South Eastern Railway: Ships
Note: This is a sub-section of the South Eastern Railway
‘Cross-Channel and Coastal Paddle Steamers’ by George Frank Burtt
SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY. FOLKESTONE—BOULOGNE ROUTE.
BEFORE the South Eastern Railway linked up Folkestone with the Metropolis no regular cross Channel service had existed between that town and Boulogne. Spasmodic attempts, it is true, had been made and it is on record that as early as 1838 Boulogne had been served by a vessel named the EDINBURGH CASTLE, owned by a Mr. Fruen, which ran from Rye in Sussex but the service was abandoned in less than a year.
When the railway reached Folkestone in 1843 the company purchased Folkestone harbour, which had been constructed by Telford in 1809, and it was decided to commence a regular day service to Boulogne. August 1st was selected for the inauguration and in honour of the event the Mayor of Folkestone and the directors of the railway company gave a banquet. At 12.30 p.m. the CITY OF BOULOGNE, with the Union Jack and the Tricolour flying at her masthead, arrived from Boulogne with numerous influential guests aboard. About the same time the WILLIAM WALLACE left for Boulogne with 75 passengers and later in the day the EMERALD arrived with 142 passengers and officials.
These vessels belonged to the New Commercial Steam Packet Co with whom arrangements had been made by the railway company for the overseas carriage of passengers and goods.
The employment of vessels not actually belonging to the railway company proved, however, so inconvenient that the S.E.R. decided that on the completion of its line to Dover it would run packets of its own. However, when that town was reached in 1844 it was found that a railway company was not entitled to own and run steamers. This difficulty—since removed by Act of Parliament—was overcome by a company being formed by the directors of the railway company, entitled the South Eastern and Continental Steam Packet Co. which ran vessels from Dover and Folkestone to Calais, Boulogne and Ostend.
In an advertisement in the possession of the author dated August, 1845, the following appears:- "SOUTH-EASTERN and CONTINENTAL STEAM PACKET COMPANY (Registered Provisionally). Best route to Belgium and Germany via Dover and Ostend. The South-Eastern and Continental Steam Packet Company’s splendid fast iron ship PRINCESS MARY, carrying the English and Belgian mails, and performing the passage in 4.5 hours, leaves Dover for Ostend every Thursday and Sunday morning early, enabling travellers to leave Ostend by the early trains, and returns to Dover on Tuesdays and Fridays. Departures from Dover: — August 17 at 8 a.m.. August 21 at 11.15 a.m.. August 24 at 6 a.m.. August 28 at 6 a.m. August 31 at 8 a.m.”
A singular accident befell the QUEEN OF THE BELGIANS on April 26th, 1873, by which she narrowly escaped becoming a total loss. Some hours after leaving Folkestone, when the captain believed himself to be a third of the way across the Channel, he found that he had run his vessel on the English Coast between Dym- church and New Romney. On investigation, it was found that the compass had been deflected by a quantity of steel that formed part of the cargo.
The S.E. & C.S.P. Co’s, fleet was very popular at the time, the vessels being well designed and capable of a fair turn of speed, the average duration of the passage being about 2^ hours in fair weather. Comparing the speed of the PRINCESS MARY with the Admiralty steamer PRINCESS ALICE the latter on a trial ran from Dover to Boulogne in 2, hours 10 minutes and on the return trip in I hour 52 minutes.
The PRINCESS MARY ran from Dover to Calais, a much less distance, and took 2 hours 10 minutes, her engines making 31 to 32 revs, per minute. Both these steamers had feathering wheels 19 ft. diam.
The QUEEN OF THE FRENCH was sold to the Belgian Government in 1864; the PRINCESS HELENA was broken up in 1881; the LORD WARDEN in 1883; the PRINCESS CLEMENTINE was sold to an Italian firm in October, 1884, and the QUEEN OF THE BELGIANS, PRINCESS MAUD, PRINCESS MARY and PRINCE ERNEST were withdrawn and broken up in 1885 or 1886.
During the six months ending July, 1854, 31,954 passengers were carried between Folkestone and Boulogne, whilst only 12,132 passengers were conveyed between Dover and Calais during the same period. At that time the connections on the French side were infinitely better via Boulogne, as it must be remembered that the direct railway between Calais and Paris was not opened until 1867. .Since then, however, the percentage of passengers using the Dover-Calais route increased year by year, while those travelling via Folkestone and Boulogne continued to diminish.
Mr. G. A. Sekon, in his "History of the South-Eastern Railway,” says: — "The S.E. Company made a grave mistake in allowing the steamboat service between Dover and Calais to fall into the hands of the Chatham Company. When the original contractor gave up the business it was offered to the S.E. Railway Company, and refused by them, as the directors considered that holding the Folkestone route in their own hands they had the key of the whole Continental traffic; consequently the Dover boats passed into the hands of the L.C. & D.R.”
THE NAPOLEON III.
In 1865, Messrs. Samuda Brothers built another steamer for the service, on similar lines to the previous two. This vessel, named NAPOLEON III, was 192.6 feet in length, 24.3 feet beam and 11.5 feet deep, and had a gross tonnage of 388 and engines of 180 n.h.p., with oscillating cylinders 52.5 in. diameter by 48 in. stroke. Steam pressure 25 lb. She had a saloon on the afterdeck. This boat was condemned in 1890.
THE ALBERT VICTOR AND THE LOUISE DAGMAR.
In the endeavour to increase the popularity of the Boulogne route to the Continent, the company decided to build two new boats much larger than any of those at that time running on this service or on the rival Dover- Calais route. The new steamers, built by Samuda Brothers, were 250 feet long, 29.2 feet beam and 14.3 feet deep, and had engines of 350 n.h.p. and a gross tonnage of 782. Oscillating engines by John Penn, 2,800 i.h.p., cylinders 72 in. diameter by 60 in. stroke. On trials ALBERT VICTOR averaged 18.58 knots over six runs.
Constructed in 1880, they were named the ALBERT VICTOR and the LOUISE DAGMAR, and are memorable as being the first boats with steel hulls to be put on the service; this feature was adopted with all subsequent vessels. They had straight stems and a “ turtle back ” fore deck, whilst the promenade deck extended from forward of the bridge nearly the whole length of the vessel. Both these steamers were broken up in March, 1899. THE DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH.
On the 14th May, 1881, there arrived at Folkestone from Greenock the paddle steamer DUCHESS OF EDINEURGH, and on the 5th August, 1882, she left Folkestone for Sheerness to be laid up and to await a purchaser. This boat only ran a few trips as it was soon found that she was not suitable for the service.
The DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH was built and engined by J. and G. Thomson & Co., of Greenock, and was of the following dimensions:—Length 278.9 ft., beam 29.7 ft., depth 14 ft. Her tonnage was 417 net and 989 gross and she was fitted with compound oscillating engines, having cylinders 46 and 83 inches diameter and 72 inches stroke of the pistons. The nominal horse power was 427.
In 1882, she was purchased by J. Little & Co., of Barrow-in-Furness, and in the following year was renamed MANX QUEEN. In 1895, she had new boilers fitted and in 1905 is recorded as owned by the Midland Railway. She was broken up in 1908 at Garston.
THE MARY BEATRICE.
In 1882, the MARY BEATRICE was built by Samuda’s. She was a boat of 803 tons gross register and very similar to the ALBERT VICTOR and LOUISE DAG MAR, having the same beam, depth and engines, but was 5 feet longer. She was broken up in January, 1900.
THE EDWARD WILLIAM AND MYLETA.
The firm of Samuda Brothers built all the cross-channel steamers of the South Eastern Company for over thirty years; and the last of the series were two rather pretty little boats named EDWARD WILLIAM and MYLETA, which appeared in 1891. They had one funnel aft of the engines, having the usual bell top, and a short high forecastle. They were of only 195 gross and 106 net tonnage and were mostly used for coastal excursion traffic from Folkestone.
Their length between perpendiculars was 150 feet, beam 18.6 feet, depth 8.2 feet. They had two-cylinder high pressure engines, the cylinders being 30 inch diameter with a 33 inch stroke, giving a n.h.p. of 60. The boilers were built by T, A. Young & Son of London.
Both these boats were sold in 1909.
THE DUCHESS OF YORK.
No further additions were made to the fleet until June, 1895, when R. & H. Green of London built the DUCHESS OF YORK. This steamer was in appearance totally unlike any of the previously built steamers on this service, resembling in outline the ships of the Chatham Company, rather than those of the South Eastern Company. She was a two-funnelled steamer, without the usual bell-top. The promenade deck extended the whole length of the ship. The stern was bow-shaped, as in the Chatham steamers, she being the only one so built for this route. The DUCHESS OF YORK was 270 feet between perpendiculars, beam 30 feet and depth 14.5 feet. She was fitted with three-cylinder compound engines, having two high pressure cylinders 48 inches diameter and a low pressure cylinder 68 inches diameter, the piston stroke being 72 inches, giving a n.h.p. of 684. This ship had four boilers by J. Penn & Sons, Deptford, having a grate area of 270 square feet and a heating surface of 8,416 square feet, 120 lb. pressure, and on trials did 18.53 knots. Her tonnage was 996 gross and 376 net. In November, 1904, she was sold to a Dutch firm for breaking up.
THE PRINCESS OF WALES.
In 1897, tenders were invited for another new steamer, and in the following year Laird Brothers of Birkenhead built the handsome PRINCESS OF WALES. This addition, so far as appearance went, was a reversion to the South Eastern Railway style, with bell-topped funnels. She had a "turtle back" deck forward, and a promenade deck forward of the bridge, extending nearly her entire length. This new steamer, which had a guaranteed speed of 19 knots, was a valuable addition to the company’s fleet. Her leading dimensions were as follows: - Length between perpendiculars 270 feet 6 inches, breadth moulded 32 feet 2 inches, extreme breadth over paddles 57 feet 6 inches, depth moulded 14 feet 7 inches; tonnage (builders’ measurement) 1,366 tons; draught, forward 9 feet I inch, aft 9 feet 4 inches.
The PRINCESS OF WALES was fitted with 3 cylinder compound engines, having one high pressure cylinder 37 inches and two low pressure cylinders 66 inches diameter with a stroke of 72 inches. The n.h.p. 740, and the i.h.p. 4,000. On trials, October Sth, 1898, she averaged 19.1 knots.
In 1910, the PRINCESS OF WALES was sold and went out to the Argentine, where her new owners, Cia. de Nav. S. Lambrus-chini. Ltda., re-named her Rio URUGUAY, and fitted her with a wireless telegraphic installation. She ran between Buenos Aires and Monte Video, Uruguay. THE MABEL GRACE.
Popular as the PRINCESS OF WALES was in the service, she did not represent the final aim of the South Eastern directors, who again placed an order with Lairds’ to build another paddle steamer capable of steaming considerably faster than the previous boat.
The MABEL GRACE in appearance was similar to the DUCHESS OF YORK, the funnels being without the bell-top. Before deciding upon the specification of this further accession to the fleet, the company instituted careful enquiry as to the largest type of steamer which could be introduced on the Folkestone-Boulogne route.
The principal conditions which governed the question were the restricted depth and breadth of water available for navigation in Boulogne Harbour. At that time there was considerable risk in entering in bad weather to a long vessel exposed to a cross current or a beam wind. Shallow water, with a resulting limitation of the breadth of the channel, was experienced fortnightly throughout the year; and at these recurring periods the boat service was adversely affected for three or four successive days. So long, therefore, as these conditions remained, it was impossible for the South Eastern Company to run steamers with the main dimensions exceeding 300 feet in length, 36 feet in breadth, with a maximum draught of 9 feet 3 inches.
The harbours at Folkestone and Boulogne have long since been deepened by constant dredging, and the cross-Channel screw steamers have little difficulty nowadays in entering or leaving, whatever the weather conditions.
The new steamer, named the MABEL GRACE, took up her running in the summer of 1899, after the fusion of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway and the South Eastern Railway. She was 300 feet long, 36 feet beam, and 16 feet 3 inches in depth; she was fitted with three cylinder compound diagonal engines, which developed 5,500 i.h.p. Steam was supplied by six boilers. Gross tons 1,215, pressure cylinder 55 in., low pressure cylinders 77.5 in. by 72 in. stroke. Steam pressure 120 lb. Total heating surface 12,660 sq. ft. and a grate area of 360 sq. ft. Trial speed over six runs, 20.23 knots.
The MABEL GRACE was the last paddle steamer for the Folkestone-Boulogne service, being withdrawn in 1909. As in other cases, the paddle gave way to the screw. The deepening of the harbours provided greater depth of water and allowed of greater draught for the immersion of the propellers, and it was then that the high speed screw vessels came to be adopted.