Irish paddlers.

[Walter Snowdon]

At the start of thec20th century the Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway operated a small fleet of excursion/ferry paddlers, several of which had been River Tyne ferries. Did they retain their names from the Tyne?. Which ones were they?. In Ireland they were known as the green boats -why?. On the railway disposing of them, one of them (PS Audrey) was chartered by Cosens for operation. In the Portsmouth area. I had tried twice to get information from Cork city museum archives but have never had an answer!. Do we have a member in the Cork area who could possibly call in and see if they have any records, names and colours of these steamers. A tall order but I am ever hopefull!.Regards, Walter.

[R.G.Y.]

Walter, I have Richard Clammer's book Conens of Weymouth. The ships listed as on charter are, Highland Maid 1848, Wave Queen 1852,
Lord Roberts 1911-1912, Audrey 1911, Helper 1910 -1920. The dates are the years of the charter. The length breath & depth are in this book hope this is of some help. R.G.Y.

[AlistairD]

I picked up a book on the Cork,Blackrock & Passage Railway and River Steamers by, Colm Creedon, when I was in Cork last summer.It was a locally published book and had a lot of copies of timetables, tickets,etc. I can't lay my hands on it at the moment, though.
The Oakwood Press did a book on the railway and the steamer fleet is covered in Duckworth & Langmuir's "Railway and other Steamers"

[Walter Snowdon]

Thanks to both of you. I have the  Cosens book but very little in it for my Irish  needs. Thanks Alistair. I ill have to get another copy of Railway and other steamers - mine no longer exists! Does it have much coverage?. The only other books you mentioned are demanding too high a price for what I suspect may be almost exclusively railway history. Cheers, walter.

[Brian Gates]

I wonder if this book would help?

"Coastal Passenger Steamers and Inland Navigations in the South of Ireland".  Starting at £6 + postage on Abe Books:

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1425062753&searchurl=kn%3Dpaddle%2Bsteamers%2Bireland%26amp%3Bsts%3Dt%26amp%3Bx%3D0%26amp%3By%3D0

Brian

[Walter Snowdon]

Thanks Brian, I'm on to it!!.Well spotted. Walter.

[AlistairD]

I have found the Creedon book now.
Audrey was purchased by the City of Cork Steam Packet Co in 1910 and was chartered to the Railway Company. She was formerly in use on the River Tyne. In 1911 she was chartered to Cosens and in 1912 for use at Dublin. They were known as the Green Boats, and ran from Cork St Patrick's Bridge to Crosshaven and to Queestown and also from Monkstown to Crosshaven, and to Queentown and Aghada.
http://freespace.virgin.net/tom.lee/audreyimg.htm has a brief history of Audrey which was better known in the Medway area

[Brian Gates]

There are a couple of sentences about her Irish exile in Steamers of the Thames and Medway. Burt, F. (1949)

"In 1910 she went to Ireland having been purchased by the City of Cork Steam Packet Company.  In 1913 she was acquired by the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway to carry passengers and cargo between Monkstown, Queenstown and Aghada on weekdays and to run excursions on Sundays. In 1914 Mr S. J Shippick bought her..."

Brian

[Walter Snowdon]

Thanks Brian and Alistair - it all helps. I contacted Abe books but that copy had gone. My son did a searchfor me and found a copy PLUS it's companion on Northern Ireland coastal ferries for a deal price of eleven pounds including post so I am well pleased! Regards,  Walter

[Walter Snowdon]

I know its a long time since my early search for "the green boats" of the cork Blackrock  Passage Railway but I have just turned up Two pictures of a very smart PS ALBERT. They can be found on the Passage museum site www. passage museum.ie/the-green-boats   together with a short article. Still searching, Walter Snowdon