The Midland Railway (MR) operated ships from Heysham to Douglas and Belfast.
Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) |
Notes and references |
---|---|---|---|
SS Antrim | 1904 | 2,100 | Built by John Brown & Company at Clydebank, the first of a series of four similar ships.
She was the first vessel to use the new facilities at Heysham and made her maiden voyage in September 1904. She was the first cross-channel ship with wireless. Sold in 1928 to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and renamed Ramsey Town. Scrapped at Preston in November 1936. |
SS City of Belfast | 1893 | 1,055 | Built by Laird Bros. of Birkenhead. Bought from Barrow Steam Navigation Company in 1907. In war service named HMS City of Belfast. Transferred to LMS in 1923. |
SS Donegal | 1904 | 1,997 | A sister of Antrim built by Caird & Company of Greenock. Requisitioned during the First World War as a hospital ship. Torpedoed and sunk on 17 April 1917 near Spithead. |
PS Duchess of Buccleuch | 1888 | 838 | Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and named Rouen. Sold to J. W. and R. P. Little for the Barrow S. N. Company and renamed Duchess of Buccleuch. Served the Barrow-Douglas route. |
SS Duchess of Devonshire | 1897 | 1,265 | Built by Naval & Armament Construction Co., at Barrow for James Little and the Barrow S. N. Company. Taken over by MR in 1907. Requisitioned for war service and used as an armed boarding vessel. Suffered a boiler explosion in 1919 that killed three people. |
SS Londonderry | 1904 | 2,086 | Built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, the first ship with Lodge-Muirhead wireless telegraphy. Requisitioned for trooping in 1914 and in 1923 transferred to the LMS. Sold in 1927 to Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace, renamed Flamand. |
SS Manxman | 1904 | 2,174 | Built by Vickers, Sons and Maxim Ltd of Barrow-in-Furness. Similar in design to the other 1904 built vessels but slightly longer and faster. Requisitioned in 1914 for trooping and purchased in 1915 by the Admiralty as HMS Manxman and converted to an aircraft carrier. |
PS Manx Queen | 1880 | 989 | Built by J. & G. Thomson Ltd of Glasgow for the South Eastern Railway as the Duchess of Edinburgh. On delivery she failed to perform at the contracted design speed and after a short time in service was returned to her builders. She re-entered service in May 1841 following a compromise agreement between the builder and owner but after only five days in service she broke a paddle wheel, resulting in the owners returning her again to her builders. |
SS Wyvern | 1905 | 232 | Built as a tug by Ferguson Bros. of Port Glasgow. Used for pleasure excursions from Heysham to Fleetwood until the Second World War. Transferred to London, Midland and Scottish Railway(LMS) in 1923 and British Transport Commission- London Midland Region in 1948. Scrapped in June 1960. |
The MR operated vessels for port maintenance
Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) |
Notes and references |
---|---|---|---|
SS Laga | 1901 | 562 | Dredger built by J and K Smit of Kinderdijk for K.L.Kalis of Sliedrecht. Purchased by MR in 1905, its first dredger. Transferred to London, Midland and Scottish Railway(LMS) in 1923 and was converted for use as a hopper barge in 1927. |
SS Hessam | 1906 | 645 | Dredger built by Wm. Simons and Co. Ltd. of Renfrew with three Priestman grab cranes. Transferred to LMS and BTC in 1923 and 1948 respectively. Withdrawn in March 1965 and broken up at Silloth the same year. |
SS Red Nab | 1908 | 537 | Hopper barge built by Wm Simons and Co. Ltd. at Renfrew. Her engines had been constructed on a stand-by basis in 1907 and she was built in 1908 she had slightly smaller dimensions to give her more power. Transferred to LMS and BTC in 1923 and 1948 respectively. Renamed Red Nab ll in 1960 releasing the name to a new build. |
The MR owned several small passenger ferries formerly owned by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, with which it amalgamated in 1912, on the Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry. Vessels acquired were: Carlotta, Catherine (blt 1903), Edith (1911), Gertrude, Rose (1901) and Tilbury (1883).
References
- "Midland Railway". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "1116015". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Haws, Duncan (1993). Merchant Fleets-Britain's Railway Steamers – Eastern & North Western Companies + Zeeland and Stena. Hereford: TCL Publications. p. 118. ISBN 0-946378-22-3.
- ^ "1099938". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Haws 1993, p. 121
- ^ "1116018". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "1099941". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Haws 1993, p. 122
- ^ "1116017". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "1118603". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- Haws 1993, p. 119
- "1084974". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Haws 1993, p. 120
- ^ Haws 1993, p. 123