From 1897 onwards for over thirty years the Joint Railway service run by the London and South Western Railway and the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway and their successor the Southern Railway kept churning out near identical paddle steamers for their Portsmouth to Ryde ferry service. There were minor points of difference in the detail and they were ever so slightly different in size but basically they were all the same ship. And why not? If you hit on a design that works for the service you operate then why change?




John Megoran
John Megoran