Sidewheelers

[Bert Learmonth]

Paul in my message this morning I forgot to mention two others. I was
stationed close to Glasgow and Paisley in 1944 waiting for our ship to be
ready. On a weekend leave I took the train from Glasgow to Balloch on Loch
Lomond then boarded a steamer for a trip up the lake. I believe it was a
sidewheeler maybe you might know. At that time I really didn't think about
those things. The other is a huge sidewheeler at the maritime museum in San
Francisco. It must have been a ferry in the bay, over 300 ft. long, it never
turned there was a pilot house on both ends. I took a picture of it 1994.
Maybe someone knows something about it.
Bert.

[woodburner]

That sidewheel ferry is a famous one, and I'll look her up, having been on her many times. SF bay was especially windy - my grandmother told me about how her father lit the headlights and side lamps on the family Winton touring car by using her mother's heavy coat as a windbreak for the matches as the ferry approached the dock. Duplicate this by as many cars and buggies were on the boat, and you have an aspect of paddle ferry steamers not often mentioned.

Jim

[Paulrjordan]

Hi Bert:

I must admit I'm still learning about Scottish paddlewheelers and,
whilst I'm getting more and more familiar with the Clyde steamers, I
have yet to learn the names of Loch steamers further North...I've
looked through my ever increasing library and cannot find a Loch
Lomond reference...but I'm sure our "guys on the Clyde" would know.

PJ
Victoria, BC

[Alistair Deayton]

That would be PRINCESS MAY or PRINCE EDWARD. The remaining paddle steamer on
the lake, MAID OF THE LOCH, was not built until 1953

All British paddle steamers were side-wheelers. We left the stern-wheelers
to the American and the colonies

At that time I really didn't think about
> those things. The other is a huge sidewheeler at the maritime museum in
San
> Francisco. It must have been a ferry in the bay, over 300 ft. long, it
never
> turned there was a pilot house on both ends. I took a picture of it 1994.
> Maybe someone knows something about it.

That's EUREKA. She was a train ferry and an auto ferry before the Bay Bridge
was built.

Alistair Deayton

[Bert Learmonth]

Hi all
Thanks to Allistair, Paul, and Jim for the information about those ships.
This group got me thinking about the sidewheelers I had seen. On Loch Lomond
the name I remember was Prince Edward but I wasn't sure 58 years is long for
memory. The" Eureka" only 8 years easier. If a model of this one done in 3/4
scale it could hold an operator.
To answer Alistair's question about the Sicamous, yes it is still there.
Since about 1990 they have been restoring it too. In May 1994 I was invited
to bring some of my models over to have on display for the 80th anniversary
of it's launching the Nasookin was a sister ship, the only difference, the
Texas deck was short, only for the crews cabins. The dinning room was
refinished and the face of the cabins put back similar to the original. I
must go over there and see what is done now.
regards Bert