5] | Purchased in 1869 from the Caledonian Railway, hulked in 1887. [5] |
| Alliance | 1855 [5] | 400 [5] | Scrapped in 1900. [5] |
| Alma | 1894 [4] | 1,145 [4] | Sold in 1912 to Eastern Shipping Co Ltd. [4] |
| Ardena | 1915 [4] | 1,092 [4] | Ex-HMS Peony, purchased in 1919 and renamed Ardena. Sold in 1934 to Greece. [4] |
| Atalanta | 1907 [5] | 550 | Sold to the Great Western Railway in 1910 |
| Bertha | 1905 [6] | 528 | Built by Gourlay Brothers Dundee. Sold in 1933 to Metal Industries Ltd, Rosyth and employed as a salvage vessel raising the German fleet at Scapa Flow. |
| Brittany | 1864 [5] | Scrapped in 1900 [5] | |
| Brittany | 1910 [4] | 618 [7] | Purchased from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1912. Renamed Aldershot in 1933. Sold in 1936 to Italy, renamed Hercules. [4] |
| Cæsarea | 1867 [8] | 275 [8] | Collided with Strathesk and sank off Cap La Hougue, Manche, France on 27 June 1884. [9] |
| Caesarea | 1910 [4] | 1,505 [4] | Sold in 1928 to Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, renamed Manx Maid. [4] |
| Cherbourg | 1873 [4] | Scrapped in 1930 [4] | |
| Columbia | 1894 [4] | 1,178 [4] | Sold in 1912 to Spain, renamed Sitges. [4] |
| Courrier | 1847 [5] | 255 [5] | Scrapped in 1885. [5] |
| Diana | 1876 [5] | 745 [5] | Wrecked at St Malo in 1895. [5] |
| Dora | 1889 [4] | 813 [4] | Sold in 1901 to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Renamed Douglas, the third IoMSPCo ship to bear that name. [4] |
| Ella | 1881 [4] | 820 [4] | Sold in 1913 to the Shipping Federation. [4] |
| Express | 1847 [5] | 256 [5] | Wrecked in 1859. [5] |
| Fannie | 1859 [5] | 635 [5] | Purchased in 1869 from the Caledonian Railway. Scrapped in 1880. [5] |
| Frederica | 1890 [4] | 1,059 [4] | Sold in 1911 to Turkey, renamed Neylofer. [4] |
| Guernsey | 1874 [4] | Wrecked in 1915 off French coast. [4] | |
| Hantonia | 1911 [4] | 1,560 [4] | Scrapped in 1952. [4] |
| Havre | 1856 [5] | 372 [5] | Wrecked in 1875. [5] |
| Hilda | 1882 [4] | 820 [4] | Wrecked in 1905 near St Malo with the loss of 105 lives. [4] |
| Honfleur | 1874 [4] | Sold in 1911. [4] | |
| Laura | 1885 [4] | 641 [4] | Sold to the Bahamas in 1927 and renamed City of Nassau. [4] |
| Lorina | 1918 [4] | 1,504 [4] | Bombed at Dunkirk in 1940. [4] |
| Lydia | 1890 [4] | 1,059 [4] | Sold in 1920 to T Sales Ltd. [4] |
| Lymington | 1893 [10] | 204 [10] | |
| Mayflower | 1866 | 69 [11] | Purchased from the Solent Steam Packet Company in July 1884. Scrapped 1910 [11] |
| Normandy | 1863 [5] | 600 [5] | Collided with the steamship Mary and sank on 17 March 1870 with the loss of 30 lives. [5] [12] |
| Normandy | 1910 [4] | 618 [13] | Purchased in 1912 from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Torpedoed on 25 January 1918 and sunk off Cape La Hague. [13] |
| Normannia | 1911 [4] | 1,567 [4] | Bombed and sunk at Dunkirk in 1940. [4] |
| Princess Ena | 1906 [4] | 1,198 [4] | Requisitioned in 1915 and converted to a Q-ship. Returned postwar. Caught fire in 1935 off Jersey and wrecked. [4] |
| Sarnia | 1910 [4] | 1,498 [4] | Torpedoed in 1918 at Alexandria and sunk. [4] |
| Solent | 1863 | 61 | Purchased from the Solent Steam Packet Company in July 1884. Scrapped 1901. |
| Solent | 1902 | 161 [14] | |
| South Western | 1843 [5] | 204 [5] | Sold in 1863. [5] |
| South Western | 1874 [4] | 657 [4] | Torpedoed and sunk in 1918 with the loss of 24 lives. [4] |
| Southampton | 1860 [5] | 585 [5] | Sold in 1897 for scrap. [5] |
| Stella | 1890 [4] | 1,059 [4] | Wrecked in 1899 off the Channel Islands with the loss of over 100 lives. [4] |
| Ulrica | 1895 | 383 | Built in 1895 as Granuaile. Acquired in 1917. Passed to the Southern Railway in 1923 and scrapped in 1928 |
| Vera | 1898 [4] | 1,136 [4] | Scrapped in 1933 [4] |
| Victoria | 1896 [4] | 709 [4] | Sold in 1919 to Turkey, later sold to Greek owners. Scrapped in 1937. [4] |
| Waverley | 1865 [5] | 593 [5] | Purchased in 1868 from the North British Railway. Wrecked in 1873. [5] |
| Wolf | 1862 [15] | 731 [5] | Purchased in 1871. Sold in 1896 for use as a hospital ship. [5] |
| Wonder | 1844 [5] | 250 [5] | Scrapped in 1873. [5] |
The company also operated a number of ships on the Isle of Wight service from Portsmouth to Ryde jointly with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. [16]
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duchess of Albany | 1889 | 256 | Scrapped in 1928. |
| Duchess of Connaught | 1884 | 342 [17] | Scrapped in 1910. |
| Duchess of Edinburgh | 1884 | 342 [18] | Scrapped in 1910. |
| Duchess of Fife | 1899 | 443 [19] | Scrapped in November 1929 at Bolnes. |
| Duchess of Kent | 1897 | 399 [20] | Sold to New Medway Steam Packet Co Ltd in 1933 and renamed Clacton Queen. Sold to Mersey & Blackpool Steamship Co Ltd in November 1935 and renamed Jubilee Queen. Sold to Jubilee Shipping Co and then S B Kelly in July 1936. Scrapped in June 1937 at Barrow in Furness. [20] |
| Duchess of Norfolk | 1911 | 381 [21] | Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1919 as HMS Duchess of Norfolk. Returned to owners in 1920. [22] Sold in 1937 to Cosens & Co Ltd, renamed Embassy. Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1939 as HMS Ambassador. Returned to owners in 1945, renamed Embassy. Scrapped in 1967 at Boom, Belgium. |
| Duchess of Richmond | 1910 | 354 [23] | Struck a mine on 28 June 1919 and sank. [23] |
| Princess Margaret | 1893 | 260 [24] | |
| Victoria | 1881 | 366 [25] | Scrapped in 1900 at Bolness. [25] |
Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, is a ferry company that carries passengers, vehicles and freight on routes between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight. High-speed foot passenger catamarans, known as Red Jets, run between Southampton and Cowes, while vehicle ferries run between Southampton and East Cowes.
The Lymington branch line is a railway that runs from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier, both in the New Forest. The railway line is around 9 km (5.6 mi) long, and is single track throughout its length. It diverges from the South West Main Line at Lymington Junction; and, at Lymington Pier, trains connect with Wightlink ferry services to Yarmouth, on the Isle of Wight. The Lymington branch line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system as is usual in the former Southern Region of British Railways.
SSHilda was a steamship owned by the London and South Western Railway. She was used on the Southampton - Channel Islands - St Malo service until she sank in 1905 with the loss of at least 125 lives.
Stella was a passenger ferry in service with the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). She was built in Glasgow in 1890, and wrecked in 1899 off the Casquets during a crossing from Southampton to Guernsey.
The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, and is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK. The volume of port traffic categorises Southampton as a Medium-Port City globally.
PS Ryde is a paddle steamer that was commissioned and run by Southern Railway as a passenger ferry between mainland England and the Isle of Wight from 1937 to 1969, with an interlude during the Second World War where she served as a minesweeper and then an anti-aircraft ship, seeing action at D-Day. After many years abandoned on moorings at Island Harbour Marina on the River Medina, she was purchased by the PS Ryde Trust in late 2018, with the intention of raising money for her restoration. That project was abandoned in January 2019.
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.
There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel.
MV Caedmon was an Isle of Wight 'C' class ro-ro vehicle and passenger ferry. She operated for ten years on the Portsmouth to Fishbourne route before transferring to Wightlink's route from Lymington to Yarmouth. After 37 years of service, she was broken up in 2010.
MV Cenwulf was one of Wightlink's 'C' class vehicle and passenger ferries on their route from Lymington to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
MV Cenred was one of Wightlink's 'C' class vehicle and passenger ferries on their route from Lymington to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
SS Berlin was a freight vessel built for the Yorkshire Coal and Steamship Company in 1891.
The Solent Sea Steam Packet Company, later the Solent Steam Packet Company, operated ferry services between Lymington and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight between 1841 and 1884.
PS Mayflower was a passenger vessel built for the Solent Steam Packet Company in 1866.
PS Solent was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1902.
PS Solent was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1900.
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) had the largest fleet of all the pre-grouping railway companies. In 1902 the assets of the Drogheda Steam Packet Company were acquired for the sum of £80,000. In 1905 they took over the Goole Steam Shipping Company. By 1913 they owned 26 vessels, with another two under construction, plus a further five under joint ownership with the London and North Western Railway. The L&YR ran steamers between Liverpool and Drogheda, Hull and Zeebrugge, and between Goole and many continental ports including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Rotterdam. The jointly owned vessels provided services between Fleetwood, Belfast and Derry.
The Midland Railway (MR) operated ships from Heysham to Douglas and Belfast.