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PSPS
Acquires Cardiff Queen's Telegraph
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The
PSPS has just acquired the splendid
and iconic bridge telegraph
from the well-loved Cardiff
Queen. The telegraph had
been in a private collection
for some forty years after being
rescued from the scrapyard whilst
the steamer was being scrapped.
The donor kindly donated the
telegraph to ensure that it
had a safe and permanent home
where future generations could
enjoy it.
The telegraph is now in need
of a lot of polishing to return
it to its former glory. Eventually,
it will be placed on display
to show the fine heritage of
P&A Campbell pleasure steamer
cruises on the Bristol Channel
and South Coast.
More amazing items from this
important donation will be displayed
on this website over coming
months!
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A
Souvenir from the Well-Loved Royal Sovereign
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The
three post-war motor ships
on the River Thames are remembered
with great fondness. The Royal
Sovereign, Royal Daffodil
and Queen of the Channel
took several generations of
Londoners for a day at the
seaside from the late 1940s
onwards. The Royal Sovereign
was always a particular favourite
of those that enjoyed a day
at Southend, Margate and other
seaside resorts.
I wonder how many young passengers
went to the souvenir shop
to buy a reminder of the trip?
The doll opposite has just
been acquired by the PSPS
Collection and on its cap
has a gold label stating that
it was purchased on the Royal
Sovereign. Were these
dolls sold aboard the pre-war
favourites such as the Golden
Eagle, Royal Eagle
and Medway Queen? Were
they also sold as souvenirs
aboard steamers around the
rest of the UK such as the
Firth of Clyde and Bristol
Channel?
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Luncheon
& High Tea on Waverley
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This
menu cover and menu was recently donated
to the collection and was last used
on a PSPS charter cruise on the Waverley
in 1972. The leather and gold-blocked
cover may date back to Waverley's
early career during the 1940s. The
traditional bill of fare must have
been very nice when served in Waverley's
traditional dining saloon which
is shown opposite around 1972. Were
you on the 1972 PSPS charter? We're
always on the look out for material
that was once used in Waverley's
dining saloon as virtually nothing
has survived. We would particularly
welcome crockery, silverware, glassware. |
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Monarch's
Bell to be Restored!
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One of
the first items to be donated to
the Paddle Steamer Preservation
Society way back in 1961 was the
bell from the Monarch. It
was used in the early days of the
society to summon order at meetings.
The bell has been on loan to various
museums since that time but has
now been returned to the PSPS for
renovation work and display.
One issue that needs to be looked
at is the original colour of the
splendid dolphin-shaped mount. At
the moment, its covered in a rather
dull and thick silver paint. Paint
will be gradually removed to show
the casting in its full glory.
Do you know what colour it may originally
have been painted? If you do let
us know!
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PSPS
Acquires Waverley's Passenger Certificates!
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The
PSPS Collection has just acquired
a major collection of passenger certificates
relating to the famous Waverley.
This collection of around 80 certificates
covers her career during the 1960s
and 1970s as well as a significant
number from her early preservation
career. Of particular interest are
a full set covering her first cruises
away from the Firth of Clyde to places
such as Weymouth, Southampton, Isle
of Wight, London and the River Thames.
This acquisition means that the PSPS
now has the largest collection of
Waverley passenger certificates
in the UK. Once catalogued, they will
be made available to researchers and
placed on display so that future generations
can appreciate the heritage of Waverley. |
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Balmoral
at Blackpool's North Pier in 1992
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Balmoral
is well-known as the UK's most versatile
and popular pleasure steamer and
during the past twenty five years
of her preservation career she has
visited most piers around the UK.
In the early 1990s, Balmoral
was able to undertake a number of
varied cruises in the north of England
visiting places such as Blackpool,
Morecambe, Liverpool & Llandudno.
At Blackpool, Balmoral was
able to sail from the famous North
Pier where such favourites as Greyhound,
Jubilee Queen and Queen
of the North once sailed from.
The last pleasure steamer cruise
had been on the Pendennis
some fifty years earlier. Blackpool
offered some wonderful cruises to
picturesque North Wales as well
as Cumbrian coasts. Unfortunately,
these came to an abrupt end in the
late 1990s when a storm wrecked
the landing jetty shown opposite.
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Days
on the Dart in 1962
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One
of the best places for a paddle
steamer cruise in 1962 was on the
picturesque River Dart in Devon.
The handbill opposite was printed
that year to publicise the cruises.
On the reverse of the handbill cruises
were advertised for the Torbay
Prince running from Torquay.
This was operated by the Devon Star
Shipping Company Limited which was
a sister company of the River Dart
Steamboat Company.
Fares on the River Dart during the
1962 season were 8 shillings return
and 4/9 single. Generally three
sailings were made in each direction
each day but in early and late season
this was reduced to two. The paddlers
operated from 1st May to 29th September
1962. |
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Party
Bookings with P & A Campbell in 1967
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brochure above is one of the items from
the Smith Cox Collection that is currently
being catalogued by the PSPS Collection.
This amazing collection includes just about
every handbill ever produced by the famous
company of P & A Campbell. This brochure
was produced to attract party bookings and
dates from 1967. The collection contains
a wealth of fascinating material showing
every aspect of paddle steamer operation
on the Bristol Channel. So far, over 4,000
items have been catalogued! |
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Song
of the Lincoln Castle
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Paddle Steamer Preservation Society Collection
has just acquired this 45rpm record featuring
the Lincoln Castle. It was recorded
in 1981 and featured Christopher Rowe and
the children of Hessle Bank School. The
lyrics are printed on the reverse of the
sleeve (shown above) and talk nostalgically
of the heyday of the Lincoln Castle
on the Humber. This record has now been
added to our growing collection of records
featuring paddle and pleasure steamers.
If you have a paddle steamer record please
contact us! |
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Jim
Has Fixed it!
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| As
well as having a vast collection of items
on paddle steamers, the PSPS Collection
also importantly collects material showing
people that bought the steamers alive -
both crew and passengers. The end of the
2010 season marks the retirement of Waverley's
legendary Purser - Jim MacFadzean. Jim has
devoted the last 23 years of his life giving
every passenger aboard Waverley a
special day out with his cheerful personality
and sense of humour. His contribution to
Waverley is truly huge. Good luck
Jim and thanks for the large part that you
have played in the Waverley story! |
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Cardiff
Queen & the Palace Pier at Brighton in 1953
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| If
you went to Brighton for your holiday in
1953 you might well have gone for a cruise
on the Cardiff Queen from the famous
Palace Pier. The theatre programme shown
above was for a production named "Twinkle"
at the Palace Pier Theatre. Included on
its back cover was a very fine advertisement
for the well-loved Cardiff Queen.
Cruises were offered to places such as Eastbourne,
Ventnor, Hastings and Shanklin. I wonder
how many people watching the show travelled
the few yards to the landing platform the
next day to take a cruise to one of these
popular destinations? |
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Waverley
visits the Isle of Man
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| Here's
another of our Waverley postcards.It
shows the paddler about to depart on one
of her Isle of Man trips from Whitehaven
in Cumbria during the 1980s. They were certainly
popular by the look of the crowded decks
and the queue on the pier. We're always
on the look out for postcards showing Waverley
around the coastline of the UK to add to
our collection to ensure that we have every
Waverley postcard produced! If you
have one or see one in a shop we would love
to have it as a donation. Please send
to: PSPS, 31 Meadow Road, Gravesend, Kent,
DA11 7LR. |
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Waverley
at Bournemouth Pier
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| We
now have almost 5,000 items in the PSPS
Collection on Waverley. Of these,
we have an amazing 452 postcards of Waverley!
We have few postcards of Waverley during
her Firth of Clyde career but since 1975,
the number has increased dramatically. Whilst
a great deal are the official postcards
were sold in her souvenir shop, a huge number
of others have been published around the
coastline of the UK to publicise the many
seaside resorts that Waverley visits
each year. The postcard above is common
of these and shows Waverley at Bournemouth
Pier around 1995. We are always on the look
out for more postcards to add to our collection
to ensure that we have every Waverley
postcard produced! If you have one or see
one in a shop we would love to have it as
a donation. Please send to: PSPS, 31
Meadow Road, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 7LR. |
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Day
Trips to France on the Royal Daffodil
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If
you wanted a day at Calais or Boulogne
in 1965 then the best way to get there
was aboard the famous and well-loved
Royal Daffodil!
This poster has recently been acquired
by the PSPS Collection and we believe
it to be very rare. It originally
came from the head office of GSNC
in London. The poster (shown opposite)
was a sample of a new design for the
company and its likely that the poster
was never printed.
The evocative design is a wonderful
reminder of the wonderful pleasure
steamers of the Eagle Steamer fleet
and the vast array of cruises that
they offered to holidaymakers in post-war
years. Just over a year after this
poster was printed services had sadly
ceased. |
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  Heritagesteamers
News Archive
Have a look at some of our past articles.
Click on the image to see our latest acquisitions
and paddle steamer heritage news since 2008. |
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