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PS Castaliâ

Castalia hospital ship.jpg
Castalia as converted to a hospital ship, with the stern of Endymion at left.
History
Name: Castalia
Owner:
  • English Channel Steamship Company (1874–78)
  • London, Chatham & Dover Railway (1878–84)
  • Metropolitan Asylums Board (1884–1904)
Operator:
  • English Channel Steamship Company (1874–76)
  • Metropolitan Asylums Board (1884–1904)
Port of registry: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland United Kingdom
Builder: Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
Cost: £70,000
Launched: 2 June 1874
Completed: October 1874
In service: 1874
Out of service: 1876-84
Fate: Scrapped 1905
General characteristics
Class and type:
  • Paddle steamer (1874–83)
  • Hospital ship (1884–1904)
Tonnage: 1,533 GRT
Length: 295 ft 6 in (90.07 m)
Beam: 60 ft 6 in (18.44 m)
Draught: 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Installed power: 2 x 140 hp (100 kW)
Propulsion: Twin compound steam engines, two paddle wheels
Speed: 11 knots (20 km/h)
Capacity: 700 passengers

Castalia was a 1,533 GRT twin-hulled paddle steamer that was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, London for the English Channel Steamship Company. She was acquired by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1878 but had already been laid up by then and was not operated by the LCDR. In 1883, she was sold to the Metropolitan Asylums Board and converted to a hospital ship. She served until 1904 and was scrapped in 1905.

Castalia was a twin-hulled paddle steamer, comprising two half-hulls with a length of 295 feet 6 inches (90.07 m) and a beam of 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m). The two half-hulls were 26 feet (7.9 m) apart internally. Her draught was 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). The ship was designed with bows forward and astern in order to avoid the need to turn round at Calais, France.

She was propelled by two diagonal compound steam engines, of 140 horsepower (100 kW) each. driving a single paddle wheel. The engines were built by J & A Blyth, London. The two paddle wheels were placed side-by-side between the twin hulls. These could propel her at 11 knots (20 km/h). Following improvements in 1875, the boilers and paddle wheels were by Maudslay, Sons, & Field, Lambeth, Surrey. She had capacity to carry 700 passengers.

Castalia was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth for the English Channel Steamship Company. Costing about £70,000 to build, she was designed by a Captain Dicey, who thought that she should be more stable therefore leading to less seasickness for her passengers.Castalia was launched on 2 June. She was named for Lady Granville, who launched her.


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Wikipedia

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