Among the visited destinations and ports are Glasgow, Thames River, Bristol Channel. During the summer, the ship is based on the Clyde, leaving from Glasgow (also roundtrip), Greenock, Largs and Ayr.įollows PS Waverley's summer cruise schedule: Every year, PS Waverley offers Great Britain circumnavigation cruise around the UK. The ship currently operates summer cruises around Britain and the British Isles. This requires in a much larger turning basin in comparison to modern ferry ships. The ship has two paddle-wheels (portside and starboard) which can't turn independently. The engines can be viewed from onboard passageways located on both sides of the engine room. PS Waverley is powered by a "Rankin & Blackmore" ( Greenock Scotland) built a marine steam engine with power output 1,6 MW allowing a max speed of 18 kN (34 kph / 21 mph). The refit was done in Great Yarmouth, where also a new boiler (steam powerplant unit) was installed. In the period 2000-2003, the steamer received various technological improvements and was extensively rebuilt and refurbished. The ship joined the fleet mates PS Kingswear Castle (1924) and Balmoral (1949). To ensure PS Waverley's preservation, the company sold the vessel for the token price of 1 GBP.Īs the following fundraising initiative was successful, the "Paddle Steamer Preservation Society " started to operated PS Waverley cruises (advertised as "Waverley Excursions"). Not before long, the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society had bought CalMac's paddle steamer PS Kingswear Castle. In 1974, CalMac ceased its PS Waverley operations due to their high cost and the needed significant refurbishments. ![]() In 1973, the Caledonian Steam Packet Co (the shipowner) merged with David MacBrayne Ltd forming the new Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd ferry company (aka CalMac). As the passenger steamship traffic decreased In the 1960s, many of Scotland's smaller piers were closed. In 2003, "National Historic Ships UK" listed the ship as "vessel of pre-eminent national importance".Īfter WW2 (1939-1945), in 1948 UK's railways were nationalized and their Scottish steamships were bought by the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. Since 1974, the vessel is owned by the British "Paddle Steamer Preservation Society" (UK-registered charity). Starting with the maiden voyage (June 16, 1947), until 1973 the ship offered regularly scheduled service between Craigendoran (Helensburgh, Firth of Clyde) and Arrochar (Loch Long, Argyll and Bute). PS Waverley is the world's last paddle steamer (paddle-wheel steamship) still in operation as a passenger cruise vessel.
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