Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape The Internet's leading database of Paddle Steamers past and present
SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS : Keeping Classic Passenger Ships in Service - and bringing others back to life
Had it not been for the Dampferfreunde Vierwaldstattersee organisation, PS Unterwalden would have been scrapped in the mid 1980s. Now they are helping again as the paddler undergoes in 2009 a re-fit which will see her through the next 20 years or more. Scroll down for more details of these organisations.
Support organisations for the maintenance of Paddle Steamers are now well
established and have been very successful in achieving their aims. Numerous
enthusisats' groups bring you together with like-minded people
but also give an opportunity to get involved directly with the operating, marketing
and maintaining the ships in many
cases. They also provide the best way to raise and channel finance for the maintenance
and operational support of the steamers, helping to ensure that they sail on
long into the future.
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Unlike larger ships
there is a real opportunity for classic paddle steamers to be preserved by the
efforts of the ordinary person rather than their fates being determined by decisions
of large corporations for whom heritage considerations inevitably come second
to commercial gain. The support infrastructure is already there. The ships can
even, if necessary, be owned and operated by or on behalf of enthusiasts
In helping paddle steamers, you are ensuring that classic ships
remain in operational service - and every personal contribution can make
a real difference.
Here are some of the orgaisations you can join or
simply support financially to help save these paddle steamers for the long-term
future.
Follow the vessel links for more
information about the ships. Follow the links in bold to
go to the websites of the individual organisations.
ENTHUSIAST - OWNED VESSELS
UNITED KINGDOM : Preservation Society maintains the tradition with Waverley and Kingswear Castle
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The United Kingdom's last two operational paddle steamers are run by companies owned by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, an enthusiast's group set up at the time of the rapid demise of the British paddler fleet. Its aim was to preserve information about and relics of paddle steamers, but it had no realistic intention to become an operator itself. Although it took ownership of a decommisioned small river paddler Kingswear Castle (right), it was not until 1973 when Waverley (left) became redundant that it became a paddler operator - to the horror of many members who did not think it would be possible to do so successfully. They were wrong. the Society still owns and supports the operating companies for both vessels, having also brought Kingswear Castle back to service after many years of lay-up. |
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The Society has a national organisation, with regional branches which hold regular meetings and activities. It is a registered charity |
The Society maintains a large archive of photographs and artefacts which can be used for historical reserarch. It raises funds to support its own ships in operation and gives grants to other UK paddle steamer causes |
Members can also work on the vessels' maintenance out of season and, for example, in the souvenir shops aboard the vessels during the season. |
AUSTRIA : Railway History Society Owns And Operates PS Schonbrunn on the "romantic" Danube
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Schonbrunn is the last of a long
line of paddle steamers which operated on the Austrian part of the
Danube, for the DDSG (Erste Donau Dampfschiffahrts Gesellschaft).
She was taken out of service in 1988 and her future looked bleak
until she was sold to the Austrian
Railway History Society (OeGEG) who set
about refurbishing her. By October 2000 she was back in steam and
two years later offering charter and public services. |
There are also some vessels owned by enthusiast organisations but managed and operated by local excursion ship companues as an integrated part of their regular schedules. PS Gisela on the Traunsee in Austria and PS Blumlisalp on lake Thun in Switzerland are such cases.
ENTHUSIAST GROUPS OWNING VESSELS WITH THE HOPE OF RETURNING THEM TO SERVICE
UNITED KINGDOM : Maid of the Loch : the next paddle steamer to be reactivated ?
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From 1953 until 1981, Maid of
the Loch sailed on Scotland's most famous lake, Loch Lomond
: the last of a long line of paddlers to do so. Seen in the late
1970s at Inversnaid, left, she has remained at her "home"
pier at Balloch (right) since withdrawal. In recent years she has
been meticulously renovated by volunteers the speed at which increased
considerably once she was bought by the local council and turned
over to a new company which became a charitable trust . The
Loch Lomond Steamship Company plans to return her to service
and work towards this proceeds, supported by volunteer work parties
and private donations. |
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UNITED KINGDOM : Medway Queen, one of Britain's great wartime heroines to be totally rebuilt anew.
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This was what was left of PS Medway
Queen in 2000, but the new paintwork covered up what was in
fact a seriously deteriorating hull. She has been out of operation
for 37 years and had been derelict for many of those. She had sunk
regularly on the tide and the tak of maintaining her was becoming
too great even for the lively Medway
Queen Preservation Society which had rescued her from a
watery grave on the Isle of Wight. |
SWITZERLAND : One enthusiast group is aiming to returning a paddler to service on Lake Neuchatel
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Lake Neuchatel no longer has any paddle steamers - but it could
soon have one of its old ones back! PS Neuchatel,
the former floating restaurant has now been purchased by the Trivapor
organisation, and steam engines once belonging to the Chiemsee's
PS Ludwig Fessler have also been bought to install in the hull.
Trivapor is an enthusiast's organisation who are hoping that their
vessel will be operated as part of the timetable of the existing
local cruise-boat operators once she is available for service. |
ENTHUSIAST ORGANISATIONS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING EXISTING STEAMER OPERATORS
SWIITZERLAND : Enthusiasts' groups help operators to maintain their "Belle Epoque" vessels
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The operators on those lakes which have retained their paddle steamers, lakes Lucerne, Geneva, Zurich, Thun and Brienz, are highly sympathetic to their operational preservation and the paddlers are integrated into their normal timetables, normally taking the prestige services. To maintain the vessels long-term, they have had to undergo major refits, to maintain and improve the standard of mechanical performance, safety and accommodation. In some cases this has been complemented by removing the results of earlier re-fits and returning the vessels to resemble more closely how they originally looked whilst incorporating the latest of facilities. It is here that enthusiast groups have had a particular role to play in supporting the operating companies financially. |
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On Lake Geneva |
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The Dampferfreunde Vierwaldstattersee were instrumental in saving PS Unterwalden (above) in 1982 and are contributing heavily to her full refit taking place after the end of the 2008 season. The refit includes measures to reverse many of the changes of appearance resulting from her 1961 refit - the costs of which will largely be borne by heritage groups. |
The local organisation in the Lake Thun area took ownership of PS Blumlisalp after she was withdrawn in 1971 and laid up. After many years of neglect, work on her started in 1988 and she was back in service in 1992. Originally returned to the BLS timetable with a "steamer supplement" payable, she continues to make one daily run up and down the lake in high season. |
On lake Geneva, local enthusiasts were slow to form a support group, but now it is probably the most active in Switzerland. MPV Italie was withdrawn in Dec 2005, and the next campaign is now in place to finance her refit. The ABVL raise money to assist the CGN but also participate in the CGN's recent share issues - and have a real say in its affairs. |
GERMANY: Last Rhine Paddler Goethe is converted to diesel - so what next for its support group?
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The "Freundeskreis Raddampfer Goethe eV" was established in 1992, after Goethe was first withdrawn from service in 1989. Their efforts alongside those of the KD company saw the paddler return to service in 1996, but the news, announced in 2008, that the steamer was to be converted to diesel power during the following winter caught the organisation somewhat by surprise. A strong campaign was mounted to dissuade the KD of this course of action, but it was doomed to failure - the decision had already been made. Many enthusiasts are absolutely disgusted at what is seen as cultural vandalism - with the German Rhine's long history of paddle steamer operation coming to an end - and in an area which has fought hard to become a UNESCO world heritage area yet afforded such an important part of this heritage no official protection. How the society continues to operate once Goethe is no longer a "Raddampfer" remains to be seen. Some people will no doubt boycott the KD's services outright ...... Website |
INTEREST GROUPS CAMPAIGNING FOR THE SURVIVAL OF DECOMMISSIONED STEAMERS
ITALY : New association formed to promote and save the
historical paddlers of the Italian Lakes
- urgent assistance needed
if PS Plinio (1903) is to be saved
Italy has a number of interesting paddle steamers, some of which have been converted to diesel operation, and all of which, with the possible exception of PS Concordia on lake Como see far less service than they really should. The state-owned navigation companies on lakes Como, Maggiore and Garda have concentrated on their vehicle ferries and catamaran services at the expense of their historical vessels and have not marketed them as forcefully as they might and consequently, have not fully developed their tourist potential. Preservation groups have sprung up in response to specific urgent causes. The long-standing campaign relates to PS Patria which has been laid up for many years at Dervio on lake Como, with work undetaken on her from time to time, but for which a return to service seems as remote as ever. In 2008 notice was served on the owners of PS Plinio, again out of service for many years, but latterly in use as a restaurant at Verceia on lake Mazzola, before deteriorating badly, that she should be removed from the lakeside in this area designated as a National Park. Although there is no real chance of returning her to service (her engines were removed many years ago), she could still be refurbished for static use. A new association has been formed to try and prevent her scrapping - the likely result of her having to be moved. This association has as well as its immediate and urgent aim of saving PS Plinio, the retention of all historical vessels on the Italian Lakes. Website (also on this url)
Do you have the resources available to buy,
refurbish, operate and maintain a paddle steamer ? Can you buy a derelict
steamer and at least refurbish it and operate it in a static role ?
Here
are paddle steamers out of service which may be for sale to the right buyer
and which could be brought back into revenue service : CLICK
HERE
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