Supporting the preservation and operation of paddle steamers Waverley and Kingswear Castle
It is with great regret that the branch advise the death of Mr Bob Thomson – a long term supporter of Waverley and Balmoral. Bob died in the early hours of Saturday morning after a period of illness and will be sorely missed by all who knew him. The Scottish Branch would like to extend…
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Focus On Main Engine Equipment (Words G. Stewart – Pics Dave Elms & G. Stewart) This is the second of a series of articles charting the progress of the rebuild of Clydebuilt paddler PS Medway Queen – Dunkirk Veteran. The previous article focused on the the various engine parts arriving at Abel’s Albion Dockyard in…
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(pics courtesy of Capt John Megoran) As you may or may not know the PSPS have another paddlesteamer by the name of Kingswear Castle. This immaculate little paddler is based at Chatham Historic Dockyard and was built in 1924 for service on the River Dart along with two sister ships PS Compton Castle and PS…
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A quick update on the ongoing works to Waverley’s two boilers which are undergoing a complete re-tube due to small areas of corrosion found at either end of each tube whilst carrying out the boilers’ ten year inspection. The following photos – taken by Waverley Steam Navigation’s Dr Joe McKendrick – show the arrival and…
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Following on from Stuart’s Chairman’s Blog I thought it time bring everyone up to date. Waverley’s band of enthusiastic volunteers have been working hard on everything from boiler cleaning, electric motor testing, painting and varnishing to deck caulking. What is deck caulking some may ask? Read on… One of Waverley’s many traditional features are her…
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Queen Mary as Queen Mary II after changing her name to allow Cunard to use it for their new liner. Queen Mary leaving Rothesay (between 1965-68 with Single Funnel). She may not be a paddle steamer but the 1933 Denny of Dumbarton built turbine steamer Queen Mary has had a connection with our Waverley practically…
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YOUR SHIPS NEED YOU!!! Please see the note below from Waverley Excursions, who are looking for direct assistance from the members of The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society. I guess some previous bar work / catering work would be helpful, though not essential. Being smartly turned out, diligent and reliable, however, is. As well providing much…
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Artist Ted Marle’s painting of Waverley in Garvel Dry Dock now hangs in Greenock Town Hall. Read the whole article on Inverclyde Now here. Gavin Stewart
This weekend the branch will attend the annual Rails & Sails event held at the Glasgow Museum of Transport. Come out of the cold and into the Museum of Transport this January and enjoy a weekend of hands-on family fun.Have a go at model boating with the Richmond Model Boat Club’s big indoor pond.Or what…
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(Words Stuart Mears, Pics John MacFarlane & Chris Hendry) Gavin, my Jiminy Cricket for writing articles for the Blog has been pestering… err… motivating me to write a wee article on winter work parties on Waverley, specifically the first party of the season which was last Saturday. My first thought was “How would I know…
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Yes, its that time of the year again – time to begin the process of getting our old ship ready to sail in 2009! Work parties start on board Waverley at her berth adjacent to Glasgow Science Centre tomorrow at 10am. Car parking is via the Science Centre – you will be given a token…
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Here’s hoping that 2009 will bring some much needed sunshine and great passenger numbers to support the continued operation of our favourite ships. A festive paddle steamer shot from Lake Lucerne with Santa climbing into the paddlebox of the former paddle steamer Wilhelm Tell which is now operated as a static restaurant. Charles McCrossan
(click on a pic to enlarge) For the second year in a row, our Scottish Branch Festive Cruise was held in the finest weather for this time of year. Flat Calm, Cold, Crisp, Sunny, and Bright. Our river looked like the best ever tourist brochure photographs for Scotland! With ticket sales for this year topping…
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A very Merry Christmas to paddle people everywhere from the PSPS Scottish Branch!!
Part 1 – Machinery arrives in Bristol (words by G Stewart, Photos by Dave Elms) Back in September it was announced by the Medway Queen Preservation Society that a contract had been placed with David Abels (Boatbuilders) in Bristol to manufacture a new rivetted hull for the 1924 Clydebuilt paddler Medway Queen. Machinery has now…
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Yes folks it getting towards that time of year again – you know – the one where we all eat and drink far too much, watch the Wizard of Oz and The Great Escape for the zillionth time on Christmas Day and then eat Turkey for the next month!! Well how about getting away from…
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A quick note to thank Scottish Branch Committee Member Charles McCrossan for his part in the organisation of a new venture to raise funds for the Waverley. (A number of Scottish Branch members also assisted but I’ll not try to mention them in case I leave someone out) On 28th November a special concert was…
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Just a quick reminder that TOMORROW (Friday 28th November) is a very important date. A brand new type of Waverley fund raising event is taking place in Glasgow tomorrow night. It’s a Fund Raising Concert at St. Andrews in the Square… see here for details. A lot of people have put a lot of hard…
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A Fund Raising Concert has been arranged for Friday 28th November at ‘St Andrews in the Square’ – just down from Glasgow Cross.
I have already recorded MV Balmoral’s unusual calls on Sunday 28th September 2008 and related the sad story of being taken unawares when she berthed at a different point to that expected, resulting in disappointing photographs of the special occasion. However, one of the River Clyde’s prolific shipping photographers, John Newth, was in the right…
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After period of over a quarter of a century the statically-preserved paddle steamer Maid of the Loch has had her original profile restored with the addition of two new masts. As built in 1953 the ship had two full masts as was typical on the latter paddle steamers sailing on the nearby Firth of Clyde.…
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(Clicking on most of the new pictures below will open a larger high resolution view) On Sunday 5th October the veteran Waverley Excursions motor ship Balmoral played a significant part in the final visit of one of the greatest ships that the world has ever known to the river of her birth . The celebrity…
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(Words G Stewart, Video Footage S McKechnie) The branch are always keen to involve it’s members where ever possible. I first met Stephen a couple of years back when he partcipated in our Voluntary Assistance survey and he has been very active helping out every since. Stephen can be seen throughout the sailing season camera…
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(Words by Gavin Stewart. Photographs by Alistair Black) I think it would be fair to say that Balmoral has visited a good few unusual places during her 20+ years under the Waverley Steam Navigation flag. One such place was Gourock – headquarters of Caledonian Macbrayne – former owners of her fleetmate Waverley. After completing her…
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The motor ship Balmoral is also operated by Waverley Excursions and sails in support of the PS Waverley. Since Lochranza pier re-opened, there have been a number of planned sailings to Lochranza by the Balmoral during her normal September weekend visit to the Clyde but none of these have actually taken place, mostly due to…
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(photos by the Author & Shelagh Holt) Greetings Paddle People! Just thought I’d tell you a quick story of our last cruise to Brodick on Waverley for 2008. This took place on Thursday 28th August which also doubled up as a belated Birthday celebration for Scottish Branch Assistant Secretary or Waverley Pint Sized Painter (and…
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You may have heard of “caber tossing” or “haggis hunting” but have you ever heard of “toilet-roll hurling”? Regular Waverley passengers on the last sailing of the season to Lochranza are assured that this is a traditional ritual exercised each year, when the last Steamer of the season has called at Lochranza, over the past…
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Scotland’s last two paddle steamers, WAVERLEY and MAID OF THE LOCH, share a common heritage in that they were both built by the firm of A & J Inglis Ltd at their Pointhouse shipyard on the River Kelvin near to its confluence with the River Clyde in Glasgow. The firm built about 500 ships in…
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The second oldest of Switzerland’s 15 operational paddle steamers is due to be taken out of service later this month to undergo a major refurbishment. The Lake of Lucerne Paddle Steamer Unterwalden was built 106 years ago by the Zurich-based firm of Escher Wyss. Remarkably, the steamer is still operating with its original boilers, although…
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Major Step in Restoration of Dunkirk Veteran (Words by Gavin Stewart, Photos from Author’s Collection) In the last week or so news has emerged that Paddle Steamer Medway Queen is to have a new hull built by David Abels (Boatbuilders) of Bristol. Partnership funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Medway Queen Preservation Society…
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