Monthly paddle steamer articles written by John Megoran, author, manager and principal captain of Kingswear Castle for nearly 30 years on the Medway and the Thames as well as the River Dart.
You can read more of John’s paddle steamer reminiscences in his regular Megoran’s Musings features on the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society website here.
Choose a year to see more Pictures of the Month:
December 2023:
Ryde & Sandown 1964
By 1964 British Railways still needed two paddle steamers Sandown and Ryde to provide extra capacity on busy summer Saturdays for their Portsmouth/Ryde route augmenting the capacity of their three
November 2023:
Balmoral 1968
Balmoral’s last season with Red Funnel was 1968 during which she operated the company’s excursion programme from June to September Sundays to Thursdays and provided additional sailings on the Southampton/West
October 2023:
Let’s Take a Closer Look
I have here with me a very large box stuffed full of hundreds of photographs of Chinese, Burmese and other Junks plus other disparate Far Eastern Craft including the ship
September 2023:
Weymouth Bank Holidays
From the mid eighteenth century Weymouth became the favoured holiday destination for the moneyed and aristocratic elites buoyed up by King George III’s decision to spend much of sixteen summers
August 2023:
Competition for Cosens
Although paddle steamer operator Cosens & Co of Weymouth had a pretty near monopoly on excursions to sea from Weymouth, if you exclude the motor boat trips from the beach
July 2023:
Lake Geneva Paddle Steamers June 2023
There were six paddle steamers in service on Lake Geneva this June all quietly going about their business, carrying good loads and offering trips either connecting individual honeypot tourist locations
June 2023:
June 1953 Bournemouth
By the middle of May 1953 Embassy was back in service running predominantly from Bournemouth to Totland Bay and Yarmouth Isle of Wight. Monarch was on the Bournemouth/Swanage service. They
May 2023:
Dresden Shipyard Visit
On Saturday 15th April 2023 two tours of the Laubergast Shipyard near Dresden were offered with the first setting off from Dresden aboard the PS Pillnitz shortly before 10am. A
April 2023:
London Belle
The late Stafford Ellerman’s Uncle Lewis Wood drew a number of pictures of ships of all sizes including a handful of the paddle steamers he had sailed on in his
March 2023:
Princess Elizabeth Around the IOW
The late Stafford Ellerman’s Uncle Lewis and Auntie Celia were inveterate travellers on liners and coastal excursion steamers. Lewis kept meticulous diaries of their voyages complete with pictures he took
February 2023:
Galley Flues
Not all paddle steamers were built with cooking facilities for crew or passengers. Those running short trips starting and finishing their days at the same place didn’t really need them.
January 2023:
Two Thames Trips 1949
Lewis and Celia Wood were inveterate travellers on ocean liners and coastal passenger vessels. In 1949 they made two trips down the Thames, the first being aboard Royal Daffodil on
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