Supporting the preservation and operation of paddle steamers Waverley and Kingswear Castle
Saturday past was the last official work party of the Winter. The ship is currently in Garvel Drydock, Greenock receiving her annual overhaul and survey which will result in the renewing of her passenger certificate for another year. The recommissioning of her boilers continues apace and the current date for coming out of Garvel is…
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Further to Charles’s coverage of the paddler from her berth in Glasgow to Erskine Bridge here are some shots from further down river. These first two shots – taken by Tom McNeill shows the entourage passing Langbank. Waverley had quite a crowd waiting for her as she rounded the Garvel Bend (not just seagulls!). Clyde…
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Monday 18th May saw P.S. Waverley make her first move downriver from her winter berth in Glasgow – without turning a paddle wheel! In order to allow recommissioning work on the boilers to continue while other routine inspections are carried out in the drydock, Waverley was towed to Greenock where she entered Garvel Drydock late…
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A Fund Raising Concert in support of the operation of P.S Waverley is being held at Adeladie’s – Bath Street, Glasgow (just at corner with Pitt Street) Friday 22 May, 2009 7:45 – 10:30 Tickets £8 Available from Tickets Scotland 0870 220 1116 or book on-line at http://www.tickets-scotland.com/ (and scroll down to the date) More…
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I know this is cheating a bit, but I had to put together the traditional Chairman’s Report for the Scottish Branch AGM and thought it might be an idea to include as a blog. It’s simply a good time of the year to have a wee summing up of the last year that we have…
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PSPS and Clyde steamer enthusiasts were well represented at Bob Thomson’s funeral in Glasgow today. This picture was on the cover of today’s special hymnsheet. – for many it will represent Bob as we knew him and will remember him. Farewell old friend, thanks for the chat and the shared good times through the years
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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Waverley’s proposed sailings from Oban in May have had to be postponed due to the time required to effect the repairs to her boilers. The complete Western Isles programme has been moved to the final weekend in May – details can be found here. Read the Official Press Release here. If you have any questions…
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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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As of 1st January 2009 the Society have increased the membership rates: Please refer to top left hand side column for the new rates. This is the first rate increase for around 10 years and is required to meet the ever increasing costs of running the society thus ensuring that we can still deliver value…
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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. [signature name=”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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The branch will have its usual stand at Greenock’s annual Model Rail Exhibition – held in the Town Hall on Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th November. Opening times as follows: Sat: 1000 – 1700 Sun: 1200 – 1700 A good mix of Branch Committee members and volunteers will be on the stand over the course…
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Hi Folks, Unfortunately there was a problem with the domain name change and we have had to revert to our original address. Please accept our apologies – we will find out what the problem was and give another go in the future!! PSPS Scottish Branch
We are in the process of switching to a custom domain. When this is complete the existing address will still work but viewers will be able to access the site using the following addresses: pspsscotland.com, pspsscotland.net Whilst this transition takes place access to the blog will be limited and some posts will not display. Apologies…
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Whilst enjoying a cruise round the Isle of Wight in September we were aware of a helicopter approaching. This turned out to be a MedEvac exercise of which Waverley would be the focal point. The following videos (shot from my mobile phone hence the quality) were taken during the exercise. (May take a while to…
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