PS Kingswear Castle (MMSI: 235007618) AIS Vessel Type: Paddle Steamer Call Sign: MCGH6

Boat Details

 

MMSI: 235007618

Call Sign: MCGH6

Flag: United Kingdom [GB]

AIS Vessel Type: Paddle Steamer

Gross Tonnage: -

Deadweight: -

Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: N/a

 

Name:PS Kingswear Castle

Namesake:Kingswear Castle in Devon, UK

Owner:

River Dart Steamboat Company (1924)

Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (1965)

Operator:

River Dart Steamboat Company (1924)

Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust (1985)

Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company (2012)[1]

Route: River Dart (1924)

River Medway and Thames (1985)

River Dart (2013)

Ordered:1924

Builder:Philip and Son, Dartmouth, UK

Launched:1924

Identification:

MMSI number: 235007618

Callsign: MCGH6

 

History

The paddle steamer Kingswear Castle is the last remaining coal-fired paddle steamer in operation in the UK today. She was built in 1924 at Philip & Son of Dartmouth and plied her trade between Totnes and Dartmouth until 1965 (her engines are even older, dating back to 1904, eight years before the sinking of the Titanic). In her heyday when this impressive ship was the life blood of the river Dart, she could carry almost 500 passengers.

 

The first passenger steam boat service was introduced on the Clyde in 1812 and it wasn't until 1836 that the South Hams greeted its first estuary passenger steamer. Prior to this, goods were transported via pack horse or carters wagon. The arrival of the railways in the mid 1800's challenged their survival and at that point they became more reliant on the tourism trade.

 

The steam railway has had a long historical link with the steamers on the river Dart. Charles Seal Hayne was one of the early investors in the railway and associated steamer service. In 1859 he founded the Dartmouth Steam Packet Company Ltd which was later sold to Dart Pleasure Craft -now part of the Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Company.

 

PS Kingswear Castle was loaned to the US Navy during World War II for use as a harbour tender. She was purchased by the PSPS (Paddle Steamer Preservation Society) and left the Dart in an era when diesel engines and propellers were favoured over paddles and after a short spell operating from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, she moved to Chatham in Kent where the PSPS spent 15 years fully restoring her to her former glory and where she has been offering river trips on the Medway since 1985. In 2012, she returned to the home waters of the river Dart after an absence of 47 years.

Done