Great Eastern Railway: Ships
Note: This is a sub-section of the Great Eastern Railway
‘Cross-Channel and Coastal Paddle Steamers’ by George Frank Burtt
Between the years 1854 and 1857, several attempts were made to start a steamship service between Harwich and the Continent, but they were of a limited character and met with little success. In 1863, however, despite much opposition from other East Coast interests, the Great Eastern Railway obtained the necessary Parliamentary powers, and immediately commenced a service to Rotterdam with three chartered paddle steamers - the BLENHEIM, NORFOLK and PRINCE OF WALES - for the purpose of carrying cattle and cargo.
THE ZEALOUS, ROTTERDAM AND HARWICH.
Meantime, the company ordered three new steamers, which were delivered in 1864. One, named ZEALOUS, was for passenger work and two, named ROTTERDAM and HARWICH, for the cattle trade.
When the ZEALOUS was delivered, the company started, in July, 1864, a passenger service to Rotterdam, there being at first three voyages a week each way. A few months later, the company purchased, second-hand, the paddle steamer PACIFIC and had built a new vessel, the AVALON. Both these boats were constructed for passengers and cargo and the company then made their Rotterdam service bi-weekly and started a service to Antwerp. The Rotterdam service was made a daily one, except Sunday, in 1882, and the Antwerp service became a daily one at a later date.
During the ’sixties the company chartered a steamer named the RAVENSBURY, of which no particulars are available. She was lost on the Hook Bar.
The PACIFIC, of Harwich, was built and engined by G. Lungley and Co., of Deptford, in 1864. She was not built specially for the service but was purchased secondhand. In 1887, she was marked as unseaworthy and withdrawn from service.
The AVALON, registered at Harwich, was built in 1865 by J. and W. Dudgeon., of Cubitt Town, London, for passenger and cargo traffic. She had paddle wheels 18 ft. 8 in. in diameter, and steamed at 14 knots. Fitted with new engines and boilers in 1876 by the Victoria Graving Dock Co. In 1888, she was sold to Earle’s Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. and, in 1890, was converted into a screw steamer with triple expansion engines. In 1900, she was sold to the Channel Dry Docks Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., who fitted her with new boilers and, two years later, she was again sold to T. Rasmussen, and registered at Stavanger, Norway. In 1909, the AVALON was wrecked in Buff Bay, Jamaica.
RICHARD YOUNG. It was not until 1869 that the shipping services of the Great Eastern Railway really became remunerative and, to foster the gradually improving traffic, the company decided to increase the fleet. They accordingly ordered from Messrs. Dudgeon another paddle steamer of similar dimensions to the AVALON. This vessel, the RICHARD YOUNG, was put on the service in 1871.
Owing to the hindrance caused by the Brielle Bar at the mouth of the River Maas, which could only be negotiated at a particular state of the tide, the Dutch authorities constructed a new waterway through the Hook of Holland. This was opened for traffic in 1872 and the RICHARD YOUNG was the first sea-going vessel to pass through.
In 1890, she was converted to a screw steamer by Earle’s Shipbuilding Company and re-named the BRANDON, being at the same time fitted with new engines and boilers. In 1905, she was sold to a firm in Holland and dismantled.
CLAUD HAMILTON. A further addition to the fleet was launched in June, 1875, by John Elder and Co., at Glasgow. This was a very fine vessel bearing the name CLAUD HAMILTON, who was the chairman of the company for very many years. Her advent greatly increased the popularity of the service. She survived the three paddle steamers that followed her, antf so had the melancholy distinction of being the last paddle steamer to run on any of the Great Eastern Continental services. The CLAUD HAMILTON was the first steamer belonging to this company to be fitted with two-cylinder compound oscillating engines. In 1897, she was purchased by the Corporation of the City of London and her port of registry changed from Harwich to London, She was then employed in transferring cattle between Gravesend and Deptford Foreign Cattle Market, as the large foreign cattle boats drew too much water to come up the Thames as far as Deptford. In 1914, she was sold to a Dutch firm of shipbreakers.
PRINCESS OF WALES. The next addition to the fleet was the PRINCESS OF WALES, which was constructed in 1878 at Glasgow by the London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Co. In 1896, she was withdrawn from service and sold a firm of shipbreakers.
[[PS Lady Tyler|LADY TYLER[[ AND ADELAIDE. Greatly improved through connections were made different parts of the Continent about this time and cater for the increased traffic two more boats were ordered by the company in 1880. Named LADY TYLER and ADELAIDE, they were the last paddle steamers to be built for the Great Eastern Railway’s Continental services, all subsequent boats being twin screws. The LADY TYLER was built at North Shields by T. and W. Smith, The engines, constructed by R. and W. Hawthorn and Co, of Newcastle, were of the compound steeple type having six cylinders, two high pressure and four low pressure. Her speed was 13.25 knots and the diameter of paddle wheels 22 feet ; she had one funnel abaft the engines.
In 1893, the LADY TYLER was sold to Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. and, in 1895, was running to the Isle of Man.*
In 1897, she was re-named ARTEMIS and, in March, 1900, was sold to G. Sandford and converted into a hulk.
The ADELAIDE was a different boat in many respects. She was the first steel steamer built for the G.E.R., all previous boats being of iron; and she also differed from the LADY TYLER in being a two-funnelled vessel. She was conspicuous, too, by the large amount of rake to the funnels. Constructed at Barrow by the Barrow Shipbuilding Co., she had a speed of 14.5 knots.
In 1896, she was sold to the firm of T. W. Ward and, in June, 1897, was transferred to J. Bannatyne and Sons and dismantled.
Following a dispute with the Harwich authorities, the company built an entirely new terminal station further up the River Stour and transferred their service there in 1883, the new station being called Parkeston Quay after Mr. Parkes, the then chairman of the company.
In 1893 the Dutch authorities opened a new terminal at the Hook of Holland enabling much larger boats to be employed; the MALINES, one of the present twin screw boats having, for instance, a depth of 25.7 feet and a gross tonnage of 2,969.