Paddle Steamer Resources by
Tramscape The Internet's leading database of
Paddle Steamers past and present
STATICALLY
PRESERVED PADDLE STEAMERS also including laid-up steamers, preserved paddle tugs
and preserved paddle steamer engines
A number of paddle steamers are now preserved in static
use - some as museums, some as hostels, but mostly as floating restaurants. For information about the ships, follow the vessel links below The
Foundation for Paddle Steamers Worldwide believes that there is only
limited scope for successful operation of
ships as static exhibits or restaurants so we need to ensure that those which
have been preserved are well supported. This may grow the market for other withdrawn vessels
to capitalise on - and in the case of some of the best kept vessels, keep them
in good condition whilst they await a possible return to service in the future.
It was a shock
when PS Wilhelm Tell (left, built in 1908) was withdrawn from service
on Lake Lucerne in 1970, mobilising local steamer enthusiasts into
a campaign to save her. In what was one of the earliest concerted
campaigns to save a paddle steamer, the vessel was not saved for service, but saved
by restauranteurs whose family still own her today. She is moored
at Luzern, very close to the steamer piers and her old contemporaries
still pass closely by her daily in the main season. Wilhelm Tell
must rank as one of the most successful of statically preserved
steamers.
Paddle Steamer
Lincoln Castle For Sale Until recently, the
Clyde-built former Hull-new Holland ferry has been operating as
a pub in the docks at Grimsby. She has been put up for sale for
the very modest sum of GBP 20,000 although there will be a considerable
cost in even getting her out of the dock she is in . Her
triple expansion steam engines are still in place although the boiler
has long since been removed. She would make an ideal pub or
maritime museum at a suitable location and a return to revenue service,
although likely to be expensive, would not be impossible, especially
compared with the costs of restoring many other vessels. Can
you take her on in a suitable role? Sales agents : click
here The Paddle
Steamer Preservation Society have also set up a working party to examine
options for her future Photo (2008) by David Ornsby
TWO MAJOR MOTOR PADDLERS
MOTHBALLED ON LAKE GENEVA AWAITING FUNDS FOR A MAJOR REFURBISHMENT Dedicated
fundraising campaign already under way for MPV Italie
Built in 1908 and mototised since 1958, this major member of
the CGN fleet on Lake Geneva has been out of service since 2005.
The local supporters' group the ABVL has begun a campaign to collect
funds to enable her restoration and return to service. It is believed
that the CGN will return her to service, but at present they have
major overhauls to do on other fleet members, so work on Italie
is unlikely to take place before 2012/2013.
Built in 1926 and converted to motor operation in 1977, Helvetie
has been out of service since early 2002. She lies at the CGN Dockyard
in Ouchy as the company desperately wishes to keep her - but she
is one of the largest ships in the fleet at almost 74 metres, and
not only would her total refurbishment be very costly, her operation
would also be so. There is also the issue of how to integrate such
a large vessel into any future timetable. Even before her withdrawal
she spent much time as a reserve ship. The supporters' group ABVL
have, however, the aim of ultimately assisting in her refurbishment,
but if CGN and public funds are not available, this will not take
place. Her future is very uncertain and any refit is not likely
to be before 2015, if at all.
PADDLERS
OWNED BY ORGANISATIONS REFURBISHING THEM WITH A PLAN FOR THEIR RETURN TO SERVICE Dedicated
fund raising campaigns in operation by Maid of the Loch and Neuchatel's owners "........If she's not going to sail again I have absolutely no interest
in her ........" So said a well-known enthusiast, supporting one
of the organisations aiming to return a paddler to operation, to me recently.
One can see his point - and one can admire the dedication of like-minded people.
Much of their time and not inconsiderable amounts of their money are given up
to achieve their aim. If their project fails, everything has been wasted. For
that reason, those involved work hard to ensure that, even against all odds,
they succeed.
After years of neglect after withdrwal
from service in 1981, the last major paddler built for the
UK remains moored at Balloch, Loch Lomond, but is now being
restored to her former glory. Now open as a popular
restaurant and function suite and part of a wider tourist
project for the loch, there is now a real chance she will
return to service in the near future.
PS Neuchatel(1912-1969) served as a floating
restaurant at Neuchatel, with a large enclosed saloon added, until
2007.
In 1999, a society, Trivapor, was established to purchase
the vessel, but she was sold on to new restauranteurs.
Trivapor, a preservation society dedicated to her reactivation has
now bought her and have already purchased the steam engines
once belonging to the Chiemsee's Ludwig Fessler. She can be visited
bythe public on certain days by appointment - see the website.
Laid up at Dervio on Lake Como, Italy,
hopes of a return to service, even with diesel machinery
have stalled many times, but recent developments once again
give hope. Work
is due to start on her in December 2008 with a return to service
the ultimate objective
The prospects for Wingfield Castle, also a Hull
- New Holland ferry, seemed
bleak as she was towed around the British coastline in
failed plans to make her the centre-piece of Marina
developments first at Brighton and then at Swansea.
Purchased by the town of Hartlepool and taken back to her
birthplace, she was restored by master craftsmen to become
part of the north-eastern town's municipal museum.
The former KD Rhein paddler serves as a
floating industrial museum on the River Neckar at Mannheim near the
Kurpfalzbrucke . Built in 1929 and operational until 1980,
she was disposed of from the KD reserve fleet in 1984 and
opened in her new use in 1986. Her machinery remains
intact
The former Elbe paddler (ex Habsburg of
1897) and close sister to Schmilka, Junger Pionier and
Pirna, was withdrawn in 1976 and taken out of the water at
Oderburg and used as a museum.
When the city of Luzern was establishing
its now famous transport museum, the "Verkehrshaus", it was
decided to use the derelict paddler Rigi (1848-1952) as an
exhibit in the central courtyard. Dragged over a short piece
of land, the spartan vessel was the centre-piece of the
courtyard cafeteria from 1958 until 2006. She is now being rebuilt
to approximate her original appearance and will return to being
a major exhibit. Earlier hopes of returning
her to service as a real "vintage" steamer were ruled
out after serious consideration.
Close to the
Chain Bridge (Szechenyi lanchid) on the Pest side of Budapest, Hungary,
Kossuth (1914-78) , serves from Spring to Autumn as a
bar/restaurant, with maritime museum exhibits on the lower
decks. She emerged after substantial reconstruction in 1953
named Kossuth, having carried three previous names, being
built in 1914 as Ferencz Ferdinand Foherczeg. She assumed
her current role in 1986 and is now owned by a museum organisation.
Incredibly, all three of the paddle
ferries plying between Hull and New Holland in the UK have
survived. Tattershall Castle, the first to be withdrawn,
quickly found a use in central London as an Art gallery but
later became a pub and night club with a considerable degree
of success, having graced the River Thames for over 25 years. She received
a major rebuild in 2004 during which her paddles and vents were
removed in a controversial "modernisation" for the London
recreation market.
W
The youngest and last withdrawn of the
three Humber ferries, Scottish built six years after the other two
"Castles", found sanctuary at nearby Grimsby where
she is now a successful restaurant at the docks once famous
as one of the world's largest fishing ports. CURRENTLY CLOSED AND
UP FOR SALE : http://commercial.apolloduck.com/display.phtml?aid=124525
Unexpectedly withdrawn from service in
1970, Wilhelm Tell of 1908 was quickly established as a
restuarant ship and has become an integral feature of the
waterfront at her home port, Lucerne in Switzerland.
The small ex-River Dart paddler
(1914-1962) is moored at Lemon Quay, Truro in Cornwall,
south-west England and was used as a flower shop and cafe until 2008. She is
an almost identical older sister to PS Kingswear Castle, but
has been rebuilt significantly from her original form.
Compton Castle has been at Truro since 1984. She has now been sold
(2008) and will be re-opened in fully refurbished form as a nautical-themed restaurant
with a traditional tea room in the lower deck, run by renowned local
chef Kevin Viner.
MACHINERY REMOVED but preserved at the Blackgang Chine
Museum on the Isle of Wight.
The former Lake Maggiore paddler serves
as a floating restaurant at Arona, where she has been moored
since 1969. She served on the lake from 1908 until 1958 and
was first used as a restaurant at Baveno.
MACHINERY REMOVED
Willow Benalmadena, Spain
Former US Coastguard cutter, built in 1925 by the Dubuque
Boat & Boiler Co in Iowa for the Lighthouse Sevice on the Mississippi.
200 feet long with an extremely large breadth of 65 feet, she
served until late 1944 when she was involved in a collission and
paid-off in 1945. She became an accommodation boat for the US army
Corps of Engineers, having had her machinery removed. Sold in 1962,
she went to Florida 10 years later but lay abandoned until sold
to Themes International based in the UK, crossing the Atlantic to
Southampton on a semi-submersible in 1989. She went to Antwerp,
Belgium for refurbishment but Themes went out of business and Willow
remained at Antwerp until 1995 when she returned to the UK, this
time to Birkenhead. Her next move was to Spain in 1996 for operation
as a restaurant ship.
PRESERVED PADDLERS, PRIVATELY
OWNED, WITH RESTRICTED PUBLIC ACCESS
Renowned as the first major paddle
steamer to be converted to diesel operation back in 1934 at
the age of 38, the ship continued to serve on Lake Geneva
for a further 39 years. Still able to move under her own
power if needed, she has served for many years as cultural
and social centre for disadvantaged youth at Geneva
MOTOR PADDLE VESSEL (Originally a steamer)
Has become a popular bar / cafe, moored
on the Danube Canal at Vienna (Wien), Austria, but is currently being
reconstructed as a luxury hotel ship, which is expected to re-open
in late 2007.
MACHINERY REMOVED
The former Southampton-Isle of Wight
(England) paddler of 1927 was moved to Dunkerque on the
northern French coast after being moved from her berth at
Paris where she served as a floating art gallery and
conference centre at Pont Mirabeau.
MACHINERY REMOVED
Borcea Braila, Romania
PS Borcea of 1914 serves as an education
and training ship at Braila, Romania, owned by a local
orphanage. She is believed to have been in a local shipyard
since 1999. Originally a tug built at Turnu Severin with engines by
Sachsenberg (of Rosslau), she was converted to a passenger ship for
cruises and holidays for communist youth organisations.
Built in 1963 as part of the
Dresden-based White Fleet's modernisation programme, the
former "Karl Marx" was one of four diesel-electric paddlers
built at Rosslau. In 1999, after many years laid up, she was
renovated and opened as a youth hostel at Dresden-Neustadt,
named "Koje"
MOTOR PADDLE VESSEL
Sister ship of Poppelmann and named
"Friedrich Engels" until 1991, she is renovated and used by
the CVJM (YMCA in English) as a youth hostel at
Dresden-Neustadt
MOTOR PADDLE VESSEL
The converted paddle tug Radetzky lies as a museum and youth hostel
at Kozloduj, with engines and boilers still intact. Built in Obuda, Budapest
in 1954, this 54.4 metre long paddler was one of the so-called "Series
732" tugs, a standard design at the time for vessels built in Eastern Europe,
with over a hundred built and mostly found in service in the USSR. Originally
called "Ploviov", this Bulgarian-owned example was rebuilt in 1964-66
to resemble an old DDSG passenger steamer named Radetzky built in 1852 and which
survived until 1913. New passenger saloons were added and although some features
remained which were not true to the original "Radetzky". The original
Radetzky had an important place in Bulgarian history, having been boarded by
Bulgarian independence fighters at the beginning of a revolt against Austro-Hungarian
Habsburg rule in 1876. In her new guise she was used for cruises for the Bulgarian
Young Pioneers' Movement and was known to have sailed as far upstream as Vienna.
See photos on the Hungarian Ship Register website: http://www.hajoregiszter.hu/index.php?l=sdetails&lang=hun&i=2366
This former Russian river paddle steamer, built in 1903, has
been restored to act as a good-quality hotel morred on the Buda
side of the Danube in the northers suburbs of Budapest, having been
bought by the MINOL company in 2005 after having spent nine years
in Albania. Most of her life was spent under the name "Pamjaty
Azina", but was known as "Iliria" when in Albania
The former MAHART passenger vessel lies
on the Danube near Budapest, in a poor
condition following a fire. Her machinery has already been
removed. MAHART had originally planned to return her to service, but
funds were not available. She survives, in very poor condition, on the
Danube at the Neszmely Ship Museum on the Danube. She is in good
hands, however, as part of the Zoltan Foundation collection (named
after a paddle tug in the museum collection). Finance
for her restoration is not available at the moment.
Szoke
Tisza (1917-74), the former Danube cruiser is best known as PS
Felszabadulas, the name she assumed in 1950, having been IV
Karoly, and between 1930 and 1950, Szent Imre. In 1958, 175 berths were built into the vessel as she
was assigned to overnight cruises from Budapest. Briefly used
as a canteen ship for her owners, she was sold out of the
MAHART fleet in 1979 to the city of Szeged for use as a
hotel. Now owned by a commercial Danube cruising company, partners
in the Zoltan Foundation ship museum at Nezsmely, plans were drawn
to refurbish her for Danube service, but to date, progress has been fraught
with technical and financial problems. She remains laid up near
Szeged
Former Solent ferry moored near the River
Medina at Binfield Marina on the Isle of Wight, UK.
Gradually deteriorating after years of neglect. High and dry
except at exceptional tides, massive expenditure would now
be needed to restore her. The UK's Paddle Steamer
Preservation Society keeps a watching interest in her fate, but any
attempts to get preservationist involvement have never been made
possible by the vessel's various owners.
Dating from 1886 and in service until
1924, Hansa is the oldest Rhein paddler still afloat. She is at Cologne - stripped
of superstructure. Recently mooted plans to move her to the Netherlands
and install the engines of former Rhein paddler Cecilie have come
to nothing so far.
The former Lake Como paddler served as a
floating restaurant at Lago di Mezzola, with engines and
boiler removed. The 1903 Zurich-built steamer had been at
Colico between 1970 and 1999 as a restaurant and
clubhouse. Now out of use, although still owned by the owner of the
nearby Restaurant La Barcaccia, she is in severe danger because
the local authorities in charge of the Nature Reserve within which
she lies have demanded her removal by the end of September 2008
from the lakeside at Verceia.
MACHINERY REMOVED
In poor condition at Prague after an
aborted refurbishment, her name was given to her operational
sister, Devin. She remains the property of her original
operators and they would like to see her restored to the
fleet. A lack of funds has continued to be the main
stumbling block and she remains tied up on the river Vltava near Prague,
but all her superstructure has been removed.
Lying in a dilapidated condition alongside the bank of the
Danube at Nove Pristavisko, near Rusovce on the very short part
of the river lying entirely in Slovak territory near Bratislava.
She spent most of her life as a ferry at Bratislava and her latter
years first as a restaurant moored in Bratislava and then a night
club. Has been closed on safety grounds since 2001 and then taken
to her current location.
Krajina Serbia
Former Yugoslav royal and presidential "yacht" on
the Danube, badly damaged by fire in January 2007
Split Kladovo, Serbia
Former Danube cargo
and passenger boat, withdrawn in 1992 and out of the water and deteriorating
at Kladovo shipyard
Until recently, earmarked for restoration in Switzerland
, to recreate the vessel "Wengi" of 1856 which sailed on the
River Aare. Now slipped on the Danube in Romania, her hull
was found to be in good condition. The project has now been abandoned.
Blagoveschensk Kiryensk,
Russia
Irkutsk Kiryensk, Russia
Ryazan Russia
Aleksandr Polezhaev Russia T Dostoevskiy Russia
K.M. Stanyukovich Russia
Sergey Alymov Russia
Yaroslav Galan Russia
A number of the 65 long-distance river
cruise ships of the 737 project built between 1951 and 1960
are believed to be in existence, many beached and in very
poor condition.
Lomonosov Russia
The 1905 built paddler is reported as
laid up in Pamyat Parizhskoi Kommuny (Nizhniy Novgorod area)
and offered for sale on the internet. She is in poor
condition and needing a total rebuild of her superstructure
:
http://library.riverships.ru/lomonosov1.htm
PRESERVED PADDLE TUGS
(including those with secure futures and those on the critical list)
Paddle
tug Wurttemberg (left) is displayed on dry land at Magdeburg, Germany,
only a few metres from the River Elbe where she was in use until
1974
Several examples of paddle steamer engines have been preserved
after removal from their ship and are available for public viewing. One of the finest examples
is that of the former Lake Lucerne paddler Pilatus, displayed at
the Verkehrshaus, the Swiss National Transport Museum at Lucerne.
Thee former Dutch paddler (ex
Schoonhaven, built as Culemborg in 1895) served as the
clubhouse for the "Rhenus" Rowing club.
This photo is from 1988.
MACHINERY REMOVED
PADDLE STEAMERS WHICH
DID NOT SURVIVE
Fortunately, no operational paddle steamer has been withdrawn
from service and scrapped for many years. Those which have been
scrapped had been out of service for many years and had deteriorated badly.
In the case of PS Valais (left), the last paddler to be scrapped in 2003, her owners already had 8 paddlers in their fleet and
when it came to necessary expenditure it was decided to concentrate on maintaining
their
operational ships rather than a ship which had been out of service for 40 years.
Although work was needed on her, Valais was nevertheless in reasonable condition and
had she not been confined to her inland lake, she would have been an ideal candidate
to be moved to another area, refurbished and with a new (probably diesel) engine
returned to service.
THE FOUNDATION FOR PADDLE STEAMERS WORLDWIDE'S
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of the Foundation for
Paddle Steamers Worldwide is to raise
awareness of and interest in Paddle Steamers through a presence on the internet
where enthusiasts and the general public alike can, through the the regularly
updated Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape database,
learn about Paddle Steamers and their operations, past and present.
It
is hoped that increased
interest will lead to increased patronage of
existing Paddle Steamers and growing support for the organisations which are
now closely involved in ensuring that they will continue to sail on long into the future
and which are working towards restoring decommissioned ships for future service.
Passengers
queue up for a trip on PS Blumlisalp on lake Thun (right). This
paddler was derelict before being saved by enthusiasts. The Foundation believes that Paddle Steamers add
something extra to a boat trip, generate a lot of public
interest and inspire enthusiasts
to support them in other ways also. Click
here to find out why.
THE FOUNDATION FOR PADDLE STEAMERS WORLDWIDE'S
VIEW
A commercial ship
has little future unless it is doing what it was built to do - sail
in revenue service. Paddle Steamers
can have good long-term prospects because
they are significant revenue earners for their operators and are also recognised as having exceptional tourism-generating potential by public authorities in the areas
in which they operate.
However, steamships generally do have higher operating
costs than modern motor vessels and it is accepted that operators
do need some external support in maintaining their paddle steamer
fleets.
The organisations through which enthusiasts
can make a real difference in helping to ensure the continued operation
of these classic vessels are already there and have been extremely
successful in their efforts. This makes Paddle
Steamers ideal vessels for the wider marine enthusiast community to support.
Paddle Steamers became very successful on rivers, lakes and
in estuarine waters, but just when their final demise was anticipated, a remarkable
renaissance began. Rather than heading to the scrap yard, "life-expired"
paddlers such as "Savoie"
on Lake Geneva, seen here in dry dock in 2005 are now being totally refurbished
for many more years' service. Click
here for more.
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- acknowledgements - about this site
In public service,
their operating companies and website links (includes motor paddlers) Projects
for completely new-build paddle steamers
With new roles as restaurants, museums etc (with website links) or laid up awaiting their
fate
Vessels scrapped in recent years
Operational and preserved paddle steamer engines
By country and area : Paddle
Steamers and service operators of the past The ultimate fleet of coastal cruising steamers Search
here for British Paddle Steamers Organisations you
can join or channel financial assistance through The webmaster's photograph
collection in thumbnail form Sites
listed in the database plus other sites of interest (European ships) Steamships
or diesel conversions propelled by a stern wheel (Mississippi-style)
Clyde and other passenger
turbine
steamers, surviving ferries and ocean liners Vessels for which
there are photographs in the Tramscape collection only Link to Tramscape's extensive
tramway photograph collection
Erhaltener Raddampfer : Vapeurs
à roues à aubes en preservation
