PS Marion cruises on Aus Day W/E

[paddlesteamerman1]

The PS Marion went out on rare short cruises over the Australia Day long weekend due to the Tour Down Under being in Mannum on the Friday morning. I was trainee engineer for the period and it was really great.
There was a 2 hour evening cruise on the Thursday night, with overnight guests staying onboard whilst we were tied up at the Mary Ann Reserve listening to all the entertainment provided. Then on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 3 x 1hr cruises were ran with nearly full capacity each trip. As a volunteer crew member (as all are) we stayed on board the boat and had brilliant meals provided by the cook.
My days started at 6.30am and ended generally around 7pm (which didnt phase me).
The Marion is much easier to work in the engine space than the Pevensey (more room) and it is better organised, but that is definitely due to the amount of room that is down there. Although, the engine is a fickle thing to keep the pressure up on when you are doing 1hr cruises because the skipper had her going at about 110rpm so we were loading a fair load of wood onto the fire then come time to dock again, the pressure sky rocketed in minutes so we had cyphons and injectors going, and the safeties only blew about 7 times. The original pressure gauge was re-instated whilst i was there after it had been about 5psi below what it should have been. I was also (for a few  trips) in the wheelhouse with skipper and mate, steering the Marion for about 3 trips, and she is not easy to handle when the wind gets a hold of her, though i managed to dodge a few houseboats when rounding up to go back downstream into Mannum. We did snap the timber lining the outside of the starboard sponson deck when we were pulling back into the wharf because a sudden gust of wind caught the boat and smashed us into the wharf, its easily fixed though.
She was also going for her yearly boiler inspection on the Monday, but I was unable to attend that as I started year 12 on the wednesday.
The river is very low at Mannum, and to pull out from the Arnold Park Reserve at Mannum every spare body on the Marion had to go to the starboard side and put the boat on a lean toward the middle of the river to unbeach herself, though its priavte tender is a big help.
I was unable to take photos of the weekend, because i was always busy during hours and then after hours of work we all just sat down had a drink and socialised. It was a great weekend for all involved, and im back off to the Marion in March sometime

[Roderick Smith]

That was an interesting report James.
A photo of the firebox end of the boiler is in the APAM lop thread (Research), on page 4.  I may have more posted somewhere, and can probably add a few more, as I have also photographed the cylinders and the geared drive.

I was in the wheelhouse when the captain was trying to round up in wind leaving Ngaut Ngaut (from a downriver berthing during an upriver cruise): the boat got sideways across the river, then just blew downstream, even with the tinnie pushing flat out as a bow thruster.  It took several tries before final success.  Next morning, I was given an hour steering lession, in less wind.  The boat wasn't pushed round badly, and I reduced my amount of overcorrection as the lesson continued.  The important aspect to watch was, when cruising in the deepest channel near cliffs (10-20 m depth at those places), not to swing the stern onto the cliff.

I don't know if the upriver technique would have worked at Ngaut Ngaut: spring off to get the bow out, continue downstream, then run the bow onto either bank and let the wind and the current bring the stern around.  The banks may have been too rocky, or too shallow.  When Pevensey's captain did this on Michael's 21st birthday cruise, deckies had to lever the bow off the bank after the stern had swung round.  That may have been too much effort on a vessel of Marion's size.

I also hinted that Michael would be crewing in the Australia Day parade at Echuca: he was crewing, but there was no parade, and no fireworks.  The port has cut sailpast/fireworks events from four per year to two.
Australia Day was one to cut, as there is a significant fire risk.
One of the retained ones is October Heritage Week; I suspect that the other is Queen's Birthday long weekend (June), when Echuca hosts a major steam and machinery rally, on its own site on the bank of Campaspe River a few km from the port, and south of Murray Valley Hwy.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

PS Marion has been overdue for survey slipping for 2 years, as have many other large vessels: low water prevented access to lock 1, and hence to either the slip at Berri or the dry dock at Renmark.  Commercial boats introduced modified programs, with more fill-in time.
Marion was slipped 4 years ago at Dick Bromhead's slip, near Mannum, but low water prevented access to that thereafter.
With water levels improving after floods in Queensland, and now floods in Victoria, there was a procession upriver.
MV Expedition went first, to Berri, with a dredge accompanying to ensure that access to lock 1 was available.
MV Captain Proud went next, also to Berri.
PS Marion followed: upriver to Berri in September, to return after about 5 weeks.
SWPV Murray Princess will follow in November, to Renmark.

The known work for Marion is mainly recaulking, and replacement of a couple of planks, but the full extent won't be known until on the slip.  Under modern oh&s, recent caulking (only 4 years ago) used tar-free material, and it does not last as well.

The positioning voyage was turned into a charter cruise with steam lovers (from Puffing Billy Railway, Victoria) to Morgan, then four 1 day cruises organised by a Morgan tourist office.  I had already done a Morgan cruise; my goal was the further coverage.  I have done the water in Jessie II, but not in Marion.  That was the main beat in the 1920s and 30s, with several evocative scenes in the video Riverboats remembered.

My July issue was not ready for the printer before the dates, so I brought the laptop and worked in the third-deck lounge.
I positioned on Tues.14.9 afternoon/evening, and was aboard on Wednesday morning.  This was a booked-out sector, and I had been lucky to clear a waitlist.
The schedule provided an all-day cruise, with a bus shuttle back to the start:
Wed.: Morgan - via lock 2 Waikerie - Waikerie.  62 km, 8.45 to ~17.30, including a 20 min locking.
Thurs.: Waikerie - via lock 3 Overland Corner - Kingston-on-Murray, 54 km, 8.50 to 17.50, including an 80 min locking (gate-mechanism repair needed).
Fri.: Kingston-on-Murray - Loxton, 53 km, 8.45 to ~17.00.
Sat.: Loxton - via lock 4 Bookpurnong - Berri, 37 km including a 25 min locking, 8.50 to 14.30.

The crew was a mix of old and new friends: most work on a range of riverboats, and I have been with them on Oscar W, Industry and Ruby.
Some passengers I had met on other cruises; others were returning to the river for the first time since their youth; some had worked on boats; some were descendants.  There was an onboard musician for 3 days, and our own Paddleducker Bruce was aboard, selling raffle tickets (for good wines as a prize), and displaying an album of photos of progress on his own boat.

With the river being up, so was the current.  Cruising speed was knocked from 10 km/h to 8 km/h, making each day longer than planned (but who cared? - more hours of fun); there was also an hour of delay caused by mechanical problems at lock 3.

The popularity was such that the downriver return will also be run as a series of day cruises, but the dates can't be set yet.
Keep watching www.psmarion.com (but it had the upriver dates wrong)
or email info@psmarion.com and ask for an alert,
or wait 3 weeks, then email heather@morganriverviewcafe.com
She was the organiser and booking officer for the upriver stages, and seems likely to be the one for the downriver sectors.

A day ticket included unlimited tea & coffee, also morning cakes.  Byo lunch.  Marion's bar and souvenir sales were trading.

Today I enclose photos of the first day.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's.. "Marion was slipped 4 years ago at Dick Bromhead's slip, near Mannum" ..... ....thanks Roderick......I read with interest your postings of our OZ fleet...[as I know many of our world wide member group do also.... ] ...

I am amazed that PS Marion could be hauled up onto DB's slip as above........we visited a number of years ago & had our cup of tea on board the house boat hulk of Decoy......which is moored next to his [DB] slipway

Here is one snap of my build [namesake's] stern .... taken at the same time...... ...Derek 

[Roderick Smith]

Yes, by all reports PS Marion barely fitted onto Dick's slip.  Dick was aboard this voyage as part of the crew.

I have gone back to the my first post of this voyage, tidied some errors, and added some detail.

Today: Photos of day 2.
Overland Corner Hotel is very historic, and has been renovated.  On one Jessie II cruise I went from Waikerie to there for lunch, tying up to the sign which read 'Do not tie onto trees'.  I returned to Waikerie.  On another cruise, I came down from Loxton, rounded up, and went back.
It is a lunch stop for Spirit of the Murray tours.  See:
www.murrayriver.com.au/overland-corner
www.southaustralia.com/9007261.aspx

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I got July RNV to the printer a few minutes ago, so back to catching up with many groups.

Today's selection shows Marion at Kingston-on-Murray, but there is no distinctive feature to prove the point.
I enclose photos of some of the related aspects of the voyage.
The wheelhouse one shows four captains.
Steve (left) and Trevor (right) normally command the big commercial boats: Murray Princess, Expedition and Captain Proud (also the smaller Spirit day boats).  They were sharing duties on this voyage.  Leon (rear) normally commands Ruby.  In the brown shirt is Dick Bromhead, mentioned in this thread, running as a deckie for this voyage.  At one stage he owned Amphibious, and did the conversion from screw to paddle.
All of these boats have had other mentions in Paddleducks forums (with photos), mainly in the two APAM threads.
Likewise, there is a thread on the 50th anniversary of the 1956 flood, the largest in living history.
Other Marion photos are sitting somewhere, including one of the engine.

The main lounge is the former dining room, on deck 2.  It is larger, has a bar and a view forwards.  It was modified when a new dining room was built on the rear of deck 1, replacing cargo space.  I use the upper lounge, built as a smoking lounge, but now smoking is allowed only at the rear of deck 3, which has sand and water buckets.  Although the upper lounge is sheltered, and has good views side and rear, fewer people use it.  I always set up my laptop there (school reports one year; RNV on other cruises), as it has a convenient power point, and a proper table.  On the third day, there was a party-mood group enjoying the space (and plying me with nibbles, including some excellent smoked chicken).  For three days, the musician was set up there, in a neat corner (the starboard door is always locked, as it opens to a pipe venting the kitchen stove), with his speakers set up on the rear deck (which is visible in the reflection on the the painting).

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Today I am placing seven photos of the final day of the grand voyage.
Although it was shorter, the current was stronger above Loxton, and the channel was narrower.

Lock 4 Bookpurnong is my favourite on the lower river: it is placed against a backdrop of the famous SA limestone cliffs.  There was major work happening here.
Over the last few years, fish ladders have been installed at most/all  weirs.  Apart from helping native fish breed and migrate, they can trap the notorious introduced European carp pest: the carp jump up, and the ladders are built so that a jump lands in a holding bin.
A new program is reconstructing the navigation passes to meet today's oh&s rules.  These are opened when river flow is so high that locks are bypassed.
I suspect that barge Bunyip was there to support the contractor.  The contractor is now the owner of the late 1950s work boat MV Nalta Yuki (photo too fuzzy to post).  It had been used to tow punts from the maintenance yard at Morgan to the various sites where they are used.  That is now achieved by strapping a frame holding outboard motors onto the rear of a punt, and self powering.  Normally, they drive by running a pulley along twin cables at each site.

Berri is a great place for a boating stopover: proper floating wharves straight opposite the hotel, and near the shops.  It also has a good ramp.  My photos there show Marion against the settings, and a local cruise boat returning with a hens party.  Marion rounded up, headed downstream to the pumpout, then moored at the slip (just below the bridge).  I was phoned with the information that it was slipped on Sunday.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Heather has confirmed: the downriver return leaves Berri on Fri.15.10, with five 1 day sectors.  Almost certainly they will match the upriver ones, using the same formula.
Berri - Loxton - Kingston-on-Murray - Waikerie - Morgan - Blanchetown.
email heather@morganriverviewcafe.com

You might be able to do something below Blanchetown, but direct from www.psmarion.com
I haven't found anything there just now.  That is two full days, with a bush campout.

I can't go: I am now working on August RNV, and have a family gathering, and other hobby events; I am glad I that took the upriver sectors (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush).
Aussies and Kiwis should be able to organise a program on this amount of notice.  From further afield, fluke if fares are cheaper at last minute, or more expensive.
We are having a great spring, on proper water: river magic.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I gave a thorough selection of the upriver journey of PS Marion.
Here are just four from my Oct.07 cruise over part of the distance.
MV Nalta Yuki was still in roads-department ownership, for towing punts from the dockyard at Morgan to sites where they would be based.
Overland Corner Hotel is perhaps 500 m from the river edge, and elevated which gives you some idea of how much water flowed in 1956.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith

[Roderick Smith]

Further word from Heather: Mon.18.10 includes a pick-up stop at Cadell for a school group.  The school there has had a special relationship with paddlesteamers for many years, and major fleets always try to pause there for a local inspection.  During the Randell Cadell 150th anniversary (2003), the children came down to the waterfront dressed in period outfits.

Since Heather is the voice of Morgan tourism, I am including two Morgan photos today.  It is too hard to get the hotels and the waterfront into the one view.
The hotels date from the late 1870s, when the railway came to Morgan, and turned it into SA's biggest inland port.  The wharf, like the one at Echuca, was designed to be busy, and to accommodate much-varying river levels.  In my wharf view, the station site (line now closed) is at wharf level, behind the trees.  The town and hotels are at a higher level again, also obscured by those trees.  The hotels have traditional SA limestone construction: rough rubble jigsawed together, with dressed quoins (stone for these two, but often brick).  Most such buildings are not painted over, but these two have been.  Not only did SA have a lot of limestone, and not much timber, it is a state where termites are active, so timber construction was unwise and uncommon.

I could also place the views with the PS Industry centenary thread, as this is the sort of town where you would pause (or enjoy an overnight stop) if voyaging upriver to the event.  If driving to & from Renmark, it would be possible divert via Morgan in one direction.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Forwarded on behalf of 'Friends of Marion', to which I belong.  I'll be cruising Yangtse River in that week.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Historic paddle steamer Marion, Last cruises for 2011.

Don't miss this unique Murray River experience aboard the historic
paddle steamer Marion built in 1900. Relax, unwind and appreciate the
serenity the Murray River has to offer on the Marion's short cruises from
Mannum Town Wharf.

.         Saturday 1st October departing 10:30 am, 12:00 noon, 1:30 pm and
3:00 pm $15.00 Adult (15 and over), $7.50 Children (4-14), Children under 4
years of age free of charge.

.         Sunday 2nd  October departing 10:30 am, 12:00 noon, 1:30 pm and
3:00 pm $15.00 Adult (15 and over), $7.50 Children (4-14), Children under 4
years of age free of charge.

.         Tuesday 11th October departing 2:00 pm $15.00 Adult (15 and over),
$7.50 Children (4-14), Children under 4 years of age free of charge.

.         Wednesday 12th October departing 2:00 pm $15.00 Adult (15 and
over), $7.50 Children (4-14), Children under 4 years of age free of charge.

Key Beam Steam Engine
.         Fully restored operating historic steam engine constructed in
1870's once used to pump water from the heritage listed Mannum Dry Dock will
be operating at the Mannum Dock Museum on Sunday 2nd of October from 11:00
am - 3:00 pm.

Admission to the Museum: Adult $7.50, Children 4 to 14 $3.50, Children under
4 free, Concessions/Students/Bus Groups $5.00. No bookings required.

For more information and on line bookings for cruises visit www.psmarion.com
Phone orders please contact Mannum Visitor  Information Centre 8569 1303.

Mannum Dock Museum
6 Randell Street
MANNUM  SA   5238
Ph: 08 8569 2733
Fax; 08 8569 2383
Email: museum@psmarion.com
www.psmarion.com

[Roderick Smith]

With the Mar.-Apr.2011 Renmark voyage blocked at lock 2, the committee has floated a concept for late Aug. - mid Sept. 2012:
Voyage from Mannum to Mildura, then back to Renmark.
This is triggered by the next survey slipping (either Renmark dry dock or Berri slip), and the fact that Mildura-based PS Melbourne will be 100 years old in 2012.
Details are still being worked out.
Almost certainly Marion will continue to Red Cliffs (ie Karadoc, the head of the weir 11 pool).
I have recommended a day up the Darling: in its earliest days, Marion was a hawking boat on that river.
Clearly, there will be various joint appearances with local vessels along the way, and Mildura boats are very likely to form a fleet for many sectors.
With the good water lasting, there should be some Swan Hill boats, and perhaps even an Echuca vessel.

The months are just a bit cold for me to take my own boat as part of a fleet, but I would be tempted to launch for the Mildura week.

Post edit: Captain Kevin, in the 'Sunrise' clip (see below) has announced to the world that Marion will voyage to Red Cliffs in 2012.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

From my Friends of Marion newsletter:
Shane Strudwick has been busy putting together a booklet from photographs he has taken from the Lock 2 – Swan Reach – Morgan cruise this year.
The photography is quite breathtaking and it is a fantastic keep sake of the voyage and the region.
It is available for sale on Blurb and will ship direct.
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2504876. Cost online is $30 + postage.

I have now looked at the preview book: great nostalgia for me, the scenes and the people.  I'll buy my copy next time I'm aboard: there is too much Facebook overlay in the online version.  You too could be in the picture if you head here for the Aug.-Sept.2012 grand voyage.

I have mentioned Shane's earlier work: general Murray River images.  His photography is stunning.  I had stood beside him at an earlier event, but didn't run into him at Renmark (which the lock 2 debacle prevented Marion from reaching; passengers came by bus for just 1 day).

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

At short notice, I was invited to Mannum to be aboard a sunrise sailing on Fri.28.10, for filming for the channel 7 program 'Sunrise', which seems to be continuous weather reports plus interesting leavening, intended to be viewed for just 5 min at a time.
I couldn't spare the time to drive west, but the 12 min edited result is now at  http://youtu.be/iDpZKZj1X18
The commentary is a bit corny and repetitive for paddleboat enthusiasts, but suited the target audience well, and should attract more people to enjoy the river delights.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's.... Roderick...I had not seen the footage........& don't think it is corny.......I enjoyed it

We have toured the tied up vessel but never had the pleasure of an overnight or day trip........Derek

A few images follow......