PS ''Waverley'' is the last seagoing

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

-carrying

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

to Arrochar on

Loch Long Loch Long is a body of water in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end, to the Arrochar Alps at the head of the loch. It measures approximately in length, with a wi ...

until 1973. Bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS), she has been restored to her 1947 appearance and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast. Since 2003, ''Waverley'' has been listed in the National Historic Fleet by National Historic Ships UK as "a vessel of pre-eminent national importance".

History

PS ''Waverley'' is named after

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

. She was built for the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

(LNER) to replace a PS ''Waverley'' that was sunk in 1940 while helping to evacuate troops from Dunkirk. The new vessel was ordered from shipbuilders A. & J. Inglis of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, who laid the keel at their Pointhouse shipyard on 27 December 1945, Lady Matthews, wife of the Chairman of the LNER, launched the new 693 ton steamer on 2 October 1946. Fitting out proceeded, around the end of the year the ship was towed to Victoria Harbour in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

where Rankin & Blackmore installed the engine and coal-fired boiler they had manufactured. After sea trials in June 1947, ''Waverley'' entered service on 16 June, working the LNER's

steamer route from Craigendoran Pier, near

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

, up

to Lochgoilhead and Arrochar, joining the LNER Clyde paddle steamer fleet of , and ''

Talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

''. In her first year in service, she wore that company's red, white and black funnel colours. PS Waverley

The 1948 nationalisation of Britain's railways brought their Scottish steamers into the Caledonian Steam Packet Company (CSP), a subsidiary of the Railway Executive. The funnels were repainted yellow with a black top. In 1965, a Scottish red lion rampant was fixed to each side of both funnels. ''Waverley''s hull was painted monastral blue until 1970. After a revival of fortunes in the 1950s, the 1960s saw a gradual change in holiday habits that led to a decline in passenger numbers and the closure of many of the small piers. Since 1969, and the formation of the Scottish Transport Group, the CSP had been gradually merging with the West Highland shipping and ferry company David MacBrayne Ltd. In 1973, the company became

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

Ltd (CalMac).

Restoration

CalMac withdrew ''Waverley'' after the 1973 season as she was too costly to operate and needed significant expenditure. By then, the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society had been set up as a registered UK charity and had bought the near-derelict small River Dart paddler . CalMac, keen to ensure that the ship was preserved, sold ''Waverley'' to the PSPS for the token sum of one pound. Neither side really believed that the vessel would return to steam but, just in case, Caledonian MacBrayne stipulated that she should not sail in competition with their remaining cruise vessel, . A public appeal was launched to secure funding for the return of the ''Waverley'' to service and the fund-raising operation was successful. The PSPS found itself running a cruise ship operation, "Waverley Excursions". Since then, ''Waverley'' has been joined in the PSPS fleet by and and has had a series of extensive refits and much restoration work, including a new boiler and improvements to meet modern safety standards. She has circumnavigated Great Britain and every year makes extensive sailings around the country. Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, between 2000 and 2003 the ship underwent a substantial rebuild and reboilering at the shipyard of George Prior at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, funded principally by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. The work, done in two stages, has added many 21st century safety and technological improvements and returned the ship to her original 1947 livery. In 2009, the ship was affiliated with , having hosted the official dignitary party at ''Defender''s launch on the River Clyde. And in 2011 the ship was awarded the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 member ...

65th Engineering Heritage Award. In 2019, ''Waverley'' was withdrawn from service due to boiler problems. An appeal was subsequently launched with a target of £2.3 million to recommission ''Waverley''. It was announced on 11 July 2019 that new boilers had been ordered from Cochran Ltd. Following the boiler replacement, ''Waverley'' returned to sea on 13 August 2020 for sea-trials, and resumed service for a short

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-affected season starting on 22 August. This was cut short after she struck the pier at

Brodick Brodick ( , ("Castle Beach") or ''Breadhaig'') is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is halfway along the east coast of the island, in Brodick Bay below Goat Fell, the tallest mountain on Arran. The name ...

on 3 September, damaging her bow. The following year ''Waverley'' started operating from 29 June but with limited passenger capacity due to COVID-19. The sailing season was described as a success, with a total of 52,000 passenger journeys, but shorter than normal as it only lasted until 19 September. A highlight for passengers and crew were the dolphins that could frequently be spotted as they accompanied ''Waverley'' on her sails up and down the Clyde.

Engine

''Waverley'' is powered by a three-crank diagonal triple-expansion marine steam engine built by Rankin & Blackmore, Engineers, Eagle Foundry,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is rated at 2,100 IHP and achieved a trial speed of at 57.8

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

. Passengers can watch this engine from passageways on either side of the engine room. The main crank is solidly attached to both paddle wheels so they cannot turn independently. The ''Waverley'' therefore has a much larger turning circle than modern ferries.

Appearance

''Waverley'' has had several colour schemes in her life. At launch the paddle boxes were painted black, in 1959 they were changed to white, then returned to black but with white edges in 1972, then to all black in 1977. The two gold stripes along the hull were removed in 1954 but restored during the 2000 rebuild. Today, ''Waverley'' has the LNER 1947 livery of red, white and black funnels, traditional brown-grained (or "scumbled") superstructure and black paddle-wheel boxes, decorated with gold lettering on each side. When launched Waverley had square windows on her sponsons, instead of the current portholes. For most of her life, the upper passenger cabins were painted white and had wooden doors; all have had layout improvements at some time in the ship's life. Sailing in all weathers in salt water can cause pale brown rust streaks to appear by the end of each season, so cosmetic painting and improvements are done annually as the ship is

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

ed and inspected by the Department for Transport. Since 1962, when PS ''Waverley''s original funnels were renewed, replacement items had been slightly out of parallel due to their heavier welded steel construction. The problem was resolved in the 2000–03 refit and her two funnels are now parallel. Lifeboat arrangements have varied depending on the legislation at the time. Between 1975 and 1980, there was only one traditional lifeboat on the rear deck.

Service

''Waverley'' makes passenger excursions from various British ports, including ports in Northern Ireland. She regularly sails from Glasgow and other towns on the

, the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, the South Coast of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

. She also undertakes private charters and has provided a period setting for television documentaries and movies, such as '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' (2011). Primarily during the summer she is based on the Clyde, operating excursions from

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

or Ayr. Typically her Clyde timetable ends at the end of August and ''Waverley'' spends 6 weeks between September and October cruising the

, the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...

and the

before returning to the Clyde for two sailings in October. On 3 September 2020, ''Waverley'' collided with the Brodick Pier on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

, causing damage to the bow. Twenty-four people were injured. The ship was carrying 213 passengers and 26 crew, who were temporarily stranded on Arran. A

ferry, , made an unscheduled sailing to return them to the Scottish mainland later that evening. During the 2021 season ''Waverley'' was unable to operate south of the Clyde owing to crew availability. 2022 marked the 75th anniversary of her maiden voyage and she was able to return to other parts of the British coast. In 2023, during the ships sailing to the South Coast, Waverley and the steamship SS ''Shieldhall'' sailed side-by-side as the two vessels passed

The Needles The Needles are a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the weste ...

. The occasion of the two vessels with similar histories sailing together was met with great praise from guests on both vessels and garnered national attention for both vessels.

References

External links

Waverley Excursions

Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waverley, PS Clyde steamers Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships of Scotland Tourist attractions in Scotland 1946 ships Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet Firth of Clyde Maritime incidents in 2020