PS Waverley (1899)
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | PS Waverley (1899–1940) |
| Owner: |
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| Operator: |
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| Ordered: | 20 October 1898 |
| Builder: | A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow |
| Launched: | 30 May 1899 |
| In service: | 10 July 1899 |
| Fate: | Bombed and sunk, 29 May 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Paddle steamer |
| Tonnage: | 537 |
| Length: | 235 feet |
| Beam: | 26 feet |
| Speed: | 19.73 knots |
PS Waverley was a paddle steamer built A. & J. Inglis for the North British Steam Packet Co. at their Pointhouse shipyard on the Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. The ship was designed to be the flagship of the North British Steam Packet Co. fleet with the intention that it could be used for regular Clyde services but also to help the company expand their initial foray into excursions in areas around Bute, Arran, Kintyre and Loch Fyne. She was launched on 30 May 1899 and entered service on 10 July 1899.
In 1902, North British Steam Packet Co was dissolved and Waverley was transferred to the ownership of its parent company North British Railway operating a smaller range of routes that didn't include Kintyre, Loch Fyne and the west of Arran. Like many Clyde steamers, Waverley was requisitioned in 1915 by the Admiralty for service during World War I, being modified to increase her decked area and adding bow plating. For four years she served on the British and Belgian coasts, and was discharged from service in April 1919. She spent over a year being renovated for her return to service, with the most obvious change being the repositioning of her bridge from its original location between her paddle boxes to a new location in front of her funnel. She was returned to her owners on 9 July 1920.
As the Transport Act 1921 took effect in 1923, Waverley was transferred again as North British Railway was merged into London and North Eastern Railway. In 1931 the Waverley was superseded as the fleet's flagship by the newly launched PS Jeanie Deans, but was renovated in 1923 with the addition of shelters on the promenade deck and remodelled interior passengers spaces to bring her up to the same standard as more modern steamers like the Jeanie Deans. By the late 1930s decreasing passenger numbers on the Clyde estuary resulted in other steamers being moved to service routes elsewhere, and the Waverley was removed from service in 1939.
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