The Paddle Steamer Thread

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We were down in Bristol for the Brunel celebration in September 2006. The Great Britain looked great then. What left a mark on me was how she appeared to be floating in water and you could go "under" the water to check the hull.

 

[dessiato]

We were down in Bristol for the Brunel celebration in September 2006. The Great Britain looked great then. What left a mark on me was how she appeared to be floating in water and you could go "under" the water to check the hull.

Sounds like I need a visit. IIRC there's a heritage railway not too far away too.

 

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Without searching, i know of a heritage railway alongside Cheltenham racecourse. Scenic, small, short.
there is lots to see and do in Bristol...we went on a tour of Parkway Station, brilliant. There was the commonwealth museum also but it might of closed now?

 

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Whoops. Go South West from Bristol..the West Somerset Railway would be much better to visit

 

[dessiato]

Whoops. Go South West from Bristol..the West Somerset Railway would be much better to visit

I think that's the one we visited last year.

Bristol itself we didn't like at all. It was an all round bad experience. But visiting the Great Britain might make it worth going back.

 

[Dogsauce]

Did the Waverley when I was younger (probably early teens?) from Avonmouth. The only thing I can remember is feeling really sick, not from the motion of the ship but from the strong smell of something being cooked downstairs that was wafting about on the deck.

There’s a short railway at the MShed that runs up to the SS Great Britain, just a saddle tank with open wagons converted to carry passengers. It does give you a slightly elevated view of the harbour and is nice enough. Goes by the name Bristol Harbour Railway, tends to run on certain weekends only.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

more pictures of the 1930s generation of woolwich ferry (replaced in 1963 by diesel engined boats) here

 

[Roadkill]

more pictures of the 1930s generation of woolwich ferry (replaced in 1963 by diesel engined boats) here

The 'photo of the month' section on Kingswear Castle's website - where that came from - has some great pictures and interesting stories. Such as...

Oops. Thankfully no serious harm was done. It's actually quite remarkable how few accidents there were, given that a century ago there were dozens of excursion steamers operating every summer, often working in confined waters and among shoals and rocks and sometimes in close proximity to each other and other craft, and most of them with pretty rudimentary navigational equipment even by the standards of the day. There were bumps and scrapes, but few serious incidents.

Waverley has had a few bumps and bangs over the years, although minor incidents that wouldn't even have been thought worth reporting until fairly recently.

 

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whoa; June 2007!

 

[A380]

Not a paddle steamer, but part of the infrastructure. Clevedon Pier.

 

[Crispy]

I've been on the Waverley a couple of times. My favourite part is probably the engine room! (I can smell the oil and feel the heat just thinking of it).

A vivid childhood memory

 

[Roadkill]

More good news: Waverley has completed sea trials.

 

[StoneRoad]

I remember going on a paddle steamer on the Kennett & Avon, but I was about 4 so could easily have been mistaken. Were there any that could fit in a double-width lock?

Was that the "Charlotte Dundas" by any chance ?

 

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Oh dear Seventeen injured after Waverley crashes into pier

 

[Roadkill]

Oh dear Seventeen injured after Waverley crashes into pier

Not a great return to service, is it...

 

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There could be a little exaggeration in the story, who knows.

 

[Lancman]

"Waverley" has a handling problem because the two paddle wheels can only turn in unison, either both ahead or both astern, not differentially in order to turn the ship. This ability to turn the paddles in opposite directions and spin the boat in its own length is what made paddlers so popular as tugs in the past. So in order to turn the Waverley she needs a strong flow of water over her rudder at all times. It must be very tricky to bring her to a full stop just off and parallel to a landing stage. Particularly if there's a cross wind and no strong tide running.

 

[Roadkill]

There could be a little exaggeration in the story, who knows.

Perhaps, but anything involving injuries to passengers is serious. The MAIB will be all over this.

 

[Roadkill]

"Waverley" has a handling problem because the two paddle wheels can only turn in unison, either both ahead or both astern, not differentially in order to turn the ship. This ability to turn the paddles in opposite directions and spin the boat in its own length is what made paddlers so popular as tugs in the past. So in order to turn the Waverley she needs a strong flow of water over her rudder at all times. It must be very tricky to bring her to a full stop just off and parallel to a landing stage. Particularly if there's a cross wind and no strong tide running.

Hence the video on the previous page of them having to use along rope to get her out of a tight berth. Tugs did have either disconnecting paddle wheels or twin engines, but that was expensive and complicated so most excursion steamers and Clyde ferries just had a single engine driving both wheels together and, as you say, that made them very difficult to handle unless they were travelling at a certain speed. Waverley is beautiful, but by all accounts she handles like a pig, and not just in tight corners. See this footage of her battling a gale in St Ives Bay back in 1994:

 

[A380]

HM coastguard.

 

[not-bono-ever]

maid of the loch in balloch is still running i think